Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

[jmhepworth]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

It didn't go up quickly. I just didn't start the thread until yesterday. It's been more than a year in building. The foundation went in last summer. The stand went up in May. I built the dome in late July and early August, I framed it in September, and I put up the hardibacker last weekend. I still won't finish it until spring, so it will be a two year project. Lots of ovens were faster than mine.

Joe

Yes, it's a 42.

Joe

[wronguy]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

Thanks Joe,

Looks like that will be the time line for mine. Great job and thanks again for the info. Enjoy those Pizzas

[mfiore]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

By the way, it's kind of gratifying to hear one of the people I've looked to for guidance say something like "I wish I did that." I learned so much from what you did. Thanks.

Joe

That's the beauty of this forum. I think most of us feel that we've taken away more than we've contributed!

[John K]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

so it will be a two year project.

but i bet you would have enjoyed every minute of the build!!

Looking Great!!

John

[jmhepworth]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

I made a door out of oak this afternoon. I surrounded the parts that will touch the brick with fiberglass rope that I bought from Lowes. Then I soaked it for a while in water (that's why it looks shiny in the picture). Here's hoping its not a pile of ashes in the morning.

[John K]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

Very nice Joe!!

Your brick arch work is great and love the door. How thick is it?

[jmhepworth]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

I sandwiched two 3/4 inch pieces of red oak together with brass screws, so the door is 1 1/2 inches thick. I'm metric impaired so you will have to do the conversion yourself. The boards on the outside face run horizontal, and the ones on the inside run vertical. The screws are all on the inside face.

This morning the temperature was about 380 F. I put a pot roast in for 4 hours after it had come down to 350 F. It was good enough to do again.

I apparently didn't get the door to seal quite well enough, so I had some leakage out the top and up the chimney. I need to reposition some of the insulating rope to fix that. The inside of the door charred pretty well, but it wasn't ashes in the morning.

[wateronlydries]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

Hello Joe,
I just decided to build an oven and also live in Utah. Did you get the materials locally or did you buy a FB kit? I have been making pizza in our home oven and had a friend who ran a pizzeria that gave us some pointers. We had a big pizza party on Sunday and decided we could make good use of a dedicated oven.

Your photos could have been from the past 6 weeks with the summer, fall, winter and now spring in utah.

How are you measuring temps in the oven? I am thinking of placing temp sensors in several places so I can monitor it. I work for a company that supplies anything temp related and I might as well. I would likely put in thermal wells so I could change out probes when they burn out.

Terral

[jmhepworth]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

Good to have another Utah oven on its way. I bought the materials locally and by mail from Forno Bravo and the people who make Heat Stop because I didn't know about the kit. I'm aware of at least two in Utah who bought the kit. I started another thread a while ago to let people from Utah post where they got their materials. It's here: http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f2/u...vens-8264.html.

I just use an infrared thermometer to measure temps (although I admit I've started to rely more on what the oven is doing rather than the floor temperature). I thought about thermocouples but concluded that would cause too much complexity. If you search for thermocouples on the site you will find some good information. They would be really helpful for cooking other than pizza. When cooking pizza you have so much control over time and placement that knowing the exact temperature isn't nearly as important as having some experience with the oven. On the other hand, if I had your access to materials, I would put them in.

[wateronlydries]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

Thanks Joe,
I am in Alpine and it looks like I can get most of the large items fairly close.

Right now the strategy is to do the planning over the winter and start constructing in the spring. I've already got a concrete slab where we may put the oven but I'm open to something else if it makes more sense. I'm planning on documenting the whole thing. It will probably be part of a bigger outdoor kitchen project. The "Might as wells" are already being thrown around.

[jmhepworth]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

Let me know how I can help. I drive between Kaysville and Provo almost every week day, so it's not terribly out of the way to come up to Alpine. Refractory mortar was my biggest challenge. I couldn't find anything available locally except the water soluble pre-mix that requires very narrow joints. And I like all of the "might as wells." If you intend to stay at this house forever, load it up.

Are you planning on building on the existing slab? Is it a well drained floating slab that won't crack with frost heave? I suspect your frost line will be a bit lower than mine, and I suspect you will have rocky soil, so footings might be tough.

[wateronlydries]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

Hi Joe,
Thanks for the offer. It's been a crazy week. Our holiday rush at work has begun and I haven't had much time to do anything. Right now I've been trying to plan where in our yard would be the best place for the oven. I've read that it should be near the house which make perfect sense except for the layout of our yard. We have a covered patio in the yard which would work great but it is in the far corner. I figure we have the winter to plan and then hit it hard in the spring. I also have a friend with an antique store in AF that would like to build one as well. I'll definitely have to pick your brain as we get through the winter. Thanks very much for you willingness to help.

[gbohnstedt]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

Joe,

Might be another oven maker here in Lehi. I was able to go to the FB Expo and see the ovens in use and I'm seriously considering a Casa 2G, primarily because I've got another project (Teardrop Trailer) to finish. How much of your time would you guess was spent on the oven itself vs. the surround and stand?

Greg

[jmhepworth]

Re: Joe's Kaysville Utah Oven

I was careful not to keep track of time or money. I'm sure the cost in both would make the pizza ridiculously expensive. But just guessing, I'd split the time into thirds. One third in digging the footings, poring the foundation slab, building the stand and pouring the hearth slab; one third in the oven itself; and one third on the enclosure, which still isn't complete. One of the problems with enclosures is that you can cook without finishing them. I'm sure I'm not the only one who really slowed down once the oven was under roof and protected.

I'm not opposed to you buying from James. He does a great service by hosting this forum. But without question, the most satisfying part of this was building the oven itself. The rest was just work that I would have been happy to pay someone else to do (I did pay someone to do much of the concrete work). Building the oven was really fun. The neighbors love the oven, and it's really a trendy thing to have. But they are much more impressed that I built it rather than bought it.

If you want to come up to Kaysville for a look, you're more than welcome. Now that the snow is gone, we're firing it up again. I'm still not willing to stand out in the snow and cook pizza.