Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

[wayner]

I've been lurking and reading for weeks now. My foundation and stand is done - with half the cores filled with concrete. My FB Pompeii 90 Kit showed up down the street on a pallet sometime before 6:30am yesterday morning without any warning. It had my name on it so I loaded the bricks and boxes in the back of my truck and backed down my driveway.

I'll post a picture of my progress once I figure how to post.

So far, here's a bit of info on what I've done so far. My slab is 6' by 6', standard rebar, mesh, base rock. This is the first I've worked with so much concrete so I went down to my local stone yard and in my deepest voice, ordered 3/4 inch rock, 5 sack, 3/4 yards of mix in one of their dump trucks. I was a wee bit short. My advice, go long and have some forms for paving stones ready to use up the extra.

re: stand design - I followed a bunch of builds that divided up the storage area with 2 openings and used iron for each opening as well as beam blocks upside down with rebar running through to give the opening even more strength. I also had a hard time with grinding the blocks to recess the iron. I used a grinder with a masonry wheel. Yes it works, but it was excruciatingly slow and dusty. Then I read the "wet the blocks" trick. I'm living with my 1/8" adjustment. I've filled up a bunch of cores and am planning my next step - hearth pour.

I don't yet have a tile saw and am going to use the FB insul-boards and 12" x12" x 2" oven floor tiles from my kit. Can this be laid as is (without cutting) and the dome built on top of the floor tiles that will extend out underneath on all sides? I haven't come across a build with these floor tiles and the e-book doesn't give these instructions.

This has been a lot of fun so far and its cool reading about everyone's enthusiasm.

[wayner]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Has anybody started building with the Pompeii kits that were sent out recently? Specifically I'm wondering if I should throw a little vermicrete down below the insul-boards and 12" square fire-brick tiles? Also has anyone used these 12" x 12" x 2.5" fire brick tiles for the oven floor? Can I get away with not cutting them, laying them all down, and building the dome on top? Or will it perform better if I cut the floor tiles to shape and build the dome around? I'm trying to read others builds as much as possible and there seems to be as many variations as there are builders.

I'm ready to form the hearth this weekend so the pictures are from the foundation and stand layout.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[KraemerBAC]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Wayne,

It is looking good already..

Peter

[wayner]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Thanks Peter,

I think we're about at the same point in our builds. I just need to finish up some bracing and rebar, then I should be able to pour my hearth this weekend. Instead of renting a readymix truck this time, I'm planning on mixing the 22 sacks of concrete by hand. I've somehow convinced my wife that this would be a good workout for her. I've got a wheelbarrow and mason's tub and I'm planning on mixing in one while she buckets and pours from the other. This may be funny. I'll bring my camera out for it.

-wayne

[SCChris]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Wayne, Best of luck on the pour.. If you read this before you get started, reconsider a renting a mixer. Home Depot rents as do others and depending how and where you setup it may help to save your backs. I created a platform beside the dump zone and was able to mix and then dump directly rather than to bucket by bucket transfer the mixed concrete into the form. My 30 90# bags were positioned next to the mixer so only a lift without more than a step had to be made to fill the mixer, 2 bags per load, and a sheet of plywood directed the finished mix into the form. From here I had to use the shovel to move the mix into position. This was still a bunch of work and I had handy man Dan to do the heavy lifting of the 24 bags and otherwise help out. Dan is a bull and doesn't seem to feel much pain, I on the other hand am not 30 or 40 any more and working in an office doesn't help with my fitness level..

Chris

[mluttropp]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Wayne,

I am not that much further along than you but I can give you the benifit of my limited knowledge.

First of all I would strongly suggest you not use the bag mix approach. You have to work very fast and the concrete may start to go off on you before you finish.
As to your question about building the dome on top of the floor be building the floor inside the dome. Now that I am well into the floor inside the dome approach I would suggest you build on top of the floor. This is much easier especialy at the entrance to your oven.

So far your build looks great. I look forward to following your progress.

[wayner]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

It's too late, I finished framing up the hearth and poured it yesterday. Thanks for your suggestions about the mixer, but it all worked out. Once we were set up with everything close by, it took less than 2 hours from breaking into the first bag to screeding the slab. My wife took a small bucket and scooped and filled while I tore into the bags and mixed. I had one wheelbarrow and one mason's tub so I could keep mixing and she kept scooping. This is what promises of an oven by summer's end gets ya. I ended up mixing the concrete for the stand core fill by hand as well. It went fairly fast is why I thought we could swing this. 21 bags. It's kind of therapeutic, no?

I too ended up using Wonderboard. After re-reading Mark's thread I realized that's where I borrowed the idea of Wonderboard and framing underneath. Thanks Mark. Now I need to look for a tile saw.

More reading. Thank you for all the great info so far.

[Ken524]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Now I need to look for a tile saw.

Don't forget to check out the (un)official tile/brick saw of Forno Bravo: The Harbor Freight 10" saw:

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f28/...-saw-6716.html
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...o?itemid=95385

[KraemerBAC]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Wayne,

Now you are ahead of me... I got the framing up and the rebar done but I am heading out of town tomorrow A.M. Vacation time....Although, I would rather stay at home and work on the oven!!

Lookin good,

Peter

[wayner]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Kraemer - have a great vacation.

Ken - The HF does seem like the unofficial saw. If I don't find something on craigslist this week or a coupon for HF in the next few days, I'll go pick up a new one next weekend. This'll give me time to figure out what type of dome to go with. I don't think I've read a build that actually followed FB's e-book. Everyone seems to have improved on it in some way and many ways.

[jerrycook]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Wayne,
I'm in Millbrae and have a 10" HF saw. If we could work out a schedule, I wouldn't mind sharing it with you.

[christo]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

The FB pompeii build document seems to be evolving over the years.

When I started posting on this forum I think it listed placing insultaion under the slab vs on top.

Once these latest innovations become accepted as standard practice, I would not be surprised to see them incorprated in the pompeii book.

Looking good!

Christo

[wayner]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Christo,

Very true. This forum has been more informative and detailed than the e-book. I guess I just expected that FB would have updated the e-book for the kits and materials that they were selling - since it mentioned that the kit includes a CD with build instructions. Anyways, I'm appreciative that this forum exists.

-Wayne

[mluttropp]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

Glad to hear the concrete pour went well. Soon you can start working on the fun stuff.

When I laid out the insulating boards that I got from FB I foudn that they were not exactly the same thickness. I am currious if you find that is the case with your boards.

Keep up the good work and the postings.

[wayner]

Re: Wayne's SF Bay WFO - FB Pompeii 90 Kit

My FB insulation boards were not that bad. After what everyone has mentioned I didn't have high expectations. I figure whatever the difference is, it'll level out with the fireclay/sand mixture. I just need to find the fireclay. I do like the 12 x 12 floor tiles. There seems to be enough of them with the kit. I was a little disappointed that FB had to source these insulation boards from China. Who knows, there's probably an "acceptable " level of asbestos in this product.

I was planning on cutting a few of the floor tiles so the joints are staggered. Is this a good idea?

I still haven't solved my tile saw issue yet. Since the weather's been nice, work has slowed a bit. Tile saw first and then we'll start rolling again.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Sorry for the funny shading with my picture. My oven location is in a tight spot - right in between a big shade tree and my fig tree.