36" Pompeii Dome Chicago

[JRPizza]

Like I said in the post above, make the width across the bottom of a brick for a given row same as the top of the bricks in the row below. If you do this pretty soon you will be getting 3 dome bricks per full brick. Not long after that you can go back to half bricks when the width at the top of a row is a quarter brick. Does this make sense the way I'm explaining it?

[Chach]

Like I said in the post above, make the width across the bottom of a brick for a given row same as the top of the bricks in the row below. If you do this pretty soon you will be getting 3 dome bricks per full brick. Not long after that you can go back to half bricks when the width at the top of a row is a quarter brick. Does this make sense the way I'm explaining it?

kind of..I see what your saying.

[JRPizza]

The attached picture shows it was the 2nd row before my plug when I transitioned back to half bricks. At that point the half brick was twice as wide as the tops of the bricks in the 3rd row from the top, allowing me to keep the joints staggered with the larger brick. I guess I could have kept cutting them smaller and smaller, but didn't see the need and was ready to get that part of the build done.

[Chach]

The attached picture shows it was the 2nd row before my plug when I transitioned back to half bricks. At that point the half brick was twice as wide as the tops of the bricks in the 3rd row from the top, allowing me to keep the joints staggered with the larger brick. I guess I could have kept cutting them smaller and smaller, but didn't see the need and was ready to get that part of the build done.

Thanks I really see what your talking about now.

[RandyJ]

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

[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

[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

[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.

[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.

[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?

[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

[UtahBeehiver]

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

[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.

[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.

[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.