Treehouse Pizza

[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 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

[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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[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]

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]

2” cal sil is considered minimal underfloor insulation, but you should follow the manufacturers instructions. However it shouldn’t be too difficult to add another layer if you want. I recommend two layers of 40 mm cal sil because that’s what is available to me.

[david s]

I brought the idea to this forum of having weep holes under the insulating board many years ago mainly because my design employs a recess in the supporting slab. This innovation has become quite popular now and works extremly well.I redesigned my supporting slab to accomodate more weep holes that locate to the dome insulating space. This also works extremely well. Moisture always wants to run away from heat. The drawing explains how it works.

[RandyJ]

david s I understand that 2" of calsil is the minimum, but on my last oven I went nuts and did everything to get extended heat retention and I never really used it. So this time I decided I was not going to go after that as it just adds to the cost and complexity of finding the materials.

As to the weep holes I can understand that it makes sense. I really don't want to have wet insulation. I have heard the horror stories of that. I am planning to build a Pavillion that will be 8x12 so roof is roughly 10x15 so that should keep most of the rain and snow off the oven but probably not all of it.

A big part of why I went the route I did was to keep myself from over thinking and engineering everything. If left to my own decision making it would take over far to much time and cost me far more money. I know this about me so I am doing the best to prevent it from happening. Just look at what I did to my sons treehouse. I know this kit gets good results and has good reviews and is built very similar to the Pompeii oven that I loved before.

Randy

[Gulf]

This what I came up with to make sure no drain hole was blocked by a tile.

[RandyJ]

Hey Gulf thanks for the input. How on earth did you manage to not have and blowout? Or did you drill down from above. I had the sleve only 1/4" below the surface and popped a 3" disk out of each. I was pretty surprised that it blew out that bad as it was just a light tap with a chunk or rebar. No hammer at all.

If I had not had the big blowouts I was considering doing what you posted. But as is will probably just cut the tile out above the hole and let it rideas it already slopes in pretty nicely.

Randy