36" Pompeii in St Louis

[plastered]

Finished the dome vcrete on saturday, and I'm basically done with the chimney and masonry as of today. Will peel out the foam around the flue liner and seal with high heat RTV silicone caulk in a few days once the bed of mortar dries.

Does anybody have recommendations on how to 'clean' the bricks -- get rid of the grayness on them? I tried hosing them off and scrubbing with some vinegar water. These bricks look really beautiful when wet, and I would love to treat them with something to make them shine.

I will begin the curing fires sometime this week I guess. Then add the gasket thing on the dome and begin the stucco. Will need to learn how to do stucco as well this week.

Feels good to clean up the yard a little and dispose of all the brick chunks and put away the masonry saw/tools.

[plastered]

Here is my finished chimney, with closeup of the caulk I used to separate the flue liner from the mortar. I sealed the top mortar with a general concrete sealant I found at Lowes (Quikrete brand) Lowes. I had to find the caulk at Ace HW, as Home Depot, Lowes, or Menards didn't carry anything like it. Here is what I got if anyone is also trying to figure out what is needed.



Started my curing fires, this is fire number three around 400F at apex of the dome. Using mostly charcoal and twigs to maintain the temps. Chimney draw is fantastic. Will likely start Stuccoing this weekend. I also went to GI Metal and spent a small fortune on pizza oven tools .

[plastered]

Built a basic door today based on Greenmans build (non weld). Cost about 80 bucks for the aluminum, angle, and screws. Stuffed it with leftover ceramic blanket insulation. Not the prettiest work, as the blanket pokes out on the corners but it'll do.

Question, can I treat the cedar exterior of this with an oil or some sort of finish?

[plastered]

Stucco done, with breather vent hole. Will probably just paint the stucco for now until I figure out what finish materials I want to apply to the concrete stand/dome. I can't decide on a stone veneer or brick for the bottom...

[mongota]

Nice progress!

Might just be my browser, but I'm not seeing your door pics in the previous post. I just get white outlined boxes with no images.

[plastered]

Finally put up the brick veneer this weekend. Bought the Old Mill Brick singles/flats (mixed the following style/colors: Boston Mill, Cafe Mocha, Columbia Street, Independence - link to home depot). I applied them to the concrete using thinset, and then tuck pointed them with regular mortar.

Wasn't planning on putting bricks on the backside, but ended up with enough leftovers to do it. Not sure how they come up with their sq footage coverage estimation, but I bought way too much based on my calculations. These bricks are crazy expensive, but they are real brick and they look beautiful, and I'm happy they matched my real brick. I used fancy corner pieces along the front corners, and did not use them on the back (which I will never see).

Nice and cool out and I didn't need any power tools. I didn't even measure anything, eyeballed it all. It was fun learning to tuckpoint and by the last wall I had it down.

Now I just need to figure out some sort of counter top.

[plastered]

Finally installed a countertop. Real countertops are expensive, so my building supplier recommended this stone which was about $80. It was easy to cut, and I like the irregularity of it.

I think I am done for the year, I still don't know what to decorate the dome with, but it is fine for now.

[Baza]

plastered WOW! You have been doing fantastic work - and figuring much of it out yourself! This is one of the very cool things about this project - we have the good folks on this forum - but at the end of the day - you have to leave the coach and go in and do it ... and you did great!

Wondering about a couple of things - I'm not completely clear about the vent hole - I see many with it, but not sure why (to release moisture? If so, did all the folks that built them without this now have moisture problems in their domes?); and,
Stucco in St. Louis - doesn't it get cold there? Will stucco hold up under that cold? I'm in Canada, to be fair, and will expect a freeze/thaw cycle so am closing mine in completely (kinda sad about that). Anyway - wondering what your thinking was about this decision?

Thanks - I've really enjoyed this build and the results are terrific - your first-time approach has inspired me a number of times.
Congrats
Barry

[plastered]

Baza thanks for the kind words. I dont really know how this all came together so well either... I hope it inspires others as the builds here inspired me.

For the vent hole, I dont really understand it either, but its what some of the smart people on here suggested. I guess if water starts to get inside there is a way for it to escape. It was only ten bucks so hopefully it amounts to something. Time will tell. Realistically I won't live in this house for more than a decade so I will likely never know.

Yea, it gets cold here. I stucco'd it because thats what everyone else does. I have no idea how it holds up in the elements. I have zero experience in that realm, should I be worried? Maybe after this first winter I'll realize that I have to enclose it.

[Baza]

HA! I find myself just doing a few things too - "just because" really smart people on this forum know stuff!
Probably a good idea to keep with this.

I'm just worried about this best practice working in an oven enclosed completely in its "doghouse" - can't get in to open/close valve regularly - so am I at a disadvantage? Or, like builders before - will it go on merrily cooking in spite of not have one?

As for the stucco thing - I just know that homes around here that have been stucco'd when it was the thing to do for builders - over time (about 5 years or so) the stucco suffered in the freeze/thaw cycle - that could just be shoddy workmanship ... which clearly isn't an issue with YOU!

So - yeah, I think you are taking a good approach seeing how it goes and making decisions thereafter - I'll be watching and learning as always!!
Barry

[Ope-dog]

Hey Plastered... I've really enjoyed following your build and appreciate taking the time to post pics of everything! I agree.. the irregularity of your counter top is a nice touch. Did you use mortar or adhesive to mount the stone to the concrete base?

Also, the door pics from an earlier post never seemed to load. I'm guessing your mounted the wood to a metal backing, then fashioned a strip of metal around the arch to form a curve/cavity before stuffing with insulation?

Definitely a good-looking oven for sure!!!!

[plastered]

Ope-dog -- re-attached my door pics for you, sorry about that. Yep, just made an aluminum box essentially and filled it with leftover CaSi blanket, screwed some cedar to the front.
I asked my building supplier what to use and he recommended regular mortar for the stone.

Baza - The valve is open all the time, no need to manually open or close it. I'm sure you'll be fine without it.

[plastered]

I put together a nice pretty timelapse on Youtube if anyone wants to see the whole process
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiYE...ature=youtu.be

[Chach]

Nice job on the oven and video!

Ricky

[MarkJerling]

I put together a nice pretty timelapse on Youtube if anyone wants to see the whole process
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiYE...ature=youtu.be

That is so cool! Nicely done!