Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

[dusty]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

No sweat.
I just thought you might be snowed in. Talked to a gut this morning who was snowed in at Red Halk (indian casino around Placerville) last night!

dusty

[dusty]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

Tom,
I just called H.C. Muddox and talked to Jeff. I wanted to make sure he had some seconds so you didn't waste a trip. He doesn't. But, he said they just did a firebrick firing and he thinks he will end up with a couple of pallets from that. Said to check back in two weeks! I know two weeks in an eternity when you are in full building-mode, but better to know now than drive all the way down here to find out.
I told him where you live and he mentioned a building supply place in Grass Valley where you could buy them at full price.
If you can't wait, maybe you could buy just a few to get started.
Anyway, sorry to get you all worked up for a two week wait.

dusty

[trockyh]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

dusty,
Hey, thanks for calling Jeff. I will check the price, but I'm thinking I will wait. Too good a price, besides I am back to work for a couple weeks, so really don't have much time. Oh and it snowed and it is to rain most of the week.
I will be in touch.

Thanks again,
Tom

[dusty]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

Cool!
I guess the good news is that they still offer them. That's why I called in the first place.
I got to thinking that it HAS been a couple of years since I got mine - what if they don't even have seconds anymore?
But he expects to have some soon and they are still 30 cents a piece!

dusty

[trockyh]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

That is good news. As soon as he has them, I will be down to pick them up.

Thanks again dusty,
Tom

[trockyh]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

Finally got my brick and started laying it out and cutting yesterday. I was not sure how to do the entry, but after looking at Dino's and Greg Geisen's, I think it will work. It's not as perfect and pretty as their's but it should work. I hope to cut the soldiers tomorrow if it doesn't rain.


Tom

[dusty]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

Very cool! Now the real fun starts.
I hope you made it to Muddox and spoke to Jeff.

dusty

[trockyh]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

Thanks dusty, I did call and after talking with them a few times, Jeff left me a message on Tuesday saying they weren't saving the seconds anymore as they don't have the labor to sort them. So, I called around and found the best price and then asked a local home center if they would match the price and they did. Only good thing is I didn't have to drive very far. I bought two hundred and will buy more if needed.
Thank you for giving me the info, just didn't build my oven soon enough.

Tom

[dusty]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

Man that sucks! Hate to see such a valueable resource come to an end. But I guess it makes some sense. Probably cheaper for them to sell a whole pallet for a bit less ( seconds included), than to pay someone to sort them so they could sell them at a premium.
I am not sure if I explained that right, but in short, it makes sense.

Keep up the good work.

dusty

[DaveW]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

Tom,
Your floor looks great! I had to go back for bricks twice but I did a lousy job of reusing the scraps. With the extra floor bricks on edge and the double wide entry I used 300 bricks in all.

Dave

[trockyh]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

I hope I don't need that many.
I first cut the entry bricks with no flair. Then I decided to
flair it from 20" to 24", that is why the tapered bricks on the sides.
I'm not sure how well the soldiers will fit. I'm thinking I will taper
some if not all. Also, I'm not sure about mortaring them to the floor.
I remember reading that they aren't mortared to the floor, just to each
other. But the insulating slab isn't smooth enough to get them level.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Tom

[DaveW]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

I went ahead and mortared my soldiers to the surface. I figure the insulating slab is relatively weak and will allow the soldiers to thrust outward if necessary. My oven is new but I have had my dome white hot and no cracks so far. However, to be on the safe side you could probably use a fireclay/sand mix with just a bit of mortar under your soldiers.
Dave

Edit: Disregard the part about a our oven being crack free.

[trockyh]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

Thanks for the reply Dave, I will do that.

Tom

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

Tom, I didn't mortar the bottoms of the soldiers just the sides and my soldiers sat on the white FB insulation foam that had some kinda uneven edges due to how I cut and fit them but made up for any very slight unevenness on my 1st course. I don't think a bit of mortar will hurt but don't rely on it for a straight soldier course. There will be a lot of weight on them. Since you're buttering both faces of the soldier and eventually the tops, that 1st ring of soldier bricks is VERY strong.
Your herringbone floor looks great. I'm glad you went to 24" wide at the front landing. By the time you have to cut bricks for the front arch and upper transition, you'll have had practice on the dome and inner arch so it won't be hard at all.
Great job, can't wait to see the soldiers. Are building ON the herringbone floor or AROUND the floor? Good luck, Dino

[DaveW]

Re: Tom's 42' Pompeii, Penn Valley, Ca.

Tom,
My thought was that I wanted each soldier solidly footed on the surface to support the dome.

dave

Edit: I see Dino already chimed in with an expert opinion