36" Corner Build in Minnesota

[MnDude45]

JRPizza - Thanks for the question and attention to detail. I had a couple of reasons. 1) I figured that, over time, some of the wood and kindling would get pushed further and further back and didn’t want to end up crawling way back in there to clean it out 2) i wanted to make sure i over built and supported the main mass area under the oven. To your point, my main wood stack is directly behind where i took the pic so its not a long haul to restock.

Coincidentally, i was just reading your post from “Dreamer turning to do-er” re: figuring the placement of the front arch and template. I may have further questions on that subject as I'm trying to figure out the final layout before pouring the hearth/counters. I’m having trouble figuring out the distance from the center of oven to the front of the landing. I may need to cantilever the hearth/counter out from the base by 2-3 inches.

[JRPizza]

I like the arch! Just wondering why you blocked off your potential wood storage area? I didn't start out keeping much wood under the oven but now I really pack it full and it really reduces those trips out to the wood shed, especially when the weather is crappy.

[MnDude45]

I pulled the forms from the base arch on Monday (after 48 hours, Thanks David). They turned out better than expected. Moving on to laying out the hearth/counters.

[MnDude45]

david s - Thanks, I was thinking 24-48 hours based on what I read but wanted to here it from the forum. I’ve got it covered with a pop up now and plan to keep it covered until I can complete the hearth/counters.

[david s]

I’d be giving it 48 hrs before stripping the moulds.Also try to keep it covered for a week to hold in the moisture. This will enhance the strength.

[MnDude45]

I was able to get the arch on the base poured today. Any feedback on when to try to remove the plywood forms?

[MnDude45]

I’ve messaged with RandyJ a few times and he has been very helpful. The people in this forum have always been very open and helpful. I will lean on them greatly in the coming months.

[UtahBeehiver]

Nothing wrong with a simple IT but it must have several key design components built into it to be effective, ie pivot point at floor level and not offset either horizontal or vertical, adjustable, line from pivot point to center of "L" bracket must hit mid point on dome brick. Randy J in Maplewood? is a good resource for design and material resources. He is on oven number two

[MnDude45]

Baza - Thanks for the comment. I tend to agree with you on the “keep it simple” part. There’s already enough complexity in the build. I've been toiling away on the base and hope to share some progress soon. I’m working on designing and building the forms for front arch of the base.

[Baza]

MnDude45 - you've really laid out quite a start, mate! Looks good - Utah has given you great advice (he always does!) on some key elements of your build. I will say, though, I toiled over the complexity of IT's on this forum (people welding and such) - couldn't do it and favoured something simpler (BUT - at floor level!!). Depends on if you are flattening your dome as you go up or making a consistent hemisphere. If flattening - then you have to find a way to make it adjustable, if not and you keep a consistent radius - the IT can be pretty simple.

Great build start! Plenty of wonderful moments to come - excited for you!
Barry

[Sixto]

Congratulations MN dude, you're way ahead of me, looking forward to following your progress. I just unloaded 260 fire brick and am digging my own foundation pit in Minneapolis. It'll be a while before I'm ready to start my own thread, in the meantime, reading as much as I can to learn the do's and don'ts shared by other builders like yourself.

Sixto - Seward neighborhood, Minneapolis.

[RandyJ]

MnDuden't wait to see this come together. If you have any questions or want someone to stop by and check out what you have going on let me know. I would love to take a look at your oven. Once it is done i have a buddy that is a executive chef that loved to cook in my old oven and i am sure would be game for cooking up some good eats.

[UtahBeehiver]

Same deal with your IT, it is really important that is is configured right, ie pivot point, adjustable, L bracket at end. I have seen both welded and non-welded version that work well you just have to poke around the forum but here is an older version of one that has most of the critical design factors in it. Note, I would use a wood block the size of the floor brick to insert pivot point.rather than mount into ply (see Gulf's build). The goal is to get the pivot point at floor elevation.

[MnDude45]

RandyJ - Thanks for checking back in. It’s starting to feel real. Based on your suggestion, I have reached out to Smith-Sharpe for the bricks, fiber board and blanket. Will go down and pickup when I get closer to that stage. Stay cool this week, gonna be some more scorching days ahead of us.

[MnDude45]

UtahBeehiver - I appreciate the detailed question regarding the transition as I have read several posts about the trouble people have had on the topic. When doing the initial sketch I was mainly focused on the height of opening and where I thought it would intersect with the dome. I will work up a better sketch to provide this view. What other factors or ratio would you be concerned with? Thanks!