Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

[Les]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

Scott - I'm not familiar wit the term of "face cord". A quick google tells me it's 1/3 of a cord. We pay around $300 here for a full cord of oak, so $75 for a third sound like a good deal. It comes down to location and what grows there. They build houses out of mahogany in Roatan

Les...

[smuth10]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

A face cord is 4' high by 8' long and 16" deep. I could have gotten it for $60 if I picked it up but I do not have a truck anymore. It was all oak, maple, cherry and ash. Pretty good wood from what I can see. We will see how it burns tomorrow.

Mahogany aye! Man, I love that wood. I used to build custom stairways for a living and very few people could afford mahogany... if you could even find it. I guess we are stuck with Eucalyptus and Bamboo now. I am all for green woods, but I do miss some of the endangered woods.

[Neil2]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

A cord is 4'x4'x8'

I use a bit over 1 cubic foot per firing for my 40 inch.

A cord of douglas fir/alder is good for 100 or so firings. I pay $150 a cord so that works out to about a buck and a half a firing.

Note: most wood used for firewood gives out about the same number of BTU's per pound.

[smuth10]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

I was able to finish up the framing and cook our first pizzas Friday with the neighbors. They turned out pretty well. The dough was a little sticky and I don't think I let the oven heat up quite enough. The first two pizzas cooked really well and then the floor seemed to cool down pretty rapidly. The floor went down to about 550 after I moved the coals back. I am sure it will take a little while, but I will get it figured out.

My composite slate shingles should be in tomorrow so I should be able to get started on the roof. Good thing because I am getting tired of having this tent over the oven. I am having 20-25 people over for pizza and drinks this Friday night, so I am going to have to do some practicing this week. Any tips would be much appreciated.

[bbell]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

Scott, congratulations! Pizzas look great.

I've learned a couple of things... I can't let the dough or uncooked pizza sit on a peel for too long or it will stick. We just make one at a time and feed them into the oven. We let everyone make their own but constantly remind them to keep moving the pizza on the peel (a little shake back and forth). I now keep a much larger fire going while cooking pizza. I think it's the waves of flame up and over the dome that radiates heat down and keeps the hearth temp up.

Have a great time on Friday!

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

Scott, very nice 1st pizza's! Your enclosure looks good. What did you use for securing the durock or cement board to the steel studs? I bought the durock screws that bit into the durock and refused to go thru the studs so it pulled the durock away from the framing. Then they chewed thru the durock when they finally grabbed the steel stud. Really frustrating. Did you use plain drywall screws?
Thanks, dino

[smuth10]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

Thanks Bill and Dino. I was planning on just moving the fire to the center now and then to heat the floor back up, but I may just do as Bill suggested and keep it in the back and keep more wood on it. What floor temp is the best for cooking pizza?

Dino, I used the Durock screws that Lowes carries. They worked great. I usually just gave it a good push once I hit the stud and it pulled real tight.

I worked on the oven for about 12 hours today. I am beat, but I got all the cedar trim and fascia done as well as the roof sheathing, drip edge, flashing, felt paper. I also put some lights in the front overhang and put up the scratch coat on the front. I screwed up the spacing on the lights and didn't realize it until I had it all up. Oh well, it should work regardless. I was hoping to finish most of it before my party on Friday, but it is supposed to rain the next 3 days of course. I am so ready to be done with everything. Here are a couple of pics of the progress.

[MK1]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

Most people use wafer or pancake head self drillers for steel studs. HD has them. They have a point that looks like a drill bit. The head is rather flat.

Mark

[smuth10]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

I used those for all of the steel work, but decided to use the durock screws to attach the durock to the studs. I guess either would work well.

[smuth10]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

I was able to get a couple more things done on the oven before the party this past Friday. I had about 30 people over and we made 26 pizzas. Everything went pretty well and we had a great time. Such a good time in fact I completely forgot to take pictures. Way too many Belgium beers I guess. Here are a few pics of the cedar shake and stone I was able to finish.

I want to use a thin stone on the front of the oven, but I don't want to use tile. Anyone have any suggestions?

Made a sweet potato casserole and some blackened tuna with a rub on it tonight. Just outstanding. I love this thing. I may just build a place for me to sleep out there. Calzones on Wednesday.

[mfiore]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

Scott,

Returning from vacation. Your oven is phenomenal! congratulations!

[smuth10]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

Well the oven is finally finished. I took a bit of a break, but I just finished the stone work and tile front this week.

All I have left now is the door. I started cutting out the blanks from some 16g steel I bought, but I do not have a welder, so I need to find someone to weld it for me. I would really love to build one of the glass doors I have seen on here as well. I would like an insulated door for baking bread and the glass one for firing it up. I think it would retain the heat much better and take less wood to get it up to temp. Anyone have an opinion on this?

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

Scott, Your WFO looks fantastic! I really like the 2 types of stone. They compliment each other well, adds a lot of character. The trim around the opening is nice too. Did you put a concrete stain on your counter? It looks darker now than earlier pics.

I'm thinking of pouring my concrete shelf. It looks like it would be your size, maybe just wider but I'm not very confident about my abilities at pouring a concrete counter. The foundation and oven base are covered and only needed to be flat.

How hard was it to make the counter smooth? Are you happy with the surface? Is there color in it? Have you ever done finish concrete before (read: do you think I can do it?) Sorry about so many questions, but your finished oven is inspirational.

Thanks, Dino

[smuth10]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

Thank you Dino! I am glad it is all done. I have read on here how hard it is to actually finish when you know you can cook in the oven anyway. It is very true. Hard to stay motivated.

I decided to pour the concrete counter top to save money. I was going to do granite, but I am very happy with the concrete. I just made the mix a little watery and used a mallet to tap around the sides as I shoveled it in. I had a few holes when I took off the forms, but they were easy enough to fill by hand with some type S mortar. I did use a colorant and you can get them at home crapo. I was not happy with the color when it was done so I just took the extra I had and added it to some water and brushed it on there. I then took a porous stone sealer and sealed the stone, counter top and tile front. I think it turned out really well. I did have to do 2 coats on the counter top as it soaked up the sealant pretty quickly. I think mine is 13" by 58" and I used just under (2) 80lbs bags of concrete.

I have never done concrete ct's before and it was not difficult at all. I just added a little extra water to help keep the air out and make it easier to smooth out the top. I had quite a bit of re bar in there and I wasn't too worried about weakening the mix with extra water as it is not structural.

Have you decided what you are going to use for your finish? I am anxious to see the slate roof and copper trim. Chop, chop!

[mfiore]

Re: Smuth's 36" Pompeii Oven

Scott,

I'm in love with your WFO! You must be delighted with how it's turned out.

I also like the stained concrete counter. Did you pour the concrete to go right up against the firebrick, or is there a barrier of some type?