East London pizza oven and grill

[Neil.B]

Got more done today. My back is killing me as I have little room to work in.

[Neil.B]

Bit more done at the weekend.

[Neil.B]

Also trimmed up the inner arch brick to try and be inline with the 3rd row.

[russ randolph]

Looking good. Great idea with the time capsule. Also like your design. Look forward to seeing it complete.

[Neil.B]

Looking good. Great idea with the time capsule. Also like your design. Look forward to seeing it complete.

Thanks Russ.
I wish I had thought of the time capsule before, it was a last minute thing and a bit wasted. It should be interesting for someone to find in years to come.

I'm looking forward to it being finished too, as it's all in my head

[Neil.B]

Had a result today...600ltrs of (new)vermiculite for £30. Amazon sell it for £40 for 100ltr.
Should keep me going for a while.

[Neil.B]

Got the inner arch and a few more bricks laid today. Took the arch form work out straight away.

[Neil.B]

Few more bricks laid today. Couldn't get much done as i can't bend over for long due to bad back and it's to tight a space to stand up
First row above inner arch. Each arch brick was cut to match the row of bricks.
Not perfect, but I'm happy.

[Ope-dog]

Hi Niel B... your build is looking great! I have noticed your IT seems to be a bit more simplistic than other ITs I've seen people using on this site. It looks like you have the hinge mounted to the center point of your oven. Overall, I'm thinking of copying the design you're using as well, but I was wondering if you expect to encounter an offset issue when you get to the final few rows of your dome, or do you plan on "winging" it once you get high enough and the offset issue won't come in to play?

Cheers!

[UtahBeehiver]

There are a couple issues with this design that should be addressed. First the center pivot point is not at the center of the dome, this will affect the diameter of the oven as you move up. Second, most important of all. From the pivot point (center off the oven at floor elevation) along the IT rod "Needs" to intersect the mid point on the brick face, This ensures that the brick face in perpendicular to the center of the oven with the correct tilt, if not the error is cumulative as you move up throwing off each course face more and more. Third, IT rod length should be adjustable.

There are some simple IT out there, just make sure these three items are incorporated in the design.

[Neil.B]

Ope-dog Thanks. The IT has worked perfect apart from you can't keep going in the same direction as there is a bolt screwed in to the base. So you have to reverse around the direction or it will either tighten or unscrew if you don't reverse.
some of the IT's on here are amazing but very complicated, mine is very basic from bits laying around.

The main issue and the reason my build isn't perfectly round is my cutting skills. I used a piece of string to create the circle for the template, then didn't cut very well with a jigsaw, then the cooking floor didn't have perfectly flat edges. This might not sound a big deal but there is about a 1" difference in one part of the circle, where the row meets the inner arch.


UtahBeehiver The IT is offset as I added a bit of timber between the length of metal and nail. I done this after completing the first row.

[Ope-dog]

Hi Neil B! Thank you for putting up more pics. I also appreciate that you've included a few pics that show sections which didn't live up to your expectations. I'm confident that most DIYers have many projects where all we can focus on are the short-comings, meanwhile most folks probably just look on in amazement at the project and how well it turned out. My thought is this.. if I wanted a perfect oven, I would've ordered a kit and put it together. But anyone can do that! Anyone can stroke a check and have a perfectly installed " X,Y,Z " in their yard. Along with no hard work, sweat, blood, uniqueness and a sense of accomplishment. And it will look just like their neighbors, and their neighbors, etc.

One thing I truly appreciate on this site is that even though most folks are building a brick igloo.. they're all different to some degree. "A Rock and a Hard Place" is a fantastic example of this. It's also very encouraging that most people also do like you did, and that is share their experiences, both good and bad. A 1" discrepancy in the build, especially with your design, will no doubt never be seen (unless an WFO expert comes and sticks his head inside your oven!) and will certainly not change the taste of the pizza, I'm sure. :-)

Your space and pics are great. I am excited to see your overall project upon its completion. Thanks for sharing!

[Neil.B]

Ope-dog from my own experience I would say keep it as basic as possible, I spent so much time trying to cut the arch to match up with the row of bricks, many on here just build an arch then cut the bricks to fit, I wish i would of done the same as some bricks took about 2 hours for one brick due to the multiple angles.

On the other hand, others spend days designing and building an IT, mine took a couple of minutes... and i can take it apart and re-use the hinge and nail (not knocking anyones IT, some are very impressive)

Looking forward to seeing your build too.

Neil

[UtahBeehiver]

I am all about the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) but the design whether simple or complex still needs to incorporate the three key design criteria I mention early for the IT to do it's job properly.

[Neil.B]

UtahBeehiver are you giving guidance to anyone new reading my thread or saying mine won't work?
Mine isn't adjustable (unless you undo the duct-tape) but so far would of worked if i had taken my time with cutting the template and cooking bricks.
Until I get to my last course of bricks I won't be 100% sure, but like many other builders I doubt if I will be using it until the end.