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Bit of an update. Been a bit busy with other house renos/kids/lack of motivation/overtime.
Slowly piecing the chimney arch together. Geez this thing has angles all over the place. Need a few beers to get through the initial design period, then a few more to commission the beast. Really just an excuse to drink beer!!
Soon the decision comes how to finish the dome. Compacted sand on a raised bed, timber stringers, or wire/conduit support. Haven't yet decided.
Yeah looks strange, its just resting there, I flip it over when I'm laying bricks, dont worry, just cause we are in the other hemisphere to you guys, we dont do things upside down!!!
The build has started. 40" pompeii. With mosaic tile exterior.
The dome bricks I got on ebay second hand over a year ago. The new bricks I got on ebay a few days ago, he had 34 for $85.
I was going to run out of second hand bricks but should have enough now to finish the dome and chimney arch.
The build has started. 40" pompeii. With mosaic tile exterior.
G'day Wazza
Re: firebrick amount.
I ordered 175 fire bricks,with 10/12 left over.
That's hearth floor, dome, and rear wall of chimney, minimal on cuts. Thats 1 meter (42 in)oven. Entrance and brick chimney of house brick commons. Building that entrance of ordinary brick saves heaps. It more than handles the heat as the big heats inside the dome. Added advantage is that house bricks are water resistant, firebrick soaks up water, house brick has many colours and textures, firebrick is bland.
Just saying, this is my experience
Regards dave
Measure twice
Cut once
Fit in position with largest hammer
One more option to close the dome is to just keep laying the bricks and support them with clips and weight from outside, 'sticks' from inside and patience and luck. Beer is also good at that stage - up to a certain point!
There is also the 'swiss ball' method that is easy to clean up after.
G'day Wazza
house brick has many colours and textures, firebrick is bland.
Yeah I plan to have house commons on the decorative outside front arch.
My chimney arch wont be seen but from the inside if you get my drift. Austral bricks have a great range of clay commons.
Yes, get the right size exercise ball, put it inside and gently inflate it to provide support to the last couple of rows of bricks. Once you have the last chain in you can deflate the ball, do your clean up and insert the keystone.
That's the theory, I am sure that you could have some issues if you used the wrong size ball or over-inflated it. It would have to be better than shovelling out a load of sand. I built mine right up without a form but this method sounds easy.
Others here have used it and they might provide better guidance about it.
My wife calls me Mr 80%. I finish a job to 80% then move onto another job.
Keeping with this tradition I have started the chimney arch and got the dome only 80% complete. I figure any progress is good progress!
I've cut a notch out in the chimney arch to aid in smoke transfer. I dont know if many other builders do it but hey it has to help, I'm really trying to avoid smoke out the front to the oven, as the oven will have decorative bricks in place when finished.
My wife calls me Mr 80%. I finish a job to 80% then move onto another job.
Keeping with this tradition I have started the chimney arch and got the dome only 80% complete. I figure any progress is good progress!
I've cut a notch out in the chimney arch to aid in smoke transfer. I dont know if many other builders do it but hey it has to help, I'm really trying to avoid smoke out the front to the oven, as the oven will have decorative bricks in place when finished.
Any smoke staining on the outer arch is almost impossible to remove from brick surface. However if you do some nice mosaic over them and use glossy tiles, they will clean up like new with a bit of damp newspaper. Be sure to use a good outdoor tile adhesive, and black tile grout."
I've done lots like this and have never had an issue with any tiles falling off.
Any smoke staining on the outer arch is almost impossible to remove from brick surface. However if you do some nice mosaic over them and use glossy tiles, they will clean up like new with a bit of damp newspaper. Be sure to use a good outdoor tile adhesive, and black tile grout."
I've done lots like this and have never had an issue with any tiles falling off.
Yeah I plan to have a mosaic exterior, the dome hopefully a small marble sheet mosaic, carrara marble. Then the front decorative arch a red/blue combo mosaic tile.
A little more progress this morning.
Not my best work but I figure you'll never see it anyway, and it wont make the pizzas taste better or worse.
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