42" Pompeii construction in Adelaide

[david s]

G'day All,
Back to something a little more familiar today, brickwork. Completed the decorative arch and after considering different methods I ended up using mortar and laying like the rest of the bricks.
Great idea from David S, got a garden moisture meter to check on the vermiculite and after just 3 days there was only the slightest indication of moisture in one probe hole, the other 2 showed no moisture at all. I should note that the dome brickwork was completely cured and dry when the insulation was applied. The dome was completed 2 months ago, I've run a full set of curing fires and we don't know what rain is here.
Anyone have any tips on how to get a nice round shape when applying render on the dome?
Regards
Greg

It is difficult to avoid tooling marks from the trowel when completing the render layer. If you damp sponge the surface when finished it removes pretty much all of them. I always wrap the whole oven in cling wrap to retain moisture in the outer rendered layer for a week. It does a brilliant job in this regard as you can see little beads of moisture under the plastic. Anything made with portland cement can have its strength enhanced by retaining moisture, particularly for the first week.

[P3 Stoaker]

G'day All,
Tom and Baza, apologies for the delay in reply, I'm away with work at the moment.
Tom, thanks for the comments. I can't recall where you ended up getting to?
Baza, my understanding is that the vent is there only to vent the space between the outside of the dome bricks and the render or top coat. At best, with a dome that has minimal cracks and doesn't allow heat through, the cavity comprising the insulation will still become quite hot and that air will expand. With an outside oven such as mine I've attempted to seal the cavity with the render coat preventing ingress of water and if I have been successful then that space will require relief from expanding air. In the event of dome cracking allowing a little hot air from within the actual dome through to the insulation space then the vent becomes even more important. That's just my thoughts and understanding.
How did I do it? I've seen plenty of pictures of devices others have used but in the end I didn't find anything and it was time to get on with it. It was just normal plumbing components I used. Both ends are stuffed with steel wool to prevent insects etc entering and blocking airflow. The inside end is simply against the bricks and the metal plate was used to allow the assemble to be screwed into the insulation. Its of course not "solid" but as long as its not loosened by hitting it or similar I think it will be ok.
I don't have a finished photo of the back to show you.
At one stage I was hoping not to paint the dome but its a concrete render and somewhat porous. A bird has already done a huge black shit on it, probably specially prepared, so I will paint when I get home, as well as finish the area immediately in front of the entry. Following that all I need is doors on the front of the base and an insulation door for the oven.
Regards to All.
Greg

[Baza]

Thank you Greg,

Very grateful for your tutelage and time.
I should have spent more time scouring the Forum before asking my questions - that people have so patiently answered.

The vent valve makes complete sense to me now.
I understand it is meant for domes enclosed by some form of rendering to remain igloo-shaped and not housed in a dog house (like mine will be).
I get that the steam produced will exact outward pressures that could be devastating - and therefore need to escape - got it.

Given my build will end with a housed enclosure after wrapping the dome in blanket and filling the enclosure with loose vermiculite.
My reading of the Forum suggests that a vent for such an assembly is unnecessary save for ventilation grates in the housing for air flow and moisture escape.
At least that is what I'm going with!

Thanks again Greg - you give as much support as you get in this space
Take care and be safe - final stretch mate!
Barry

[Savvas]

...I have prepared 75mm (3 inch) of calsil board to have under the oven floor, so hopefully sorted there.

Hi Greg,

Can I ask, where in Adelaide did you find your calais board please?

Ta, Sam, Semaphore.

[P3 Stoaker]

G'day All, been over 12 months since I've logged on, time flies. The oven is going really well and turning out some great pizza.
I've made some doors for the base brick work below the oven that turned out quite nice. I'll post a few pics and info soon in case anyone is thinking similar, or to provide idea's generally.
Regards

[P3 Stoaker]

G'day All,
Not much progress of late but I thought to share the photo's/idea's of the doors I made for the base brickwork. I was after the matt black metal look and whilst the rivets are solid and do actually hold the metal sheet in place the main reason I used rivets was for the look. The frame is angle, 40x40x3mm simply welded, well not really simply as due to the fall on the concrete the doors are square and parallel on the top and sides but the concrete and therefore the doors slope to be taller towards the left. I didn't want big gaps so the manufacture of the doors had to be precise. I used concrete screws to secure the 10x40mm flat bar to the brickwork and had previously drilled tapped holes to mount the hinges. The latches were all made as well and if you look closely the latch handles are in the shape of a slice of pizza.
I'm really happy with the way the doors turned out but believe it or not I performed well over 1000 hole drilling actions so it wasn't a quick process. I'm sure some will wonder how it was this many, for example the 35 rivet holes per door meant 35 pilot holes, 35 finish holes and 35 times each side to chamfer the holes. Of note, chamfering was in addition and was also well over 1000 times.
I've just started planning the thermal oven door so I'll get a few pics of that up over the next few months.
Regards

[MarkJerling]

Very tidy! Nicely done.

[UtahBeehiver]

Plus 1 on Mark's comment

[fhausback]

Thanks for sharing, I like your doors a lot, and got inspired to tweak my plans. I’ll need to find where the heck to buy real
rivets.

[P3 Stoaker]

G day fhausback, I imagine rivets should be readily available, I think your in the USA, a sheet metal place or aircraft maintenance even better if you have access. My dome heads are normal aluminium and the countersunk are stainless, just what I could get a hold of. Initially I tested an alloy rivet hammering it on a metal bench but the head deformed too much so I borrowed a cupped tool made for the job. The doors were simple, took about half hour to rivet once the holes were drilled and chamfered. The latches on the other hand took some time, both design and manufacture. Any questions just let me know.
Kind Regards