Pizza Bob's 42" Build

[pizza_bob]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

See previous posting for details on these pictures...

[ggoose]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Looking great Bob; I like the contrast of the two type of stone...glad the weather is on your side - we have a foot of snow here
gene

[pizza_bob]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Thanks Gene! Yeah the two different ledgestones used on the oven seem to work well together. The retaining wall was all New England fieldstone which tended to have a lot of grey stones. We wanted some tans in there so the Old Country ledgestone had some of these mixed with its own greys. The green granite (I'm not sure why they call it green...I don't see much green ) seems to tie everything together.

Sorry to hear about all that snow. The snow seems to be to our south, west and north. We keep avoiding it somehow. The pizza oven gods are looking out for me!

~Bob

[C5dad]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Bob-

The oven looks beautiful! Nice job on the stonework.

Chris

[mfiore]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Bob, the stone work looks great! I don't blame you for handing the project over to the masons. Sounds like you've got your hands full!

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Bob, the ledgestone looks great. I like the way you've got them applying it with the mortar; very natural looking. Very old world looking. Colors are great too.
-Dino

[pizza_bob]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Thanks for the compliments guys! I wish the compliments were for MY work on the veneer - I'll pass the compliments on to the mason(s) when they come back to finish. It was too cold today and looks even colder the next two days. They are so close to finishing - just need two days over 40 degrees!

[pizza_bob]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

After two and half years in the making the oven is finally done! The veneered stones and granite counter tops need to be cleaned and sealed but for the most part this baby is done! The counter tops look like cement in these pictures but they are really a green granite. Again, not sure why they call it green because it's not really green. Once cleaned and sealed they'll maintain a "wet" appearance - until I start covering them with pizza sauce! I love the detail the mason put into the four stand-offs for the granite chimney cap! I just hope it keeps most of the water out.
I have a DuraTech 8" stainless steel cap if anyone is interested. I thought I was going to use that but then didn't like the way stainless looked with all this stone...

[Tman1]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Very nice.. looks like it fits into the setting well.

[DaveW]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Complimenti Roberto!

We love your oven and can say from experience that you will really appreciate all of that counter space. We broke ground on ours one day before you started this thread and we have been following closely ever since. It's great to see your oven completed, even if we did beat you to the finish

Congrats,

Dave and Tiziana

[pizza_bob]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

The snow has been RELENTLESS here in Connecticut! I have been shoveling out a path to the oven since mid-December in hopes of firing it up. I don't mind the snow too much but the temperature has also been frigid. We finally decided this past Saturday was the day - invited a few friends over, fired-up the oven and cooked ten pizzas. I don't have a door for the oven yet so I kept it tarped all winter. It really kept the oven - inside and out - completely dry which helped make the oven stand out with the snow in the background. I ended-up starting to cook the first pizza when it got dark so I got some cool pictures of the red embers spread out over the floor before I pushed them to one side - the left side is my preference. Once I brush the embers over, I clean the floor with a damp mop which really works well! The floor temperature drops slightly to about 700F but then comes back to 750F-775F. I let the oven heat up for about two hours and I can easily get ten pizzas without raking coals over the hearth. I mop in between pizzas too to remove burnt corn meal. I also always keep a small fire licking up the dome - I really think I'm getting this process down! You can see the set-up below and the bacon and carmelized onion pizza cooking. Sometimes I've noticed if the pizza has to many toppings the bottom will cook quicker than the toppings. So I lift the pizza up close to the dome and it acts like a broiler - the toppings come out nice and crisp while the bottom pretty much stops cooking.

~Bob

[cecilB]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Bob,
How exciting - was that your first firing? Your oven looks beautiful!
We've had horrible cold weather as well, and snow, which didn't start coming till after Christmas. There have been 2 times since Christmas that I've been able to sneak some pizza in!
But we still have major outdoor stuff to finish - our yard looks pretty...embarrassing! But the one thing about the brick oven...I am DETERMINED to have one in my house!
Cecelia

[DaveW]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Looks Great Bob but all that mopping sounds like extra work. Have you tried doing away with the cornmeal?

Dave

[cecilB]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Yes, I agree with Dave - use flour. Heck, I found if it's cold enough out, you hardly have to use any flour at all!

Cecelia

[dbhansen]

Re: Pizza Bob's 42" Build

Nice photos, Bob! We've been doing sliced potatoes with bacon, but carmelized onion with bacon sounds delightful as well. Can't go wrong with bacon, as my son would say.