Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

[stonylake]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

Greg, I stopped at the U Rent It on 28th SW yesterday. They sell redi-mix in trailers. My hearth slab is about 6'x6'x4", which is about 1/2 yard of concrete. $100.00 for 1/2, $159 for 1 yard. This will probably be the last weekend of the season that they sell redi-mix. Sounds a lot better to me than carrying 20 some 80# bags to the mixer in my back yard. A wheelbarrow fits under the trailer....

[stonylake]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

hi Greg. i did pour yesterday. picked up 1/2 yard of concrete at 9 and returned the trailer at 11. you have to work fast, the concrete wants to set up in the trailer. kept it wet till late in the day, and i think that even though it froze hard last nite, i'm ok. time to find brick, set up the wet saw in my shop and settle in for the winter. i may try to make a mould, cut and set and number all my bricks and be ready to assemble in the spring...there was a GREAT custom home builder that lived out by you.. Jordan Sheperd..did you every meet him?

[glindhout]

Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

We finally got a few nights above 32 degrees, so we decided to pour the top slab. The high temps reached into the upper 50's for two days in a row, but it looks like next week's highs are going to stay in the 40's...this is our coldest October in over 30 years on record!

I put a canopy over the oven, and may need to "shroud" it and place a heater inside if I want to continue with the oven project into the "fall". The top slab pour went very quickly with Karen manning the cement mixer, and only took 32 - 60# bags of concrete mix.

Due to continued rain, I think I'll start cutting and assembling the bricks in the garage. If we get a few more warm, dry days, I may have the chance to assemble the dome before the first snow fall.

-

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

Stonylake: I went with the U-Haul it cement route too and loved it.

Greg: Impressed you can still smile while pouring cement in the cold wet weather ! But after looking at your finished base, I'd keep going too. It's looking really nice. A few days of curing and you'll ready for firebricks. This parts exciting. I'm sure you'll get enough good weather soon. Cheers, Dino

[mfiore]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

Greg and Karen - keep it up. We'll keep hoping for warmer weather.

Great setup you have there. You're going to have a terrific venue for entertaining.

[stonylake]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

Greg, i took the forms off of my hearth last nite, thought it turned out pretty good. i'll start another Michigan thread here pretty quick. your start looks great! i noticed you still have your pool open?? i'm trying to figure out how i can cut and number my bricks inside and be ready to assemble everything in the spring.

[glindhout]

Grand Rapid's Latest Pizza Hut!

Well, it looks like we're going to have a few nice warm days ahead (50's plus), so I've decided to jump back into the WFO project! I enclosed the canopy, and added a kerosene heater and lighting so that we can continue to work for a few weeks if the weather turns on us again. I'm determined to get the dome built before the snow comes!

I cut the oven floor bricks earlier this week in the garage, and assembled them onto the insulation board with the 50/50 fireclay and sand mix for leveling.

Today I cut the entry bricks, and cut the soldier course bricks at a 15 degree angle using a simple wood jig screwed to the HF tile saw. It worked great.
.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

Nice job guys,,,, An incredible build

Cheers
Mark

[glindhout]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

I mixed up a bucket of homemade mortar (1 lime : 1 fireclay : 1 portland cement : 3 parts fine sand), and decided that since I still had some daylight left, I'd start assembling the bricks. I really like how well the homemade mortar works.

It wasn't long before I had to turn on the lights in the hut, but I actually got the entryway AND the soldier course assembled -- I'm really pleased with how much I was able to accomplish today...and it's still 60 degrees outside at 8:30 at night! That's amazing considering how much sub-32 degree weather we've had recently at night.

Tomorrow I'll start the second course of bricks, and keep working until I can't stand up anymore.
.

[jmhepworth]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

Nice work. Everything looks good.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

The Obcession Has Begun

[mluttropp]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

Nice setup with the shop lights.

Good choice on going homebrew. If I had to do it over again I would have used all homebrew and saved a ton of money.

[mfiore]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

That's the spirit! Winter? There's no winter! Keep going!

[christo]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

It's looking great! I think you can get it finished in a couple of days at the rate you're going.

And, with the enclosure you have, you oughta be able to keep it above freezing with a small space heater.

Christo

[stonylake]

Re: Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI

OK, now I'm jealous. I finished my hearth on the 16th of October and shelved the project till spring. Little did we know that it would hit 70 in November in Michigan. the 10 day looks good, high 40's and 50's. Good Luck.