Thebadger Re Build

[thebadger]

Hi Everyone,

I'm back!

I finished my oven build in ~2008. We used it pretty religiously but got busy with life - kids, work, scout leader and we haven't used it in about two years. I'm still heavily involved with scouts (current scoutmaster) - my two older boys earned Eagle last year and my younger son is working on his. So I am still busy but with the recent sheltering in place I do have a little more time on my hands...

My oven fell into some disrepair mainly due to neglect/non use and some design issues on my part. The main issue was water damage on the insulated floor and the weight of the chimney on my first ever arch system. When I first started the build I was terrified of cracks. Cracks happen as long as it's structurally sound you should be fine. The key is keeping everything dry.

So, I tore down the front entry and cleaned out the disintegrated insulated board. Basically once the bricks stopped wobbling I stopped removing.

Here the plan
Install new insulated board just to the first arch in the dome

Install perlcrete for the remaining part of the landing as this will support the entry/chimney

Install a new brick floor
Install original oven arch
Use angled rebar to support the chimney vs. the brick arch to avoid collapsing arches in the front entry since I'm not a masonry professional :-)
Place 3-5 weep holes up through bottom of the supporting 4" concrete pad and just into the perlcrete layer. (I have 2 inches of insulated board sitting on 3 1/2 inches of perlcret)

Here are some post demolition picks. I'll do my best to post pics as I go along.

Thanks
Dick
aka thebadger

[RandyJ]

Good luck with the rebuild. I am getting ready to build my 2nd oven.

[thebadger]

Hi All,

Making progress...

• Cleaned out old fire brick and disintegrated fiber board - basic demo until things stopped falling on me.
• Drilled weep holed in the base underneath up into the insulation
• New Fiberboard (but switched to perlite/cement) on the landing to support the chimney
• Re used a lot of the hearth bricks as they were in really good shape
• Re built oven arch and tied it into the dome
• Built landing, outer arch and decorative arch
• Went with rebar supporting the chimney vs. my arch as that cause me problems last time
• Re insulated with some salvaged blanket plus some leftover blanket.
• Started the perlcrete insulation.

Next Steps...

• Finish the perlcrete
• Base Stucco to smooth it all out
• Apply Stucco-flex (very expensive but hopefully worth it). It's an elastomeric stucco that "stretches"

Gonna start some small curing fires this weekend hopefully.

Thanks
Dick
aka thebadger

[GreenViews]

Great ideas on the perlcrete for water resistance and support under landing. Also the weep holes. You drilled from under table up into your board?
I read you tell someone else the idea of placing tiles under the CaSi board. maybe I'll try that. Just poured my table top tonight first build. Question on the perlcrete: so the portland degrades with heat, but on other side of brick and because it is quickly insulated by the perl / verm it holds up well over time? I had been reading various sources, some of which suggested wet fireplace mortar or powdered refractory mortar as substitutes for portland, but that could get expensive fast. Anyone report long term degridation of portland in v/pcrete layer that you have seen? Other mixes I saw included sand and fireclay, but that would work against the insulating properties.

[thebadger]

Hi Greenviews.

I like the powdered fireclay - Heatstop 50. I haven't had any issued with heat and perlcrete since I don't expose anything directly to it. Water has been my main issue.

Thanks
Dick