Dave's Northern Virginia Build

[Tscarborough]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Looks good, great in fact. Start sanding as soon as you can stay a foot or two from the working edge.

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

The stucco is on...what a bear! The 21A gravel is leveled (sort of) and compacted and the pavers are going in. Miller time!
Dave

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Dave, that looks amazing. you have to be quite pleased.

Thanks,
Your build is looking amazing also. I can't believe you worked all day in the heat. I have been limiting myself to morning and evening.
Dave

[WoodchuckDad]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Dave, that looks amazing. you have to be quite pleased.

[DaveW]

Counters Grinded

Except for sealing, I finished the concrete counters this morning.

Initially I was unhappy with the surface finish on the poured concrete but it turned out not to be a problem. I purchased a Hardin wet grinder on Amazon with 50 - 3000 grit diamond pads and a bullnose bit. The 50 pad smoothed out the surface in no time. Unfortunately, I didn't realise how deep I was cutting and the surface is now a little uneven. After the first pass of the 50, my wife I and mixed up a slurry of portland cement, concrete fortifier, and color (red)(It turned out pink) and filled the holes (most of them).

Once again I hit it with the 50 and then progressively up to the 3000. The surface is not perfect but I am out of patients and, for an outdoor application, I think it is good. I can see with some extra work and skill this could easily rival indoor granite. The wet grinder was great even if it did supply me with a steady stream of electricity. (The manufacturer recommends rubber gloves and boots)

When you run your hand across the finished surface you can detect a few fibers that for some reason didn't get cut with the grinder. I am not sure if I will try to correct this as it is very minor.

Dave

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Hi all,
Here are before and after photos of the pizza oven gable. I wasn't happy with the look of it and every time someone new saw it they would ask, with a furrowed brow, "Is it supposed to be like that?."

So my wife and I came up with the idea to add a few more rolled rake tiles and half barrels to finish off the gable.

The countertops came out ok, but with lots of holes to be filled.

On a side,
I started a thread in outdoor kitchen design asking if I can lay the clay pavers sandwiched between the walls in a sand bed, without fear of expansion damage.
Any thoughts?

Dave

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Thanks Guys,
As far as concrete countertop research goes, I have a couple of books from Home depot/Lowes and have done some internet research.

I considerd:

Regular Concrete with extra portland mixed in.
Dedicated bag mixes
Pourable Grout
White portland homebrew
High strength Concrete
High strength concrete with additives
High strenght concrete with Cheng's mix.

In the end we went with Cheng's because we could get the materials quickly and thought it would increase our chances of getting it right.

If you go with Chengs or with any other water reducers then I recommend three people. With my wife and I working together, I mixed and poured while she packed the form and screeded. By the time we went over it with a float it was too late to get a smooth surface. A third person ready to float after screeding would be helpful. We also tried to vibrate with an orbital sander but finally gave up and just beat the forms with a hammer. Come to think of it, it was pretty much a rush job.
We haven't had a chance to pull the forms but I'll let you know how it looks when we do.

Dave

[tfasz]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Dave - Looking nice and would love to hear more about your experience with the counters. I'm thinking of casting some concrete tops for the sides of my oven platform. Been reading up on cast in place vs. pre-cast options, materials, and finishing options, etc. Lots to learn.

Where did you get started?

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

The wfo tiled roof looks great Dave. I like the color of the concrete counter too. Ya, my pond is full of green string algae too but I think it's 'good' algae so I pull out it just to keep it at bay during the summer.

I bet that counter is going to come out fantastic. It's so nice to have a big surface like that in the wfo/bbq areas.

-Dino

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

My wife and I made some more pizza and poured the concrete countertops. We used Sakrete 5000+ from Home Depot and mixed it with Cheng's countertop additive. When blended per instructions the mix is relatively dry which makes it difficult to finish. I think it is best suited for forming upside-down in a mold. If I did it again I would just use the sakrete with some color.
We put expansion joints where the counters meet the oven and I hope it is enough. They are 12+ feet long.
Lots of polishing ahead
Dave

Edit: The surface turned out to be fine after a few passes with the grinder.

[trockyh]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Looks great Dave! I haven't worded on my oven for months, but cook in it almost every night. I haven't used our gas BBQ at all this year. Nothing beats the flavor from wood fire.
Happy 4th!

Tom

[DaveW]

Happy Fourth!

Our Oven has a hat!

The finish is in sight.

Happy Bar-b-queing.

Dave

[John K]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Dave

Your build looks fantastic!!

As Dino quoted it does look like it is straight out of Europe

Just missing the Bell!

Looking forward to the rst of the build

Ps love the pond. I hope you don't own a Cat

Cheers

[WoodchuckDad]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

And my name is David. Yes the expense keeps going, but when it is all done, it will be worth it to me. The nice thing is I have been able to pay as I go. so it isn't a big whopping mega chunk of money all at once. Just medium sized chunks of money over and over and over. I lay in bed this morning thinking about the transition and as long as it is structurally sound, I shouold have no problem I will be back at it today and get the transition closed in.

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

your build puts me to shame.

I wouldn't say that at all. Reading your thread I see we have a few things in common. You are Italian American and I am American Italian (I am married to a Roman and became an Italian Citizen a few years ago). My wife has talked about an oven for years (like the one her grandfather built in Italy without the Internet). But, from a simple oven, our project has ballooned out of control. I don't even want to think about how much money we have spent on this thing so far. It has also consumed most of my free time for almost a year. I have spent many a sleepless night fretting about how I have blown the whole project. It's all part of the journey.

Plus, yours, mine, and all of the great builds have furry 4 legged helpers!

Dave