42" build in Michoacan, Mexico

[towersurf]

Thanks for the advise Russell. I used a spacer bar to tie into the arch and that really helped a lot to establish the correct height. It took a while and many cuts to finally get the gaps to a minimal size but everything fits pretty tight. My last two bricks that tie into the inner arch are longer then I would have liked but it didnt seem right to split them into two pieces each. TDC of the arch is about 1" below the level of the top of the 5th couse. Is this filled in with mortar or should I cut a 1" thick small piece of brick for this area? Here is a photo of how it looks right now.

[towersurf]

Completed the 5th course and inner arch today. Using a spacer bar helped keep everything level.

[towersurf]

The fire clay I ordered online at Mercado Libre still has not showed up so I continue to use mud from the brick cuts in my home brew. Seems to work fine if I sift it through a very fine mesh screen. I had my doubts in the beginning if I would have enough mud from the cuttings but so far I havent run out. Each night I clean and dry the mud from the mud tray.

[JRPizza]

I still can't get over your incredible view!

[Chach]

I still can't get over your incredible view!

I agree! Just showed my wife and we both are in awe.

[towersurf]

I still can't get over your incredible view!

Thanks guys. I cant wait to finish and start cooking outdoors.

[towersurf]

Today I finished course 6 and pass the inner arch. It was kind of nice to finally be able set a full course and lock it in with its keystone. Its starting to get tight inside the dome so Im thinking about spending a day cleaning the inside while there is still a bit of room to move around. How do you guys clean up the mortar on the brick faces? I was thinking about using a wire brush but wanted to see if there was a better way. Here are some photos of the progress as of this afternoon.

[Chach]

I just used a sponge and water after I was done for the day. Try a sponge and water and see what happens. You can try a small square trowel to scrape it off. Key is don't let it sit on there and wipe it off when y our done for the day or after your confident the brick are set you dont have to scrub it when you get it early just wipe with a sponge rinse the sponge wipe again wala

[modified9v]

For clean up I used vinegar and water with a sponge that had a scrubber side and sponge side. I kept that bucket fresh. It was still a problem for me as the mess got inside the nooks and crannies of the brick face. I just couldn’t get that clean and in the end it gave me a hazy white tinge color to the whole mess. And ya, it becomes more of a pain to clean as that dome closes in. I spent a lot of time on my back cleaning.

[towersurf]

Thanks for the tips on cleaning. I got most of it clean with a small trowel. Progress has been slow this week. My Mexico car permit was expiring so I had to drive up to the boarder to renew it which set me back about 4 days. Yesterday and today I was able to lay course 7, 8 and some of 9. I ran into problems with a broken IT that I had to reweld and several mistakes on cutting angles for the courses. I was following the spreadsheet of brick cutting angles but had to cut several bricks smaller then the dimensions. What I didnt realizes is that the angles on the speadshhet only work if you cut the bricks the exact size. Needless to say, I did alot of cutting over the last two days. After getting through that learning curve looks like course 9 will be pretty close to the angle spreadsheet dimensions. Here are some photos of progress as of today.

[modified9v]

Nice and tidy. Looks great. I hear ya on the permit. We are full timers here in Baja but we don’t have residency. Our visa are good for 6 months... they are going to expire soon. The immigration offices are closed due to the pandemic and we are not sure what the heck we are going to do. I guess we will just shelter in place and make pizza.

[towersurf]

Today I finally got the dome closed. The last course was too difficult to set with the IT so I used a supported piece of round plywood under the bricks to help set them. The problem with this is you cant see how the bricks line up to the course below on the inside. I was worried all night that it would'nt look good but when I removed the plywood in the mornoing it looked fine. Spent today measuring, cutting and setting the two piece keystone. I probably should have done a two piece horizonal set but at the time it seemed like the two piece vertical set would be stronger.

[towersurf]

Now that the dome is closed I need to figure out how to do the chimney. My plan was to order the Duratec SS pipe and have it sent to our home in the USA and drive it down to our home in Mexico however with the pandemic and lockdowns going on our plans have changed. I also considered using a clay flue but cant find them anywhere in Mexico. If you guys didnt have access to these two materials how would you do the chimney?
Thanks
Brian

[UtahBeehiver]

Nice work on the closure. Very well crafted. You could look around at a welding fabricator that may have access to a single wall SS pipe. Being on the ocean I would think there are some suppliers of 316 SS or marine grade SS pipe.

[Mongo]

Very nice work! Are you allowed to get in the water? I'm losing my mind here.