Treehouse Pizza

[david s]

Hi Randy, I'm not sure what sort of wet grinder you have ordered, but if it's anything like the one I have, you will find it inadequate for large countertops. Mine is basically a 4" angle grinder with a waterfeed in the centre, a tap to control water flow, a variable speed control and a safety switch. It has 4" removable velcro diamond pads that go from 50 to 1500 that are really easy to change.
I use it to polish decorative arches for ovens and it does a graet job. However, trying to do a whole counter top is quite different. The largest oiece I have done previously was around 1/2 a square metre. When I started on my larger countertop (1.8m2) it very quickly became apparent that the 4" wet machine was just too small for the job. I ended up hiring a larger machine which was 7" from memory. Unlike the wet grinder, which makes a hell of a mess, it was a dry Hilti grinder with a large vacuum attachment. Being dry there was no wet mess to cope with and the vacuum did a fantastic job of removing all dangerous dust. Apart from the smaller machine just taking way too long, it also has the diadvantage of not being able to get a really flat surface. The smaller discs tend to dig in and you get a slightly wavy surface whereas the larger machine maintains a perfectly flat finish. After around two hours with the larger machine I was then able to finish the job with the smaller machine starting at about 200 and gooing down to 800. It all takes some practice and you'll have some fun.

[RandyJ]

Well I ordered my chimney parts several weeks ago and had been sent a bad link for the shipment. I figured it would show up eventually. This morning I started going through all the different tracking numbers I could find and eventually got one to work. Turns out it had been delivered a week ago to our old house.

I had a sinking feeling worried about weather or not it was still there. Luckily I am working very close to there. I told my boss and he said go check it out and I did. Fortunately they were home and said they had it in the garage. So she helped me load it up and I now have all my chimney parts. I am excited to get them home and make sure I didn't miss anything.

I also ordered a wet grinder this morning from Amazon. I completely destroyed my sander last time and figured getting a real one was a better idea. So I still have the pads from last time and this comes with a set as well. It will be fun to get that started as well.

Randy

[RandyJ]

Well I managed to get the counters all poured. My guess was roughly 20 to 21 bags of concrete needed. I ended up mixing 22 bags. There was close to 1 bag left as waist that most of wich was stuck to the inside of the mixer. So my guess was very close over all.

The 5k mix was very stiff and I am super glad I also rented the vibrator. That made getting it into place possible. It would have been impossible to just screed it into place and tap the edge of the form to get the air bubbles out.

I didn't get any pictures as I covered the slab with plastic. I am excited to get the forms off and see how it turned out. I know there is a few spots that will need a bit of slurry but what ever. That is just part of the game. I am looking forward to getting the render on the dome. And to starting to grind the tops down and polish them.

Randy

[RandyJ]

Hey AJH thanks for the response. I am planning to build a pavilion roof over the top of the oven. So I am not overly concerned about the oven getting to wet. I suppose it could happen but not a major chance. The base of it will be 8' x 12' and the roof will be about a foot bigger in all directions so it should be pretty well covered. I am planning to start that very soon and the plan I found claims that you should be able to build it in a day. Seems a bit quicker than I expect but still it should not take too long.

Randy

[AJH]

Looking great so far! Little worried about water pooling up under the insulation if you pour the counter all the way around the oven. Hopefully you have enough weep holes to let it out, or give it a good seal to keep water from getting in there in the first place.

Saw an earlier post that you went to Hudson and it made me laugh... I grew up in River Falls and had family in Hudson that we would go visit all the time when I was little. Been gone from there now for about 40 years.

[RandyJ]

Well I have not gotten much done this week. It was either raining or I had other things that I had to do. We'll it is the weekend again finally and I managed to finally get my counter tops all formed up. I was originally thinking of getting some of the fancy plastic forms that snap away but prices led me away from that. I just couldn't justify the price of everything that would be needed. So instead I am going to pour roughly 2.5" thick on average. The edge is 3" thick and i am under the 1/2" cement board all the way around. I cut some wire panels to use as reinforcement. I used a 1x4 for the bottom as I had it sitting around from a different project that I didn't end up using it for. So 12' boards worked nice so I didn't have a bunch of splicing to do. I connected everything with my kreg jig so it was easy to attach and will be easy to take apart.

I am planning to go rent a cement mixer in the morning and a vibrator for the counter tops. I also have all the cans of pigment sitting here ready to go. According to my math I need roughly 20 bags of mix and I have 24 on hand. I also have 24 cans of charcoal color pigment so I can do a 1 to 1 mix. The concrete is a 5000psi mix so it should be pretty solid once it sets up. I have shims under all the legs to hopefully help with removal. I also took the form work out from under the oven and there were no surprises so that is good.

let me know if anyone sees anything bad because I am planning to go for it in the morning if nothing changes.

one picture for size reference.

Randy

[Toiletman]

Wow RandyJ you are working at hyperspeed! Great progress again man. Can't wait to see how the countertops will come out.

[Giovanni Rossi]

Hey Randy, I continue to marvel at how quickly (and well) you are building while working full time!

I hear you with that flue gallery! I couldn't get my son on site that day and I knew my wife didn't have the fingertip strength to help. For others facing that, I was able to sit it on the arches myself. I cut a length of 2x4 to fit in the gallery and used a bottle jack to lift it clear, placed the mortar and eased it down into the mortar bed.

The short answer is that I did not push the oven to full temp until I had some perlite layers on. But, my situation was a little different...

I did not have the perlite layers on when I started the drying fires. Initially I was bumping up against potentially freezing weather when I finished the dome. Maybe it was my inexperience, but I was concerned about moisture in the brickwork with a hard frost. I draped two layers of blanket over the dome and took the peak to about 300^oF over a couple days to try to dry things out a bit. I removed the blanket and tarped the oven for winter. It snowed the next day.

When I resumed in spring, I added the blanket layers. I then restarted Ben's drying sequence just to be safe. I wasn't concerned about temp differentials in the dome because I had 4" of blanket.
I probably got the peak to 600-700 and did a few pizze. Then, I added 2 layers (~1.5") of the perlite insulation and did a full temp firing. Here's where I had a little trouble. Again, my situation was unique, but you can see how I handled that in my build.

[UtahBeehiver]

Plus one on David's comments. BTW what a fast build, one of the benefits of a kit over a scratch build.

[RandyJ]

Hey david s thanks for the response. I will have to check what it is that Ben had to say for that part of the build. I was always planning to insulate the oven before I fired it. . That is actually what I did after I finished the vent this evening. I got the 2 layers of ceramic wool installed and cinched down with tie wire and a layer of chicken wire. I did not manage to use the supplied silicone to seal the waterproofing system down. It got to late and I was tired. Hopefully it doesn't rain and I can get after that one day soon..

I will have to get after the counter tops framing here soon and then get them poured. That will be the next big push.

Randy

[david s]

I finally got around to laying the front vent arch this morning. It went together very nicely. I mixed the mortar a little wetter than I had been and everything squished out very nicely and allowed me to get everything together and even. Once that was all together I got impatient and finally broke down and called for a bit of help to put the vent into place. I was just not certain I could lift the thing into place by myself without bumping anything. Luckily with a friend's help I lifted the vent into place and got it all mortared in. It feels very good to have all the brick work donenow. I just looked back and I am almost 20 days ahead of last time at this date. I am hoping that I will make my deadline. I know it doesn't really matter but gives me a reason to keep pushing. Now according to the directions I need to wait for a full week to start the curring fire's.

Giovanni Rossi did you have the pearllite layer on for all your curring fire's? Or should i plan to have all that done before i start any fire's?

Randy

You wouldn't want to void the manufacturers warranty so their instructions should be followed. But, as there have been numerous reports of new unisulated ovens being fired to dry them out and resulting in cracking of the inner shell you should be cautious. The reason is that the difference between the inner surface of the chamber and the outer surfaceis far greater if the oven is uninsulated. This temperature difference ican lead to thermal shock and is part of the reason you should wait a week. Both sun and wind on the oven before insulation will do a lot to remove a lot of the water. This drying week of course depends on your weather conditions.Once the insulation layer(s) are on the difference between the inner and outer surface temperatures is reduced providing a much safer environment to reduce thermal shock.

[RandyJ]

I finally got around to laying the front vent arch this morning. It went together very nicely. I mixed the mortar a little wetter than I had been and everything squished out very nicely and allowed me to get everything together and even. Once that was all together I got impatient and finally broke down and called for a bit of help to put the vent into place. I was just not certain I could lift the thing into place by myself without bumping anything. Luckily with a friend's help I lifted the vent into place and got it all mortared in. It feels very good to have all the brick work donenow. I just looked back and I am almost 20 days ahead of last time at this date. I am hoping that I will make my deadline. I know it doesn't really matter but gives me a reason to keep pushing. Now according to the directions I need to wait for a full week to start the curring fire's.

Giovanni Rossi did you have the pearllite layer on for all your curring fire's? Or should i plan to have all that done before i start any fire's?

Randy

[RandyJ]

There was a little gap in the rain this afternoon when I got home so I quickly got the othe side all cover in hardie board. Now that that is complete I will need to do a little trimming to get everything nice and tight. I think I am going to try to convince my son to crawl into the oven and fill the few voids in the brick that are there. And wash it off to get it all cleaned up. I kept pretty much everything clean as I built so no big worries there so pretty much just clean what we smear on.

Once that is done then I will go after the vent archas that is my last bit of masonry work left on the dome. I can also start on the insulation after that is on too. Not that I have the cement board on that's the next big push is getting it insulated so I can put their water proofing system in place and then pour my counter tops. the stone i think we are going to use will be about 1-2" in thickness so i am thinking I will do a 3" overhang all the way around.

Randy

[RandyJ]

Ok I managed to get a bit more done today. I finished cutting all the metal studs and got it all screwed together. It really surprises me just how solid these wings are. I realize that they are anchored on 2 sides into concrete but still. I am not sure I could budge them even if I put all my weight into it. And that was before I started putting the hardie backer on to it. That stuff is so heavy and dense it is unreal. Hopefully I will get a bit of time tomorrow to cover the other side and maybe put the front vent arch in place. And maybe the vent this weekend if I can get a bit of help. Once that is on I need to hammer out the insulation so I can get ready to pour the counter tops and start on the rendering. A few days after that I will be able to start the curring fires. I am also going to have to pick out a mini fridge and make a final decision about the stone veneer. I am about 99% sure I will end up doing the same kind and color as last time. Then build the pavilion and consider what to do for a walking area in front of the oven.

Randy

[RandyJ]

Sorry UtahBeehiver I had not ment to cause a issue.

Well I have managed to get a little bit done on building the countercounters. I am almost done building the first side. I wish I had a better way to cut the metal but I am making the grinder work. The studs are to thick for a tin snip they are feeling very solid so far. I want to put a few more quick bolts in but shot some 3/4" ramset nails in to pn it down.

Randy