Drake's 38" Oven

[DrakeRemoray]

I am going to start a new thread since I have graduated from stand construction to oven construction.

Here is my stand building thread

I laid out the arch profile and the hearth today.

I decided on a 38" oven with a 20" interior height and a 19" x 11.5" opening.

I have attached pictures of the arch and door layout that I mocked up as well as two hearth options (one has the herringbone pattern). I am not sure which hearth I will use yet.

I have not cut any (or many) bricks yet, so these mockups were mostly made with full size firebrick.

Drake

[jengineer]

Go with the herringbone

[DrakeRemoray]

I did go with the herringbone...

Here are some more pictures.

I rented a brick saw today, and after using my neighbor's tile saw to cut the pavestone patio and then using the brick saw for the firebricks. I say that the rental price was well worth it (around $65...Make that $165!!See the next post). It allowed me to make a single cut all the way through and cut much faster than a tile saw. While I had it I cut all of the dome brick in half. I will probably still use the tile saw for some trapezoidal cuts when I build the dome.

I am cutting it close on the sides as far as insulation space goes. I am planning to double or triple up the insulating blanket in the tight spots and I will probably have to cut off the top of some of the jbolts that I sunk into the slab.

Drake

[DrakeRemoray]

Turns out that the brick saw rental was more expensive than I thought. I wore 40/1000th off the diamond blade cutting all those bricks. That adds up to a $200 charge for the blade (ouch). The man at the rental store took mercy on me and charged $100. So the total rental was $168. I still say it was a good deal as it saved me several hours of cutting each brick twice with a tile saw.

Drake

[dmun]

yeow!

<blockquote> I wore 40/1000th off the diamond blade cutting all those bricks. That adds up to a $200 charge for the blade (ouch). </blockquote>

That's a very old practice, from the days when diamond blades were much more expensive than they are now, and not common now that places like HD are renting saws with no wear charge.

I just saw a brand new name-brand 14" diamond wet saw blade on eBay for 46 usd. Import way cheaper.

Always ask, and if they have a wear charge, go somewhere else.

[DrakeRemoray]

The home depots near me do not even rent a brick saw. Only tile saws.

[Les]

Drake,

This has been posted before - not the best, but it should work for a lot less $$$$. I think the blades are around $50.00.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46225

Les...

[DrakeRemoray]

Yes, I saw that. Perhaps I should have gone that way, but when it comes down to it, I chopped through all of the bricks I needed and setup my hearth in 1 day for $160 bucks. Could be worse.

Drake

[DrakeRemoray]

I dry stacked the first 3 rings and the door just to see how it would look. I am going to mortar it together this weekend.

Drake

[Fio]

You lucky [you know what! ] I would be able to do that this weekend, but we're going out of town. I have a new nephew that I must meet.

Have fun, and please let us know how it went so that we can learn from your experience.

[DrakeRemoray]

Cuts for oven opening

Hi All,

Here are the cuts I made for the throat/opening of the oven. I opted to put the bricks flat. It made the cuts eaiser and I think it will look better from the inside to see the short side of the bricks instead of the face.

Drake

[DrakeRemoray]

First 3 rings

Here are some pictures of the first 3 rings. I went a little crazy with the mortar. I have more of a mortar line on the inside than I wanted, but it is not moving now! So Fio, my advice, go lighter on the mortar. I also seem to have a tendency to mix my concrete products too dry. Once I finally got it wet enought it was much easier to work with. I may have to point in some more mortar for a consistent look.

Drake

[Marcel]

Rings 4 and up will show increasing mortar lines.

(M) Drake, your work looks fine! Don't expect this neat visual work to be maintained. As you increase in courses you will likely have more mortar visible. Thats OK!

(M) Do you plan to house your igloo? ___

Ciao,

Marcel

[DrakeRemoray]

Hi Marcel,

Yes I plan to finish the oven as a stone house. Like the attached picture.

Drake

[Marcel]

Consider a roof for your chimney

(M) I seem to recall having seen that schematic elsewhere. Did you previously post it? __

(M) If you hadn't planned on it, consider including some kind of roof for your chimney to keep the throat of your hearth dry when it rains. ^

(M) Will you just cover the igloo with HardiBacker (or similar cementous underlayment) and adhere the Faux Stone to it? ___

(M) if you are going to build a sheet metal stud framework don't make the mistake I did of "paneling" the walls after the roof trusses are installed.

(M) If you "panel" the walls before installing the roof joists not only will you have an easier time stablizing the roof but you will be able to much more easily place the top screws in the wall. Otherwise your roof overhang will force you to work at an awkward angle.

(M) Keep those images coming. You're doing really nice work!

Ciao,

Marcel, "smart like streetcar"