42" In South GA

[Gulf]

3/8" is just fine imo. The ID of the bushing allows for a larger opening when the vent is not inserted. I leave the vent off during the initial drying fires. The bushing in the pic is for a 3/8" vent and is made of brass.

[Sixto]

Gulf so very little pressure towards the blanket…gotcha.
Different question…having a heck of a time finding a breather vent that has been discussed in other builds, especially a plastic one…I’d love to stay away from metal....

Won't plastic melt? I'm making mine out of clay, sort of a sculptural upside down cup over a smaller spout that breathes out vapor and sheds rain. Sixto, Minneapolis

[UtahBeehiver]

Most auto supply stores or the Big A store carry what are called hydraulic breather caps with plastic ones around 10 bucks. The plastic will not melt, it is not exposed to high dome temps since it only needs to penetrate to the outer layer of the ceramic blanket.

[edonovan]

UtahBeehiver and Gulf Thank you…I ordered one from the Big A store and picked up the metal one from my auto parts store and just see which one I like better both from a cosmetic aspect and function and ease to lock into some chicken wire under my pcrete.
trying to get my supplies together for moving along as I do finish one part and me being under a bit of a time crunch for having it aesthetically ready for my wife’s birthday in early August . Anyone use drylock for a “waterproof” paint over their stucco finish? Good? Bad?

[Gulf]

........I ordered one from the Big A store and picked up the metal one from my auto parts store and just see which one I like better both from a cosmetic aspect and function and ease to lock into some chicken wire under my pcrete......

I advise the plastic. In case there is an accident, of some kind, it could break away without causing damage to the oven's outer shell. Plastic can be painted for cosmetic reasons imo.

The vent itself is not usually locked into anything. The receiver (a 1/2" to 3/8" bushing) is. And, it should be locked into the stucco layer. Note my pic in post #182. In that pic, this design, is just laying on top of the perlcrete. The mesh can be securely embedded in the stucco layer. The receiver is locked to the mesh with two 1/2" electrical conduit locknuts.

[edonovan]

Gulf The bushing/receiver does run down to the blanket and you just lay the pcrete around it though correct? And I agree with your feeling on the plastic, thank you.

[UtahBeehiver]

Seems like one of the old timer builders used DryLock, maybe Les from Reno or Lake Tahoe area. He said it worked great for the snowy climate he is in. But it could of been an elastomer stucco too. Can't be sure, you might have to blog search.

[Gulf]

Gulf The bushing/receiver does run down to the blanket and you just lay the pcrete around it though correct? And I agree with your feeling on the plastic, thank you.

No. Not the way I do it. The Bushings that I use are not long enough to reach the blanket through the v/pcrete. In my opinion the vent should be as high as possible to allow for moisture to escape via steam or evaporation. I leave a large hole through the v/pcrete at the apex of the dome. My trademark size is that of a 12 ounce Budweiser lol. I use a full can as a form when applying the v/pcrete. The hole is later filled with blanket scraps. So, actually, I bring the blanket up to the receiver. The screen wire in the pic keeps the stucco from reaching and plugging the opening of the receiver. The mesh underneath the screen wire was cut to fit the opening just as a little extra support. I hope this helps

[david s]

Another alternative to having an exposed vent at the top of the oven is to ask moisture to exit through the flue pipe. By drilling a number of holes in the base of the flue pipe that is surrounded by insulation, moisture will find its way to the base of the pipe and exit with the smoke. See pic for explanation

[edonovan]

Quick clarification question…I’ve read that the pecrete takes a bit to dry…I did my drying fires and have cooked pizza, I was hoping to cook pizza again this weekend but was wondering if I should wait to continue with my pecrete layer till after I cook? Basically do I need to go through another drying session once the pecrete layer is on? Or am I good to go to pizza temps even if I have laid the pecrete?

[david s]

If you've got the blanket layers on it's fine to go for another pizza cook up.

[edonovan]

david s Thank you, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to hurt or crack my pcrete…I know to wait about a week until I stucco, but wasn’t sure about having a good fire in there once the pcrete was laid.

[edonovan]

Ok, well my first “eyeballed” layer of pecrete was definitely too wet…measured the rest of it out and yes slightly more challenging to handle, but got the hang of it and got in a groove!! Pecrete finished!!! Will let this dry out and hit the stucco layer.

[edonovan]

After a bit more research and thinking about the “waterproofing” I decided against Drylok, couple reasons…after reading other threads and the “if you are locking it out…then you are locking it in” didn’t sit right with me from a moisture perspective (still doing a vent)…and Drylok is not very friendly with UV, and the right side of my oven, even though it is under a roof, gets blasted by the morning sun. So I am going with valspar exterior flex-shield 365, it is 100% acrylic which from what I am reading is good for weather and UV…As I said above, the oven is under a roof, but a good sideways rain will get that right side pretty good.

[edonovan]

Well, I definitely am not the best shaper…but not too shabby for a novice stucco-er… left a plastic drop cloth over this for 3 days to get nice and solid…now letting this bad boy dry out for a week or so before painting it!!
Hope to get some granite placed in to have level counter tops throughout…he stopped by yesterday and will get back with me about how close he thinks his installers can get due to my sub-par shaping and them having to bevel the stone pretty good to leave as small of a gap as they can. I guess if I need to build up the bottom 4” of the dome so the stucco is a bit straighter then I can have a better fit stone around the dome, and a smaller joint line.
I do have a question for those that have an oven out in the elements…mine is under a cover/roof but corner build and I am in the southeast…good summer thunderstorms will drive a little sideways rain, and my wife is counting the minutes for me to get rid of my blue tarps…and I think I may cry the first storm we get and the oven gets rained on. My question is what to expect after a good storm? Obviously, some moisture will find its way in…but does that mean I need to do a whole drying fire or just go slow as I come up to temp? Or will I just notice that it takes a little longer to heat up?