Dave's Northern Virginia Build

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

The flue is done. I think it will draft pretty well. At no point is the flue area less than inside the pipe.

Weather permitting, tomorrow I will add some mass to the dome.

Then I will start reading threads about curing. I probably won't insulate until next year when I finish the enclosure.

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

I think I will quit for the season in a few days. The mortar I have been setting for the chimney flue is cracking in spite of (or because of) the heat lamp at night. But, one way or another, I will have pizza for Christmas.
Dave

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Going into business Dave?
Seriously, it looks great! Thanks for posting all your pictures, it is a help to me.

Tom

Thanks Tom,
Not going into buisness but I keep thinking about moving to a warmer climate.

Dave

[trockyh]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Neil,
Oh well, I keep thinking how much better my next oven will be.

Dave

Going into business Dave?
Seriously, it looks great! Thanks for posting all your pictures, it is a help to me.

Tom

[dmun]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

That's why builders have gone to suppports rather than forms: It's a lot easier to clean while it's still not set.

Still, it looks great.

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

it looks great.

Thanks,
I was a little disappointed with the results but definitely it could have been worse.
Dave

[dsgreco]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

it looks great.

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Dave,

you should have dropped your sand pattern as soon as you put in your keystone blocks.
...
Neill

Neil,
How right you are. I hadn't counted on the sand sucking the moisture out of the mortar. In this cold temperature, after two days, the mortar is usually fairly soft. When I dropped the sand, the mortar was everywhere and hard as a rock. It took two hours with a pneumatic chisel, followed by the power washer to make it presentable. The top half of the oven now looks like an ancient Roman ruin with the bricks chipped to bits. I wish I had posted my sand idea before I actually did it. Oh well, I keep thinking how much better my next oven will be.

Dave

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

A section of brick makes an excellent abrasive scrubber for those pesky bits of set mortar. It also will fit into corners.

Thanks for the tip. I'll go at it tomorrow.
Dave

[dmun]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

I would rather spend a few hours scrubbing mortar with a wire brush

A section of brick makes an excellent abrasive scrubber for those pesky bits of set mortar. It also will fit into corners.

[tfasz]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Practically speaking, I used four + 1/2 bags. I actually used three bags of heat stop and three 25 lb bags of FireRock adhesive mortar.

Wow - the mortar cost adds up quickly. I'm guessing that was as much as your bricks. The home brew mortar route certainly is tempting ....

[trockyh]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Dave, your oven looks great. I'm impressed with how fast you have built the dome and arches.
Thanks for the heads up on the forms.

Tom

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Dave,

you should have dropped your sand pattern as soon as you put in your keystone blocks.
The unwanted mortar is a lot easier to remove when still green rather than dry. Also, you then have the opportunity to make minor adjustments to your final laid bricks for the best inside alignment.

Neill

I thought of that but I am afraid that my dome will rely on the compressive strength of the mortar to hold it's shape. I figure I would rather spend a few hours scrubbing mortar with a wire brush than crying in my beer with a collapsed dome. I'll drop the sand tomorrow and post the results.
Dave

[nissanneill]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Dave,

you should have dropped your sand pattern as soon as you put in your keystone blocks.
The unwanted mortar is a lot easier to remove when still green rather than dry. Also, you then have the opportunity to make minor adjustments to your final laid bricks for the best inside alignment.

Neill

[DaveW]

Re: Dave's Northern Virginia Build

Looking good! Impressive how quickly you have closed the dome.

Curious how many bags of HeatStop you went through - that is what I was thinking of using but wanted to get an idea of how many to expect to need for my 36" oven.

Thanks, I can't wait to drop the sand and get a look at the inside.

Practically speaking, I used four + 1/2 bags. I actually used three bags of heat stop and three 25 lb bags of FireRock adhesive mortar. When I got started I purchased the FireRock mortar along with the bricks. Later I got around to reading the FireRock bag to find out it was designed for a maximum mortar thickness of 1/8 th inch and may not be a true refractory mortar but rather a high temp adhesive. Heatstop is a refractory mortar approved to 3/8ths of an inch. Unfortunately, I ran out of heat stop twice and switched to FireRock so my oven looks like a layered cake from the inside.