36" Pompeii in Chicago

[Chef_Marsh]

I have officially started on my first WFO build; no longer researching and lurking on this forum. I am not a contractor and tradesman; although I have worked with concrete and other miscellaneous build projects. I do have a culinary degree and grew up working in pizzerias, so I am excited to get cooking! I am a big fan of this website and the opportunity it has given myself and others to fulfill a dream. Thank you all who have posted your builds and questions.
I am building a 36" Pompeii style WFO with a kitchen including a Argentinian-style wood grill and refrigerator and garbage. So far, I have just poured the foundation and it turned out great! I rented a mixer from Home Depot and mixed 76 60# bags of concrete. Took about 4 hours with the help of my wife. I put non-metallic conduit in two different spots, and placed rebar in the corners to tie in the stand. This week I will let the foundation cure slowly and likely start the stand towards the end of the week. I was anxious before; however, now that I have finally started I am really excited to continue.

[Chach]

Congrats on the start! Now your journey begins like the rest of us lol. Where abouts in Chicago are you? I'm in the SW Burbs. Just a heads up about on your PVC conduit. Good thinking on putting those in your probably going to use them and it looks like you have 1" PVC there. The thing is those "T" fittings really are not made to be buried in the ground as the seals can break down and create issues down the road I would use a box suitable for burying with a cover that is above grade
or you can use a few 90 degree bends and turn them up and mount a pvc box on a post or unistrut pounded intothe ground. So far looks pretty good and don't forget to ask questions tons of knowledge and help on here.

Ricky

[Chef_Marsh]

Thanks Ricky! I am in the SW burbs as well, Frankfort. Thanks for the tip about the T fitting. I will look for something more suitable.

[Chach]

Thanks Ricky! I am in the SW burbs as well, Frankfort. Thanks for the tip about the T fitting. I will look for something more suitable.

No problem! your not far at all I'm in Lockport almost the border of New Lenox.

[Chef_Marsh]

Wow, you are close Ricky! Your build looks awesome! Loved seeing your pics!
More progress this weekend. I took Friday off and got the first course laid out and leveled, then started build up. I had some 3" angle iron which used to span the width of the opening. I cored out the middle of the concrete blocks to fit. Thanks to dbhansen for the idea! I noticed my level was way off crossing the span so I leveled off the forth course, then poured every other core.
The next day I cut the rest of the concrete block for the rest of the kitchen and constructed the hearth form, then poured the structural hearth. It started to rain during my pour, but wasn't too bad so I was able to finish. Turned out pretty good. Now on to insulated hearth.
Question: I put 3/8" tubing as weep holes in the hearth as suggested by other builders. Do I keep the holes coming through the insulating layer? Or just pour the perlite/concrete over the holes?

[dbhansen]

Looking good!

[artistadimattoni]

Hello! I am in the process of building a 36" Pompeii in Central Illinois near Champaign! I have the foundation and hearth built, which I did last fall. I am almost ready to start with the oven bricks, but I have some issues with the insulating layer. I had a couple of cracks coming from the side into the middle near the front, and some hollow sounds underneath the front 12 inches. After some angle grinding to investigate, I am not sure how far to go with grinding and chiseling the insulated concrete. It seems like the freeze-thaw in the winter may have caused some issues. Should I take a sledgehammer to the insulating layer and re-do the whole thing, or keep grinding until I hit solid space? I'm just not sure if how solid the insulating layer should be.

[Chef_Marsh]

Hi, I can provide my opinion however you may get a better response posting in a different area; not my lowly build post sitting in the corner.
I don't think the insulation layer was meant to be exposed to the elements. I would grind out the bad areas and try to patch, then try to complete the enclosure by winter. This assumes the majority of the insulating layer is solid. Since this is the layer your actual WFO will lay on, I would try to make sure it's as solid as possible. Just my 2 cents. Good luck!

[artistadimattoni]

Thank you!
I agree, and I'm still figuring out this forum. I ground out quite a bit more of the top layer, and I patched with rebar to tie it all together. I think you are right about not exposing the insulated concrete to the winter.
Good luck with your build! I'm about ready to start laying the floor after the patch cures a few days.

[Chef_Marsh]

Built and poured the surrounding layer of concrete for insulating layer. Thanks GianniFocaccia for the idea! It's not as pretty as yours, but did the job.

[Chef_Marsh]

Striped the forms and poured the insulating layer of perlite and concrete. It worked out pretty good. I used 4.5, 1 cu ft bags. The perlite I found at a local nursery. The guy looked at me like I was crazy when I bought that much perlite.

[Chef_Marsh]

I started mocking up the oven floor. I got it all layed out, and tried to shift it a bit so I didn't have so many little triangles. I stopped when I got to the arch transition. I needed to think a little bit more about how it will lay out. I am looking at a 36" floor, with a 19" inner arch width and 23" outer arch width, with a 1.5" reveal. I plan to do a full brick soldier course on the insulation layer like Dino_Pizza did (see last pic). How far in from the inner arch do I start the first soldier brick? I have circled in red in my second picture. From what I can tell it's about 2-3" but it's hard to tell.

[UtahBeehiver]

Have you made any allowances for water to get out of the pcrete basin, ie weep holes. Water has what I call sneakosity and will get into the basin and saturate the pcrete making it lose it's insulation efficiency.

[Chef_Marsh]

Hi Russell, Yes I have placed 3 weep holes in the structural layer of concrete.

[Chach]

Thank you!
I agree, and I'm still figuring out this forum. I ground out quite a bit more of the top layer, and I patched with rebar to tie it all together. I think you are right about not exposing the insulated concrete to the winter.
Good luck with your build! I'm about ready to start laying the floor after the patch cures a few days.

There should not be any rebar in the insulated concrete layer as the metal expands and contracts with the heat and cold and creates cracking. Also the high temperatures deteriorate the metal much faster. Start yourself a build thread and ask some questions. The last thing you want to do is put all your time and effort in and make a mistake you'll regret later. Now is the time to rectify and put yourself in the right direction.

Ricky