Another WFO in the UK - 42" Pompeii

[brad mole]

Started hand shaping some pegs, splitting rough oak and ash pieces then hand shaping with a chisel to a tapered octagon shape, then hand planing a final taper in, I then marked the point at which i want the peg to hit the stopped hole so i know when its pegged all the way home

[Michael Thomas]

Next i started on the diagonal braces 150x45mm timbers with a visible diagonal length of 700mm. I was too impatient to wait til i could get into the workshop to make these so i made them at home, so opted to go full with tenon with no shoulder as i figured it wasn't essential and made the making of them easier.

I really like what you've done and you've given me some ideas for my own oven in addition to sharing the information about the pillar. So appreciated. Would be happy to see the pergola when its done!
Mike

[GreenViews]

Very nice wood working! I like how you kept the dome shape and presumably are building a roof over everything. I'm reconsidering how I finish mine as I am having remorseful thoughts about hiding the rounded shape of my oven completely. Still considering, but I'm inspired by your build. Also, I love your old pc lumber stand . Second life: Linux or holding lumber? Either will do, lol. (I'm a Linux nerd, while I see from screen shots you prefer Mac, which is also an excellent OS.)

[brad mole]

Drilled out the bulk of the mortise then cleaned it out with a chisel, test fit seems good!

[brad mole]

Next i started on the diagonal braces 150x45mm timbers with a visible diagonal length of 700mm. I was too impatient to wait til i could get into the workshop to make these so i made them at home, so opted to go full with tenon with no shoulder as i figured it wasn't essential and made the making of them easier.

[brad mole]

Picked up my pergola timber. I was debating going with green oak, but it was pretty pricey in the sizes i wanted so i settled for 150x150mm treated timber. Started by sketchup up my design and colour coding and exploded view of it so i could get my head around everything, I then started marking up the corner post joints and labelled their orientation

[brad mole]

Then moved on to digging and pouring some foundations for a pergola. I debated what to do to keep the weather off the oven but decided on a pitched tiled roof pergola in the end, partly because i wanted the challenge of building a traditional timber framed structure, but also because it will be a good way to have the oven on display rather than covering it with something and means we can shelter under it and still cook if the weather isn't great

[brad mole]

And more (lockdown hair!)

[brad mole]

Fitted and starting to build up the chimney

[brad mole]

Also been busy doing other bits on the oven, I finally got my granite cut and started on the chimney. Getting that slab of granite up there and fitted by myself was a bit of a chore but looks great!

[brad mole]

Hi Brad,

Just wondering how the middle pillar worked out? I'm hoping to do something similar to support the hearth.

Best
Michael

Hi Michael,

The pillar worked great. It gives me confidence in loading up the top with as much weight as i want and i don't need to worry. The only drawback to it is storing the logs underneath is a little awkward with the pillar there but no major inconvenience.

I've just finished tiling it with brick slips as i didn't like that i could see the block work

[Michael Thomas]

"Ive also included a pillar in the centre to support some of the weight, do you all think this is sufficient overall? in the end i would like to have a brick chimney with either a rendered dome or brick slip covered dome to give you an idea of the weight on top"

Hi Brad,

Just wondering how the middle pillar worked out? I'm hoping to do something similar to support the hearth.

Best
Michael

[brad mole]

I also cut the bricks ready to start my chimney. Originally i had planned to use 6 bricks plus slithers per layer, but after cutting 15 courses work like this i decided that the chimney would be too bulky and have way too much weight in it. So i had a rethink and after some head scratching i decided on this slimmer and more lightweight design which uses less than 5 full bricks per layer, hoping this will be strong enough once built up! You can see my comparison for size of the 2 designs

[brad mole]

Managed to cook some bits other than pizza in the oven, its the first time ive tried anything other than pizza in there and it was a great feeling to use most of the retained heat, only having to make a small fire to boost the temp back up.

I started with pizza on the Friday night. Saturday I made a slow cooked honey and mustard glazed ham, then tried some ciabatta bread straight after but it stuck to my peel and ended up in a snake shape, i also forgot to turn it so it burnt on one side but it tasted lovely! then finally i made some rice pudding on the Sunday afternoon. I must say the door is doing a great job of keeping the heat in, im surprised as its only thin aluminium and not insulated at all.

[brad mole]

Hi Brad, I'm starting a new build in Tennessee. What exactly did you pay your floor bricks on? It appears to be 2 layers of casi?

Thanks,

Bock

Great build with awesome docu btw.

Hi Bock,

thats right i put mine on 100mm of calsil (2 x 50mm) i then placed kitchen tinfoil down before the floor bricks to stop moisture travelling up into the floor bricks but soon realised that it would just disintegrate quickly. I don't know how necessary it is anyway so I'm not too worried

Good luck with the build!