Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

[tony boca]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Does anyone know how much time needs to pass until when i can start the brick flooring? Do i need to keep it wet until then?

[RTflorida]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

keep it covered with damp burlap, an old blanket, or even old bath towels (that is what I used)...whatever you have laying around, the key is to keep it damp. Wait a week (sorry, I know you want to get busy, but perlcrete/vermicrete is pretty spongy and the portland needs time to set up before adding all that weight - not to mention all of the climbing around on it that you will be doing).

RT

[tony boca]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Larry,

When you set the floor did you use 50% paver sand and 50% heat stop mixed with water?

[larrya1049]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

I used 50/50 paver sand and fireclay. I then screeded it like I was laying a paver. Tamped it down and layed the the floor on top of it.

Larry

[tony boca]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Larry,

What height are you aiming for in your dome?

[larrya1049]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Hey Tony

I'm going to try for 19". It looks like it will be a good day to lay some bricks. I'm headed out after a cup of Espresso.


Regards
Larry

[tony boca]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

It was a good HOT day to lay bricks. Got the floor in. Going to start working with the soldiers tomorrow. My floor is higher now because i pitched it a 1/2" higher in the back to help keep the rain out . Now i have to recalculate the angle of the soldiers using an elipse. I'm aiming for an 18.5" height dome.

[pzachef]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Tony,
Good to see your progress. I am a little behind you in what I have done. I cut my floor yesterday. See my photos attached. Sorry I haven't kept in touch but when I can find time, I've been working on this this. I am up to date with my inspections and only have the final left to do, when I have my enclosure framed. I had 43 80lb bags in my foundation with footings and 18 more in my top slab, and about 8 more in the block. My teenager had a good workout this summer. I bought the larger HF mixer and it was still a chore in the 90+ degree heat. I hope to start laying brick this weekend. I bought thermocouples to install as well. I opted to use the ceramic board instead of the vermiculite/portland mix for hearth insulation. I'll be using 3 inches of it.
I usually check the board here almost every day but don't take time out to write.
I was glad to see the 50/50 clay sand mix reiterated on this post, as I will be doing it this weekend too. How was it to lay your floor down with the mix? How wet did you make it?

Bob

[tony boca]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Bob,

Things are really coming along there. Looks great. I like the red bricks surrounding the lighter ones. Was that intentional? That cement pour was a job. I started to buy the 50lb bags because the 80lb bags were a back breaker.

That seems to have been the initiation into the club. Now the fun begins.

The sand mix went pretty well. I mixed it like peanut butter. With all the rain we've been having, I decided to pitch the floor so no water would enter the dome. Took the entire afternoon to set them. Today i cut the soldiers. (Really recomend soaking them for at least 15min befure cutting their angles off.) Hopefully tomorrow i'll get to mortar them.

Keep us posted!

[pzachef]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Tony,
Nice to hear from you. Those aren't red bricks. I soaked them in water before cutting so, in the photo they are still a little wet. They are actually all the same color. We bought our bricks in the same place I assume. I'll let you know what I get done this weekend.

[tony boca]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Made some progress this week. Was able to get the soldiers in and the first course. The first course was a challenge but i figured out that when you put 2 half bricks on the soldiers there is a large outside gap. To minimize this, i squared a line of the outside gap to the inside part of the bricks so it look like a rectangle. This was the exact measurement to cut the side of the half bricks. I'll post some more photos tomorrow.

[rnrick]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Tony, hello from St Pete. Where did you get your firebrick from and what did you pay for them?

Rick

[tony boca]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Hey Rick,

I bought the firebicks from CEMEX. Google them, their are a couple of them near you. Yesterday, I picked up a few more and paid $1.21 ea

If you need any more info, drop a note.

[tony boca]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Bob,

How wide and tall are you constructing the vent? metal or brick?

[pzachef]

Re: Tony's Florida 42" Round Forno

Tony,

My vent will be brick and about 5x21.5 transitioned at the top to an 8" dia duravent double wall stainless base plate, like seen in the Forno Bravo Store. I've only been able to cut my soldier course since my last post and hove not set my floor yet. I did however build a temporary removable enclosure that I cover with a tarp. I worry about hurricanes and rain etc... with me using the ceramic insulation board under my floor I wanted to keep it safe and dry during my build until I am cured and do a permanent enclosure. see photo.

5 inches will be the space between my two arches, my opening width (arch) is 20 inches. I will have a 3/4 inch reveal, thus my outer arch will be 21.5 inches. see 2nd phot attached, this photo was posted on another thread on this site. I will be doing something like this.

Also, I had a machine shop cut a 2.5 degree wedge out of aluminum for me. I will use it to cut my bricks to 5 degree tapers for the dome and around my soldier course. I'm hoping to accomplish a watch-builders fit for my bricks.

Bob