42” Pompeii in San Felipe, MX

[modified9v]

Hello Mikie,

Thanks for your photo documentation. Great stuff and invaluable. I'm just behind where you are in your build. Even being held up by the same rain here in so cal.
I'd like to pick your brain and hope you don't mind a few questions.

Thanks George. I could have done a better job documenting but sometimes you just forget to take pictures or get too lazy. Also, seems the sun is always where you don’t want it when taking pics.. Below are my answers... hope they help you!


You mentioned you have 13 inches from your inner arch to the edge of your outer arch but would have wanted more.
What would you do with the extra depth?

I think the extra depth would have allowed for the outside edge and inner edge bricks of the vent arch to be bigger in size. Probably not a big deal concerning strength but it was my thought. When I went back and measured for the mock up I found that I’m actually 12 5/8” deep including my little heat break at the oven’s opening. Those bricks a pretty small. I have attached pictures.
Are you making your flu 8 inches deep (front to back)?

Yes, the inside dimension is 8”. The picture I attached should show what I mean. The next order of business is to mortar the inside “L” brick in completely, then I will work my way up. The outside bricks of the vent arch will be last. I plan to let these cure a few days between phases so I don’t knock something loose.

How wide are you making your outer arch bricks? The ones that form the complete arch?

The ones closest to the dome are 1 1/2”. The outside bricks are 3”... That leaves me with the 8” opening for the vent area. Pretty small, huh? That’s why I would make the landing area 14” if there was ever a next time.

A broader question to all those following with completed ovens: How deep is your flu gallery and does the depth hamper your ability to work pizzas or get things in and out of the oven?

If I understand your question correctly the distance from my oven entry (outside of the dome arch/door reveal) to the outside entry after the decorative arch will be less than 14”. I’ve stuck a peel in there and it’s easy to get to anywhere in the oven.

Thanks again. Good work. And another thanks to JRPizza for your flu design.I was going to close the arch to 8 inches then go straight up. Yours is incredible.

-George

Really hope this helps... feel free to ask anything. If I can be of help I will. Thanks for checking in.
Mikie V.

my Build: https://community.fornobravo.com/for...mente-ca-build

[Mongo]

Hello Mikie,

Thanks for your photo documentation. Great stuff and invaluable. I'm just behind where you are in your build. Even being held up by the same rain here in so cal.
I'd like to pick your brain and hope you don't mind a few questions.

You mentioned you have 13 inches from your inner arch to the edge of your outer arch but would have wanted more.
What would you do with the extra depth?
Are you making your flu 8 inches deep (front to back)?
How wide are you making your outer arch bricks? The ones that form the complete arch?

A broader question to all those following with completed ovens: How deep is your flu gallery and does the depth hamper your ability to work pizzas or get things in and out of the oven?

Thanks again. Good work. And another thanks to JRPizza for your flu design.I was going to close the arch to 8 inches then go straight up. Yours is incredible.

-George

my Build: https://community.fornobravo.com/for...mente-ca-build

[modified9v]

Thanks guys... yes, this is challenging. Kinda fun in a sick sort of way. Got rained out today... been getting that a lot lately. Rain is a rare event here but we welcome any moisture we can get. I’ll be back on it tomorrow, maybe even this afternoon.

[Yokosuka dweller]

I beveled arch bricks, but that was because in copying from other people on this forum I forgot to account for the fact that my oven is only 31" whereas the ones I copied from - JRPizza's build actually - had larger diameter domes. So my brick build up of the serpentine flue became a bit too narrow - about 10% less than what I should have had flue size. I think flue size is very important for draw, so did what I could to help create a smoke exit...among others by cutting the bevels. The cuts were not very precise but at least it doesn't seem to have harmed the smoke flow.

[JRPizza]

Mike, I had sufficient area coming out of my vent arch but it was in the form of a rectangle and I had to transition to a square for my adapter. I had plenty of width but had to add depth so extended the brick chimney back towards the dome (see link). Even with that depth wise extension I had to do some grinding to accommodate the adapter as shown in the photo, otherwise I would have had made the chimney wider than I wanted. You just need to figure out what works. I found building my vent and chimney one of the biggest "adventures" of the project.

https://community.fornobravo.com/for...556#post386556

[modified9v]

Spent the better part of the day cutting the funky “L” shaped bricks and the ones on the outer edge. Also did a bunch of clean up and other much needed crap around here.

Tomorrow I will pull the arch form out and get it marked for mortar joints and the eventual 8” opening for the chimney pipe. Man, there really isn’t a lot of room after you take into account the 8”. I now think that I made my landing area in front of the outer arch a little too short. Another inch would have been like a mile. I’m at 13” from the dome arch to the edge of the outer arch. 14” would have been much better. 15” would have been amazing.

I gotta say that somewhere along the build I got off with measurements. Not a lot... maybe a 1/4” that no one but me and you will know about. That said, I’m feeling pretty good about this. I had wanted to cast the gallery but I think that is above my skill set. I will make it out of brick.

One question: I see that on some builds with a heat break between the inner and outer arch have beveled the arch bricks where the smoke exits the dome area. Curious how important this is?

Thanks, Mikie V.

[modified9v]

Since I’m feeling a little sad about taking a couple steps back I thought I’d take a few pics... 1st one is after I cut the bricks out and cleaned up the bricks... the others are of the other work that is going on in the courtyard/patio/party place. I am only doing the pizza oven. Local talent is taking care of the rest.

We have owned this place for 1 year and 1 week... the progress has been amazing. Keep in mind we live off grid. Solar power and water is trucked in. I do love my view of the Sea of Cortez.

Wanted to mention that family that was coming down from Nor Cal has decided to skip the trip due to the pandemic. They are elderly and I totally get it. It does buy me some time but I need to stay focused.

Be well, Mikie V.

[modified9v]

Thanks Ricky... I can already tell that you are right. Damn mess to clean up. I think it will go smooth now. I gotta say that your cast flue vent looks tempting but I actually have a plan and bricks are in it. LOL

You guys are the best... Thanks, Mikie V.

[Chach]

Your well on your way now. I know it wasn't what you wanted to hear lol You will be much happier now I can guarantee it!

[modified9v]

JR,

I went ahead and pulled 2 rows. Looks like I have room to work now. I really screwed up... I had no plan. Initially I had thought about copying your arch, JR, but I gotta say I am so burned out on the project I figured I’d just wing it. That didn’t work out so good. I need to suck it up like a big boy and get this thing done and done right. No half arse stuff. I’m going to spend some more time looking at other builder’s flue galleries. Yours included.

I think now I will do something like Brad’s in the UK. Kinda a hybrid between your’s and his.

I gotta say that getting the 2nd brick down was a real chore. Sucker was stuck and I had to cut it out with my angle grinder. What a mess. I was surprised to see that the mortar in the very counter was still damp while the rest had dried white. I set that brick almost 2 weeks ago. Amazing stuff this Homebrew.

Thanks for the help,
Mikie V.

[JRPizza]

What kind of transition were you planning on building? You need to pull bricks if you are going with a serpentine vent but there are other designs that you could probably make work by building upward and not constricting the opening any more.

[modified9v]

Hey thanks Ricky. It’s what i needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear. LOL. Those bricks will be a real bummer to pull out of there. I will have to be super careful I don’t knock the whole thing down. I think I can get by with pulling 2 courses and taking a look.

One thing that I told myself when I started this build was I didn’t want smoke coming out the front on initial start up... kinda a peeve of sorts. I’m gonna pull those bricks today and post another picture.

One other note. I did mortar the bottom arch bricks to the floor and there is a slight crack at the join to the floor... I shocked that the thing stands like this without snapping off... true testament to the “Home Brew”.

I will report back after I clean up this mess.

Thanks, Mikie V.

[Chach]

Well you can just leave it and go with it and the oven would work smoke will come out the front especially in the beggining of starting your fire. What I ask myself and what I tell others in amything I do as a project is if I know its sorta not up to par or I know its wrong and ask if it will work I know I would not be happy with it and always would think to myself I should have just did this or this it may have set me back a day or so. When I think this I end up just doing what I have to do to make myself gappy with what I'm trying to accomplish at least this way I know I did everything I could to do the best I could.

My advice to you is your at a point where you realize what's wrong and you have the opportunity to fix it and make it the way you would like it to be. Once you start putting the finishes on you would have a harder time to change things. I have ripped pieces off of mine to correct things that didnt look right and I am extremely happy I did because I don't have the what if I did this or this instead of just leaving this. The last thing I did was filling perlite in the enclosure. I had the plywood roof on and tossed up the idea and was like nah Ill leave it empty and then I thought what am I nuts I spent all this time and money working on this what's another few hundred dollars and a day of time and a little inconvenience of cutting the roof open and adding this. So glad I did as the oven can be cooked in with retained heat for 4 days. Not sure what it would have been if I didn't but I always would have been wondering what if I put that in.

It's a long reply bu I Hope this helps keep up the good work!

Ricky

[modified9v]

Well, looks like I may have painted myself into a corner. I kind of just kept going and forgot about going vertical for a chamber below the anchor plate. I can cast it up but there will be little space for volume of the smoke exiting the oven. Is this a problem? Should I pull a few rows and go for it again with the thought of building a larger smoke chamber?

Thanks, Mikie V.

[david s]

Question: Can I lay tile on the outside of outer arch for decoration? Worried that the heat might pop the tile off. Was hoping to use local tiles like the one pictured. Special thinset I suspect?

I was concerned about this problem the first time I attempted it too. Since then I’ve done lots with no problems, although in my design my outer decorative arch does not contact the flue gallery. It is separated by either 8 mm insulation at floor level, or by a similar sized air gap at the sides and top. This allows for free expansion of the inner parts of the oven and also reduces conduction to the outer decorative arch. Make sure you use a good quality outdoor adhesive (I use mono flex, but that brand may not be available in your part of the world). Also use glossy tiles which will clean off beautifully and a black grout.