Setting the cooking floor

[Greg in RI]

Hello all,

I'm debating how best to lay the oven floor of my WFO. FB oven plans 2.0 (page 32) mention one way is to set the floor inside the oven dome (this is my preference). I am using Insblok-19 for my floor insulation (4x6x2" thick) so I can accomodate the dome on top of the floor if need be.

With floor inside dome, my brick floor plus Insblok-19 is 4.25" proud of the hearth. My first dome course will then be a soldier course, tall brick dimension standing.

Any pros/cons to this approach? I don't mind cutting my bricks to come up with a 1 meter diameter floor to fit inside the dome.

Any reason I should build the dome on top of the floor bricks? I'm not too worried about the weight of the bricks compressing the Insblok-19. It's pretty rugged stuff.

I'm looking for some compelling reason to go one way or the other

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

Greg in Ri

[Tscarborough]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

If you put the dome on top, the floor brick can run wild.

[Chef]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

Hey Greg where are you in RI...we are in North Providence! Not to many RI'ers on this board...gotta stick together!!

[DrakeRemoray]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

In any case, you want the entire dome (floor and walls) insulation. I don't think there is much of a performance difference as to putting the dome on the floor bricks or straight on the insulation...

Drake

[fxpose]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

I built my dome on top of the floor simply because I felt it gave me the sense of a more solid connection between the two parts.

[david s]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

With the dome outside rather than on top of the dome gives easier access to replace floor bricks, but in practice would anyone do this? I think we all just fire and cook- cracks be damned.

[Greg in RI]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

Hey Chef,

I'm in Wakefield, on the west side of town.

My plan is to place the soldier course (long dimension vertical) of the first row of dome bricks right on the concrete hearth. Only floor bricks and the board insulation would be inside the dome and vent area. The entire igloo will be covered with Insulfrax insulation. My concrete hearth is still curing under plastic so I'm not sure how well the soldier course will stand. My hearth is perfectly level and the floating made it come out real smooth so I'm figuring I won't have any stability problems will tall soldier bricks. I will mortar the bricks together with Heat Stop-50.

Greg

[Tscarborough]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

You will be bleeding heat into your slab with that plan.

[fxpose]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

You will be bleeding heat into your slab with that plan.

+1 true that

[dmun]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

My plan is to place the soldier course (long dimension vertical) of the first row of dome bricks right on the concrete hearth.

Don't do that. You're using board insulation anyway, and you will have to cut it away and dispose of it to follow this foolish plan. Your entire oven except the exposed opening should be entirely enclosed in insulation.

If you're worried about strength, your concern is misplaced. All the insulation boards have more than enough compressive strength to support your oven.

[Greg in RI]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

Understand. I will work to keep my board insulation as intact as possible and build everything upon it. I can still build a 1 meter diameter stove. That brings me to the outer edge of my 48" board width. One case covers 24 square feet, conveniently just the right amount for my stove.

I've decided to build the dome ON TOP OF the oven floor. I will lay my floor directly onto the board and go from there.

Thanks for the input.

Greg in RI

[Bakehus]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

it is advisable to seperate the dome from the hearth leaving an expansion joist between the two which can be filled with a strip of heatresistant rockwool.
the floor also should be laid loose to allow movement. and the chimney part should have an expansion joist towards the dome as well.

if you spend a lot of money for your materials you better do it once and right.
hope that helped

[SteveP]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

I put my soldiers on the insulation so that I could remove the hearth brick with ease if it ever came to that point. I really don't anticipate that I will ever do this unless the brick somehow disintegrates.

[Neil2]

Re: Setting the cooking floor

In short, there is no right way. Both work equally as well. The slight practical differences are:

Wall on floor: Not as much fine cutting required to get a perfectly round floor. The bricks can extend a bit under the wall.

Wall next to floor: Entire floor can be removed somewhat easier in the un-likely event this is required. (On this site, I am aware of only one poster who elected to remove part of his floor because of splalling - and his was a "wall on floor" build).