How to draw/figure the door arch?

[christo]

Re: How to draw/figure the door arch?

Here is how I waded through the tradeoffs.

First, I set my goals for the project.
1. Fun - certain amount of creativity, engineering, design and doing things I have not done before.
2. Pizza/baking - Pizza was number 1 - but cooking baking roasting - esp Turkey at Thanksgiving was number 2.
3. Being happy enough with the end result that I can entertain without feeling ashamed of my handiwork. - I'm a self admitted odd bird. I expect my first shot at anything I do to work and look good. Lots of pressure there.

So with that in mind I put pen to paper and started from the end and worked backwards with the design.

Lars said it better than I, but here goes.

I started to work forward with my over planned design and my plans and the exterior design changed/evolved as I went along. it happened as early as the block for the base. Stacking the blocks vs drawing the blocks made for improvements on ideas. All though the build, some aspects were kept, others were abandoned. And lastly - though I feel sheepish for saying it. Beware of feature creep!!! It could keep you building forever. I'm thinking of naming my oven Remington (after the house).

Christo

[cecilB]

Re: How to draw/figure the door arch?

[QUOTEIs it just me, or is the recent new wave of builders a little too focused on the math and creating the "perfect" (based on their intense calculations) geometric shapes?
Just my observation.
RT][/QUOTE]

I'm glad to "hear" someone say that cuz I was getting really nervous about this project!

Cecelia

[Lars]

Re: How to draw/figure the door arch?

Christo,
I am often surprised by the cool people like yourself on this forum. I had a look at your work after reading your comments, and, I have to say, 'wow... nice area'.


Cecelia,
Just look over the progress and philosophy of Frances....you'll be building in no time. The hardest part is where to position the doorway in the dome, and the transition from dome to entry. I am a firm believer in mathematical solutions, but I have built many things that introduce problems that you just cannot intellectually anticipate. Most mistakes can be overcome. There are two diametrically opposed schools of thought on the matter, and BOTH ARE TRUE!!!

Fail to plan, and you plan to fail...
Think long, think wrong!

Lars.

[cecilB]

Re: How to draw/figure the door arch?

Ah Thanks Lars!
I might as well update you on my build. I am a bit frustrated - but not yet in as bad as a mood as I deserve to be in!
I don't know if you all remember my earlier posts about the insulated hearth/extra thermal mass situation where we ended up having to take out the entire extra thermal mass, and re pour the insulated hearth? Which I did. Nice and thick.
Now I've been waiting to get going on the floor for a few weeks - or more. I finally got the lime, fireclay, sand and I have the portland cement ...and water. heh heh.
Anyway, my mental hurdles were the door opening (probably still is) and the transition to the door -
I had my son (the 17year old who knows all - I'm sure you all are familiar with the type) draw out a template - supposedly he wants to go into drafting and is taking his third year of it in highschool)- so he draws makes the template with the opening.
I spend half of Wednesday and half of Thursday laying the floor - I'm glad to. It's a nice change from being in the house in front of the computer and sink! BUT in order for me to take time out to go out there, I have to make sure I have back up in here - due to a one year old, and a bunch of others aged 5 and up.
Oh yes - I bought the brick cutter/tile saw from Harbor Freight - a "MAN" tool! Very exciting for the 17 year old, who, I might add, just purchased his own Milwaukee cordless drill that is way better than our old Milkwaukee - oh - get it!!! Old milwakee?!?! (I think I'm spelling it wrong...) and we are teasing him about his purchase and how now he must be a REAL man - His oldest sister even made him a badge declaring it!
SO, he tries it out on a few bricks - nice! Very nice! We both are very excited about it!
We think about putting the wall around the oven floor instead of on top - which would mean cutting bricks - oh boy! Yes!!!! But I, in my wisdom, had decided to just lay the dadgum floor and draw out the outlines for the dome and opening on the brick and build the rings on top of the floor.
Like I said, I spent those two days working on the floor, and was pretty much done.
Last night in a few short hours when my hubby and other children went to the 12 yr.old's football game, he took matters into his own hands. He drew the outline and was going to cut the bricks and lay the oven floor so we could put the wall around the oven instead of on top. He romoved most of what I had laid!
Luckily he hasn't actually cut into the bricks. BUT I now have another mess to clean up before I put the bricks back. Big deal, right? It's just time...and money!

Anyway, I planned on no Farmer's market this weekend in order to spend time bonding with my project. I did better without including my son! AAAACK!
And then to top it off, there is a new little family in town who seem to keep trying to pop in so we want to disappear and not be here to avoid saying anything embarrassing like, "go away" - or maybe something a bit nicer, like "oh, this is really a bad time for us right now...."
SO, do we go to another football game tonight or do I stay out there and work on the oven, and let them stand and watch me and get eaten up by mosquitoes?
heh heh heh.

Thanks for "listening" (I fear it might be too longwinded???)
Cecelia

[dmun]

Re: How to draw/figure the door arch?

I have a suggestion for the new neighbors to be avoided: put them to work carrying 94 pound sacks of portland and they'll be gone in no time.

[cecilB]

Re: How to draw/figure the door arch?

Very good idea - they don't strike me as the type who would like that sort of manual labor!

Anyway, that was really way too long winded, and I apologize!
But I thought I would pop in here and say that FINALLY we have made some progress - we got the soldiers up. Tim went ahead and actually cut out the floor so the soldiers are around the floor instead of on top. Fine. And a friend of ours ....well...a friend of our daughter's...is helping. I guess he understands the story of The Little Red Hen.
My son is going to draft a form for me so it's exact - I don't know why I shouldn't just eyeball it...but ok. And by Wednesday or Thursday, we should be building the dome!

So we're just going to make a form out of plywood or OSB...and a form for the door...but how does one actually make the door?

I guess we'll get to that when we get to that.

Thanks ya'll!
Cecelia