42" In South GA

[david s]

After doing all the initial slow fires you don’t need to go right back to repeat them if the oven gets wet after heavy rain. Just a couple of long slow fires are sufficient. Most ovens are out in the weather. We live in the tropics and the oven can get wet just from the humidity in the atmosphere. A slow fire the day before seems to do the trick. I think you are over worrying the issue. Do you have a drain hole(s) through your supporting slab to allow under floor insulation moisture an exit path?

[edonovan]

david s yes, I am/do over worrying…it’s something I tend to do…my wife loves it lol …I also tend to “overbuild” things…I have weep holes and my cal si board is on busted up tiles, so it has a way out…it’s more through the stucco and perlite layers and like you mentioned the humidity. In my head I know it will be all right…I just…you know double check. Lol… thank you for the insight about just a low slow fire the day before a cook if the oven has seen a lot of rain, that’s what I was thinking and hoping.

[david s]

As an addendum to my previous answer, if the oven is wet and I am only cooking pizza for the family or doing a roast, I wouldn’t bother doing the slow fire the day before. Only if I was planning on having a fair number of people around. The oven will still operate ok, just not quite as efficient.
Normally the outside of the oven will be just cosy warm during operation. When that cosy warm has spread down to the base, the oven is ready for pizza. If the insulation is moist however, it will feel hot to the touch on the outside.

[MarkJerling]

....;now letting this bad boy dry out for a week or so before painting it!!
....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?

Looking good. I'd advise against painting too soon. Let it dry out of a good few weeks or at least a month. There will be a lot of moisture in the construction. I left mine for almost a year before painting it.

Yes, moisture gets in, but I find that it simply means that you need to make a "slower - longer" fire to dry things out for cooking. Keeping moisture out was a problem until I made my "outer" door as I had some wind-blown rain getting in before.

[edonovan]

Looking good. I'd advise against painting too soon. Let it dry out of a good few weeks or at least a month. There will be a lot of moisture in the construction. I left mine for almost a year before painting it.

MarkJerling I am going to give your name to my wife …I don’t know that she can wait that long for my tarps to be thrown in the trash LOL…I think I can give it 2 and half weeks before the “big reveal” party. (Which we were hoping to have it painted for, but could possibly convince her we need to wait if it is better)… You think I am “trapping” a lot of moisture in the stucco if I do it that early? I am just doing a good exterior paint…not a “waterproofing paint”

And yes I am reading up on doors, and deciding if it is something I want to tackle myself or find a local fabricator. I have been wanting to teach myself how to weld….could be an excuse to buy a welder.

[MarkJerling]

MarkJerling I am going to give your name to my wife …I don’t know that she can wait that long for my tarps to be thrown in the trash LOL…I think I can give it 2 and half weeks before the “big reveal” party. (Which we were hoping to have it painted for, but could possibly convince her we need to wait if it is better)… You think I am “trapping” a lot of moisture in the stucco if I do it that early? I am just doing a good exterior paint…not a “waterproofing paint”

And yes I am reading up on doors, and deciding if it is something I want to tackle myself or find a local fabricator. I have been wanting to teach myself how to weld….could be an excuse to buy a welder.

Hahaha. Your wife and my wife can compare notes! LOL. Yes, I'd advise against painting so quickly. Think about how much water you put in the plaster and then consider that most of that water is still in there.

I own a welding machine but have not yet learnt to weld so my doors are screwed and riveted. My "inter" door is insulated properly while my "outer" door is not designed to handle heat. It simply helps keep moisture out the oven. My wife was very happy once the ugly blue tarps were gone!

[UtahBeehiver]

Depending on how you construct your door and how it is insulated will impact how effective the door works, as far as metals aluminum/copper are not a good materials to use, very high K value, carbon steel is still high in K values, then SS is the least K value of common door metals but requires a tig to weld. You want the metal to be as thin as possible to reduce heat transmission and door weight. Some builders have used wood fronts with metal backs, not quite as durable as all metal. Leftover ceramic blanket or CaSi is commonly used to insulate the door but should be fully encapsulated to avoid food contamination. If the temps are low enough, wood doors are possible, but prone to charring and require rebuild and replacement. There is a thread out there on doors, so do a quick search.

[david s]

While stainless has a lower thermal conductivity than most other metals it warps badly with heat which can create sealing problems against the oven mouth. The thinner it is the greater the problem.

[Stlavsa]

MarkJerling I am going to give your name to my wife …I don’t know that she can wait that long for my tarps to be thrown in the trash LOL…I think I can give it 2 and half weeks before the “big reveal” party. (Which we were hoping to have it painted for, but could possibly convince her we need to wait if it is better)… You think I am “trapping” a lot of moisture in the stucco if I do it that early? I am just doing a good exterior paint…not a “waterproofing paint”

And yes I am reading up on doors, and deciding if it is something I want to tackle myself or find a local fabricator. I have been wanting to teach myself how to weld….could be an excuse to buy a welder.

wait If you are using acrylic paint it should be breathable and you wont be locking in moisture?

[Stlavsa]

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

Wish I would have seen your post regarding this an hour ago. Just ordered some 1" copper pipe to construct a vent with china cap like this:guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqBkNOTdnUk

I do think there is some benefit to having the vent at the highest point of the dome as well, I think it would be wise to incorporate your idea as well

[edonovan]

I am almost speechless at the fact that I am pretty much done with this build (other than a door and some finishing touches). Cooked about 22-24 pizza's this weekend for my wife's birthday! Tarps were able to come down for the day, and I did even order some clear tarps to make her tolerate them slightly better MarkJerling. We obviously are going to wait a good while before painting and let the stucco dry out...but I was able to get my countertop guy in pretty quick. Felt bad for him, he couldn't use his fancy laser for this one.... But The finished product and the extra usable counter space is priceless!...I will post a couple finished painted picture once that is complete, but wanted to say thank you to everyone that has commented and guided along the way! You guys are awesome!! Probably will have some questions, as always come up, but I know where to come.

Thank you UtahBeehiver , MarkJerling, david s , Gulf, SableSprings, mongota, JRPizza, Baza , NCMan and everyone else.... thank you!!

[MarkJerling]

You've done a beautiful job - well done! And your granite guy has done some pretty good work too!
Enjoy!

[UtahBeehiver]

You made it, as you cook more and more the oven performance gets better and your learning curve gets steeper. Can't remember if you have a door yet, a well insulated door will allow you to extend your cooking. Now the new journey starts as you explore what these ovens can do. If you want to see a composite of non-pizza cooking, go to Karangi Dude's thread on cooking.

[JRPizza]

Love the big screen TV. That's something my son has been wanting me to put under our shelter for Football season. Nice job all around!

[SableSprings]

Awesome build... Truly eye candy for your guests, wife, and you ( ).
Love the kiddy wagon for hauling out the wood!