36" Pompeii Dome Chicago

[Karangi Dude]

Not necessarily, but you want to get some heat into that area as well so I would at least build the vent arch the decorative arch can be done afterwards

[Chach]

Well done Ricky,

Looks great you have got good symmetry on the last few courses.
IMO I wood put some insulation on first before you start the curing, I always suggest no flame just use what we call heat beads (briquettes) spread them out over the hearth and keep them going as long as you can I just did my oven for 14 hours straight I will do it another couple of times before I have the first small fire

Cheers Doug

I will for sure do that...should I have the vent and outer arch done as well before I start? Im guessing yes.

[Karangi Dude]

Well done Ricky,

Looks great you have got good symmetry on the last few courses.
IMO I wood put some insulation on first before you start the curing, I always suggest no flame just use what we call heat beads (briquettes) spread them out over the hearth and keep them going as long as you can I just did my oven for 14 hours straight I will do it another couple of times before I have the first small fire

Cheers Doug

[Chach]

Looks great. I don't think i would mess with anything. It is what proves it was hand made and not out of a crate.

hahaha thats what a friend of mine said. how long do you have to wait to start curing? or should I build my vent arch first?

[RandyJ]

Looks great. I don't think i would mess with anything. It is what proves it was hand made and not out of a crate.

[Chach]

Sweet I just have the keystone left to do. I finished the 9th, 10, 11, and 12th courses today. I did set up a plywood disc for the last course and i set all the brick waited 2hrs and pulled it off cleaned the loose mortar off the face but didnt want to wipe it down with a sponge because its still wet and I didnt want to disturb the brick so I still have some cleanup on the inside to do. The bricks are like 1/4" lower than the last course i could have made the form a little smaller than the opening so it fit right in there and not on the previous course. I guess I can grind it down with the grinder if i want later to make it smooth. Heres a few pics of my progress.

[Chach]

Left over CaSi board or Ceramic Blanket but I suggest you look at the Door thread out there on the forum

I should have been more specific my bad. I was talking more of the outer shell of the door not the insulation...I'll for sure check out the door thread. I seen people use aluminum and stainless and plain steel..just trying to see what makes the most sense...each material has it's their pros and cons I'm sure.

[RandyJ]

Yes i shoved a few layers of rope in to lightly fill the void and the top half inch is just ash. No metal of any kind. You can buy ceramic roap from menards by the fireplace stuff.

[UtahBeehiver]

Left over CaSi board or Ceramic Blanket but I suggest you look at the Door thread out there on the forum

[Chach]

I did heat breaks on my oven and definitely plan to do it on the next one. It is not that hard to do now and it is impossible to go back and add. It helps with heat retention for extended cooking. All i did was to put a thick pice of cardboard between the vent and oven and bevel the edge of the bricks to reduce the exposed area. Then filled the gap with ceramic rope then made some vermicreete to seal the outside and used a product called fiberfrax to seal the inside of the vent. Then some rope in the crack on the floor and let it fill with ash. Not hard to do.

So the vent floor you just left like a 1/4" gap for the rope and let it fill in no metal or anything just the rope and good ole ash...that might be what I do as well

[Chach]

Kinda up to you, if you want to tweak every last btu out of the oven and doing extended oven cooking over several days then thermal breaks are a good option, I did both. But if you are going to cook pizza and maybe something the next day then it may not be as big a factor. A well insulated door is a must and preferably not made of carbon steel, aluminum or high K value material. As Randy mention, thermal breaks are not difficult to install initially. Builder's choice.

So what material do people prefer for the Insulated door?

[UtahBeehiver]

Kinda up to you, if you want to tweak every last btu out of the oven and doing extended oven cooking over several days then thermal breaks are a good option, I did both. But if you are going to cook pizza and maybe something the next day then it may not be as big a factor. A well insulated door is a must and preferably not made of carbon steel, aluminum or high K value material. As Randy mention, thermal breaks are not difficult to install initially. Builder's choice.

[RandyJ]

I did heat breaks on my oven and definitely plan to do it on the next one. It is not that hard to do now and it is impossible to go back and add. It helps with heat retention for extended cooking. All i did was to put a thick pice of cardboard between the vent and oven and bevel the edge of the bricks to reduce the exposed area. Then filled the gap with ceramic rope then made some vermicreete to seal the outside and used a product called fiberfrax to seal the inside of the vent. Then some rope in the crack on the floor and let it fill with ash. Not hard to do.

[Chach]

Well I'm on the 9th course and I'm 3/4 of the way done with that and I figure I have 3 more courses to do and then the keystone. Pending on weather I may finish the dome this weekend but it seems to storm everyday lately.

With that being said I was thinking about thermal breaks..I have seen mixed reviews on the forum. Is it necessary? I understand the concept by having it you don't heat up the vent landing and outer arch and use fuel to get that hot and it also helps with heat wicking out. Just curious on opinions on this as this will be my next step. Thanks in advance

Ricky

[Chach]

You will know when you need to start with smaller bricks as they will start to not fit very well on the bottom but i would think you are getting close to that point here pretty soon. Congratulations on clearing the arch. That makes it easier from then on and speed increases. Just keep paying attention and you will be done in no time. It is looking very nice.

Randy

Thanks Randy, this forum is the best. There is so much knowledge and information here. Im so glad I stumbled accross this site a few years ago