42" in the Upstate of South Carolina "Southern Hospitality"

[Doodbird]

As I said in the "Introduction" section, I would like to begin by thanking everyone who contributes to this forum. I have been lurking here and collecting material for years. I still have so many questions on the actual build of the oven, but I feel as if I don't get the ball rolling, I will continue to go back and forth on ideas.

The WFO will be part of the outdoor kitchen that we are building. The current pad is 20'x24'. I am on staff at a church, and we host people weekly (Bible studies, Men's Group, Staff gatherings...), so we have decided on a 42" oven. I am still conflicted on several of the details like a "thermal break," the type of material to use on the "dog house," the type of insulation for the oven floor, and so on.

The plan is to have a 42" oven with a brick squirrel tail chimney. The oven will be covered with a dog house. One end of the gable will be part of one of the outdoor kitchen's walls.

We are planning to build a fireplace as well. With this space eventually being covered with a hip roof to match the house, my mind is spinning with all the details.

I will place a rough drawing below to explain the layout. The serving area location is still up in the air as well. We may shift it to the wall adjacent to the WFO. This will depend on the oven/range/griddle combo that we end up with. The serving area will be attached to the wall with the door leading to the garage. This is where I have water, gas, and a drain line currently.

With my schedule, this will not be a quick build. I want to say thank you in advance for any help that is offered as this build progresses. I will try to take pictures and post updates, but this is my first build. Your suggestions are welcome.

I hope to start the oven pad in a week or so. Our area got 6" of snow yesterday, so we need a few days to recover. In South Carolina, a couple of inches of snow is equivalent to a couple of feet of snow in some of the areas that I was stationed in when I was in the Air Force.

Because He Calls,
Miles

[Gulf]

Miles,

I'm glad to see that you have started your build thread. I am going to include a link to your Introductions thread. I liked the oven name "Southern Hospitality". It would have been nice to see it in the title of this thread. I'm also going to quote in a post from you to me, add it here, and answer it here to keep continuity.

Gulf,

The plan would be to put the fireplace at the end of the pad (across from the door to the garage). We would pour a pad for the fireplace, and the hearth would be on the current slab. I️ am toying with the idea of building a heat chamber (much like a steel fireplace insert except with brick) behind the firebrick and adding a fan system. Lots to think about there…

I have found with my outdoor fireplace that you can't heat an area. I have a tall "Rumford style" so I can throw out the radiant heat to back folks up. but, if it is very cold, they are still cold on the other side. On very cold days it has been fun to watch folks turn like they are on a rotisserie. Or someone will say "somebody's done" . I have found that the fireplace works very well for ambience on cool days and evenings. The blower may help some?

Do you think working the oven would be too tight in that corner after the roof and screen walls are added? I’ve never loaded, turned, unloaded, or cleaned an oven with long handle tools.

Before you pour concrete footers and slabs for you oven and fireplace, my advice is to draw full scale drawings (templates) for your oven and fireplace. Include all the dimensions for their foot prints. And include the thickness of your side walls and screening. From that you will know what room you have in "the real world" to adjust your forms.

If we place the oven there, I️ think we will do a squirrel tail chimney. I️ need to research to see how much weight the dome can handle. I’d like to do a brick chimney.

If you are doing an enclosure, I'm not sure why you would want to complicate the build? That style is done mostly by folks (doing igloo style ovens) who like the look of the chimney/flue directly in the apex of the dome? If you do an enclosure, I don't see the advantages of complicating the build.

[Doodbird]

Gulf,

Thanks for the reply. I️ will work on a to scale drawing…at least for the oven and pad. We haven’t fully decided on the fireplace dimensions, The fireplace in our living room is 10’ wide (pic attached). The 93 year old gentleman that we bought the house from collected these rocks and built the fireplace himself when the house was built in 1985. The hearth is a little low, but we like that we can fit several people on it during our Bible studies. We are leaning towards a 3’/4’/3’ (wood storage, firebox, wood storage) for the outdoor fireplace.

I️ ‘m not familiar with posting on the forum. Can I️ edit and add the oven name to the title? Or can a moderator add it? I️ totally Forgot to add “Southern Hospitality” when I️ started the thread. I️ guess that I️ ‘m not too far along if this isn’t possible. I️ suppose I️ could copy and paste to start a new thread and request that this one be deleted…?

Eventually, we are hoping to have the thick clear vinyl over the screen in the winter. That is why I️ am thinking about a heat chamber of some sort, and I️ have extra materials to play with. I️ fire up a Ready Heater every Thursday morning in the winter to heat the shop up before the guys show up for breakfast. My hopes are that circulating the hot air from the fireplace will help bring the temp up some. We too have had “rotisserie people” at our fire pit at the last house. I️ have been one of those people…burning on one side, freezing on the other.

I️ am opting for a squirrel tail chimney for two reasons. One is to help out when it comes time to add the roof. I️ will already have the fireplace chimney to work into the hip roof. I️ really don’t want to have to worry about a second one. The second is that I️ like the look of a stand alone chimney. I️ may even add a twist if things go well. With the dog house, I️ feel sure that it will not be hard to add metal above the dome to help carry the load of the brick. I️ will have to extend it rather high to get the proper distance from the roofline.

Because He Calls,
Miles

[Gulf]

Beautiful fireplace! The oven that I mentioned in your introduction thread will have a heavy duty drawer style trolley that will be installed in the oven's wood storage. It can be loaded from outside the screen room and unloaded from inside. It will service the oven and the fireplace. The guides and rollers for it will be fabricated from used garage door rails and new nylon rollers.

Yes, if you are building an enclosure, you can use steel lintels to help carry the weight of the chimney over the dome. Though, If it were me, I wouldn't. I would just build the chimney straight up as normal. I think that you may find building a squirrel tail much more labor intensive than flashing a second level of roof.

PS: I will add "Southern Hospitality" to you build thread title

[Doodbird]

Thanks for adding the oven name. I️ have seen the idea of a sliding drawer on someone’s build. I️ had planned to add a drawer, but I️ didn’t think of the capability of loaded outside…thanks! I’ll give the chimney more thought.

Because He Calls,
Miles

[Doodbird]

I have seen a few builds in South Carolina, and if I remember correctly, one was in the Greenville area. We are building in Powdersville. This is located between Greenville and Easley. Not too far (25-30 minutes) from Clemson for those who are not familiar with the area. I am not ready to purchase yet, but I wanted to see if anyone was able to procure their insulation without having to ship it. I am still up in the air on the floor insulation, but I do plan to wrap the dome with a CF blanket.

I'm not sure if I will get a reply from a local, or semi-local, so if anyone has a suggestion, I am all ears. Thanks in advance.

Because He Calls,
Miles

[Gulf]

Distribution International has 3 locations in South Carolina. .They list Piedmont, SC as one of them. You may also do a search for "refractory materials" in your area and come up with some other vendors.

Good luck on your search

[Jack808]

This is great, thanks for the link.

[Doodbird]

Thanks Gulf. I️ will check with Distribution International. Piedmont proper is about 15 minutes away. I️ have a Easley address, and a 1/2 mile down the road is where Piedmont addresses begin.

I️ haven’t broke ground yet. Our temps are still pretty low at night, and we are still drying out from the snow and the rain over the past two weeks.

On more than one occasion, my dad and I️ have been called Sanford and Son. I️ ought to get that out early in this build. Many of the materials that I️ will use will be recycled. At our last house, I️ ‘m sure that we stored enough metal, brick, and block to cause an upset of the earth’s rotation. Most of the metal has been sold. Most of the brick has been moved to our current house, but I️ have a hundred or so fire brick and most of the concrete block stored at my dad’s house. I️ picked up 78 block, some of the fire brick, and my rebar stands and ties today. I️ would have brought more, but my van that doubles as my truck was sagging a little…well a lot. I️ also grabbed a few 2x6s to build the form with. I️ will attach a picture below of the overloaded van.

I had planned to buy a HF 10” wet saw, but I️ looked a FB MarketPlace and found what I️ hope is a deal. The guy wouldn’t split the saw package up, so I️ ended up with 2 Target 10” saws and a MK770 7” saw for $175. All 3 work well. I️ will attach a couple of pictures below. Excuse the messy shop.

I will try the blades that are on the saws, but if someone has a suggestion on a different blade, I️’m all ears.

I’m hoping to pick up rebar and build the forms next week.

Will 3/8” rebar suffice? I️ have found a deal on some, but I️ think that I️ should use 1/2”.

Because He Calls,
Miles

[Gulf]

That most probably a Great score on the wet saws! No advice on the blades at this time other than RTF. They may be quality blades and get you through your project. You may also be joining me and Russell UtahBeehiver in the forum scrounger club!

[UtahBeehiver]

Looks like you did good on the saws. You will use the 10 inches a majority of the time and with two you a good backup part supply. I preferred segmented blades because they were more aggressive in cutting yet you could still feather with sides of blade.

[Doodbird]

Thanks Russell. I was thinking the same thing (having a parts saw) when I bought them.

I will add a couple of elevation drawings (not totally to scale...especially the brick). I hope this gives an idea of what the plan is.

The oven template should be finished soon. After that, we need to acquire the rebar, and we will pour the base.

Because He Calls,
Miles

[NCMan]

I have seen a few builds in South Carolina, and if I remember correctly, one was in the Greenville area. We are building in Powdersville. This is located between Greenville and Easley. Not too far (25-30 minutes) from Clemson for those who are not familiar with the area. I am not ready to purchase yet, but I wanted to see if anyone was able to procure their insulation without having to ship it. I am still up in the air on the floor insulation, but I do plan to wrap the dome with a CF blanket.

I'm not sure if I will get a reply from a local, or semi-local, so if anyone has a suggestion, I am all ears. Thanks in advance.

Because He Calls,
Miles

Hi neighbor. I'm up over the line, south of Asheville. Welcome to the Forum!!

[Doodbird]

Hi neighbor. I'm up over the line, south of Asheville. Welcome to the Forum!!

Thanks NCMan! I️ really like the stonework on your build. Did you build a second oven/fireplace at the new place?

We haven’t broke ground on our build yet. We have had a ton of rain over the past few weeks. I️ have been working on gathering all of my materials to one location. The plan is for me to be out of the office next week. We hope to start then.

We had hoped to use slate tiles for the roof of the doghouse, but the sticker shock had me planning asphalt or metal. Last week, I️ ran across a deal on some old blue slate tiles. I️ had to take them all, way too many for this build, but I️ have less in all of the slate tiles than I️ would have spent for either of the other alternatives. I️ will post a picture below.

With being blessed with two saws, I️ thought it wise to set up a brick cutting station. I️ have a large rolling cart from an old junk deal, so the plan is to have both saws set up side by side on the cart. I️ still need to build the jig, but the thought is to use one saw for straight cuts and the other for angled cuts, All of this planning may fly out the window once the build starts. I️ have fabricated rubber washers and nylon spacers to allow some plumbing fittings that I️ had to form a drain to five gallon buckets that will be housed on the lower shelf of the cart. I️ haven’t bolted the saws down yet, but I️ will post a picture of the progress.

The rebar has been purchased, and we will get the concrete the day before the pour. We are looking forward to getting started!

Because He Calls,
Miles

[Doodbird]

Not sure what happened with the pics. Let’s try again.