Treehouse Pizza

[RandyJ]

david s yes there is a 2" layer of calcium silicate board. Then on top of that there is about 1" of castable refractory concrete to act as a heat bank.

Randy

[david s]

If a tile is covering a drain hole, just remove that individual tile. I presume you are placing some cal sil board over the tiles.

[RandyJ]

I went to home depot this afternoon and my son managed to find some tile sheets on clearance for $2.27 per sqft. I picked up 26 sqft as I believe that should be enough to cover under the oven. I take it the standard practice is to put the mesh facing up like in the picture. I am extremely excited as my kit is supposed to be delivered tomorrow some time. I can't wait to get started and have it start to look like something other than a pile of bricks and slobs of concrete

Randy

[Giovanni Rossi]

The smaller the tile - the more channels for moisture to follow. Some guys just use what's lying around. I happen to have had a lot of old mosaics on a shelf. I've even seen guys break up larger tiles. Just position them so the weep holes are not covered. Most tile stores have job leftovers or discontinued stuff you can get on the cheap.

Most builders here recommend the mosaic with a webbed backing laid upside down if using a v/p-crete insulation layer. The webbing helps support the insulation until it sets. The webbing is not as important since you're using CaSil board, other than it helps keep the small tiles separated.

[RandyJ]

Ok so here is a question about using tile under the oven. Does it have to be mosaic tile or could you use 6x6 or 12x12 tiles to the same effect? Just trying to find the cheapest route for the same effect.

Randy

[Giovanni Rossi]

Yeah, I used tiles because I thought the oven would be exposed. I wasn't sure at first if I was going to build a roof because my site was really tight and the base was built into a bank and I really didn't want the extra expense at the time. If you've looked at my build you saw that I placed a couple Quik-Tubes while I had access in case I changed my mind.

Each day I would roll back part of the canopy protecting my site and temporarily set the flue in place so I could dry out the oven before adding the final render. Then, I thought, why not do the same thing and have a pizza party. Well, it poured rain. That experienced sealed the deal and I started on the pavilion the next week.

I was still glad I used the tiles because I couldn't fit a large pavilion and it extends only 12-15" beyond the slab. It's only been through one mild winter but a pretty wet spring. I haven't noticed any water on the slab, but I can imagine blowing snow getting under the roof now and again.

If you're going to have a substantial roof you probably don't need the tiles. Either way, they don't have to impact the castable layer. If your tiles don't extend beyond the CaSil board, just place a few tiles around the edge and rest the castable form on them to get the proper thickness. In fact, after laying the tiles, FOAMGLAS and CaSil, I was about 1/8" out of level. I just adjusted the form to level before I screwed it in place. I had to use more of the refractory castable mix than the plan called for, but I had plenty because I planned to brick the keystone and not use the remaining mix there.

[RandyJ]

Giovanni Rossi did you do the layer of tile? I was thinking of skipping that. I figured that was going to make the castable layer on the floor to thin and was going to skip it as I plan to build a roof over the oven.

Randy

[Giovanni Rossi]

Those crates are efficiently packed. We unloaded ours on the driveway. It was amazing how much room it took up when everything was laid out. We moved the crate with 3 sides attached to a playhouse near my site and replaced the contents. That kept things more organized once the build started.

If you are using a layer of tiles, those weep hole blowouts actually make it easier to not block the holes and facilitate drainage.

[RandyJ]

Hey rsandler thanks for letting me know the concept will work. I really like how the diffuser Chanel works in the treehouse. It almost looks like it is lit with neon.

In other news I got the delivery reschedule and it will be dropped off on Wednesday sometime. Ben made it clear it was just a curbside delivery. I told him that is what I expected and was just fine. Don't get me wrong i would love for them to drive it right into my garage with a forklift but let's not get carried away.

Also I pulled all the forms off everything this afternoon after I got rid of all the leftover concrete. Fortunately there is a sight the recycles concrete very near by me and allows you to just drop it off for free. I don't want to admit just how many trips I have made there over the years. I also popped the weep holes through the surface of the slab. One blew out a little bigger than I was planning but I am sure it will be just fine.

Randy

[rsandler]

Re lights: I did something similar, albeit without the dado, on the underside of my enclosure roof, and really like it. A 16ft string of lights was more than enough light.

[RandyJ]

Hey Giovanni Rossi , I was also surprised they didn't have a way to get it off. I was not actually home when it got there my dad was. The rep from the shipping company called me back and was all flustered because the crate is 2570# and their abilities were either 2000# or 2500#. I sent a message to Ben and he called back shortly and apologized about the shipping issue. Fortunately we were not going to be home this weekend anyway so I was not planning to do any work on the oven. But I am really looking forward to starting asap. Hopefully it gets here soon so I can get going. My son has requested pizza for his birthday on July 2nd so I am hoping to have it cured by then. That means it will be a bit of a race to get it done in time. Granted that doesn't mean everything will be done probably but hopefully usable. I will eventually need to do a bit of a paver patio in front of the oven too, and build the pavilion and do stone work. But the sooner I get started the sooner I will be done. Hopefully I actually fully finish this one. The last one got to 99% and never quit got fully done. Granted my son was a baby at the time but...

Randy

[Giovanni Rossi]

Really strange. Not many residential addresses have a forklift available. My truck had a tailgate lift. However, it took 4 of us to get the crate up the 6' driveway apron to the sidewalk. The freight company said they only deliver to the street, but the driver offered his pallet jack and even helped us. There was no way it was going any further up the 20^o driveway! Had to break it down and move it brick by brick. It's impressive how substantial that crate is constructed. Too bad, you worked so hard to be ready to build when it arrived.

[RandyJ]

So close yet so far away. When the Simi showed up to deliver the oven they had no way to unload it. Oh well I guess we will have to wait till next week

[RandyJ]

So I have been thinking about what I want to do for lighting under the lean to pavilion that I am planning to build over the oven and just had the idea of using my table saw to dado a grove down the middle of the rafters and put some diffuser Chanel with LED strips in it. This is very similar to what I did to light my sons treehouse. Probably do 3 or 4 rafters on each side of the chimney. What does everyone think? Has this been done before? in the treehouse 8M of led is enough to read by and you can do cool colors and effects.

[RandyJ]

Now that the concrete has hardened up a bit I covered it with some heavy weight plastic sheeting. I plan to leave it covered for several days. The oven arrives Friday but I will just have to drag it all inside and then we will be leaving for the weekend. This prevents me from getting to antsy and starting before the slab is ready.