Help restore my late husbands pizza oven

[bllabata]

Hi everyone and thank you for reading my message.
My husband built this lovely wood fired oven a few years ago and decorated it with Valencia's style mosaic ( trencadis: similar to Gaudi's in Barcelona)
Unfortunately my husband passed away this April after a long illness. When I took the winter cover off I discovered that most of the tiles at the front fell completely and don't know how to repair it.
some of the tiles have chipped too.
I feel really sad that It's all falling apart

I was wondering if anyone could help with instructions on how to repair it.

[Giovanni Rossi]

Since no one has replied, I'll give you my amateur opinion. First, sorry for your loss bllabata. I'm sure this discovery was disheartening.

Looking at the 2 photos that uploaded... The tiles at the front of the oven were laid tight to the steel door frame. It's likely that the expansion of the metal caused the tiles to sheer from the thinset / mortar bed.

Unfortunately, it looks like there is a significant problem with the tiles themselves in the 3rd photo. More are going to fail in the same way as the 2 that already have. It looks like the insulation layer was getting wet and when the oven was fired steam was penetrating the tiles. Not sure of your climate, but it's possible the tiles themselves retained moisture and freezing temps caused the damage. Possibly both.

I fear significant work will be needed to further diagnose, mitigate and repair. You're going to need a DIY'er or professional with some experience in this type of construction.

Maybe more experienced Forum members will have better news.

Good luck

[bllabata]

Hi Giovanni
Thank you so much for replying to my post and your condolences. I really appreciate that you took the time to give me this advice.
I live in England so the humidity and moisture are mostly to blame here.
I will see if I can get someone to help me as it does look like a big job but I do need to repair it one way or another.
Thank you