building my first brick opven

[pizzaobsessed]

First time doing any kind of forum just curious is everyone on this forum a forno bravo owner or do some of you have a handmade oven?

[Coloradoredusa]

Re: building my first brick opven

I speak for myself, but I think there are many builders here and some fb oven owners.

[stonecutter]

Re: building my first brick opven

Maybe a poll is in order. I think you will find it pretty diverse in here as far as what people do or don't do. What I think we ll agree on though is that cooking with wood and fire are awesome.

[pizzaobsessed]

Re: building my first brick opven

My back yard is 70% concrete and 30% garden and i was originally planning to build my oven right on top of the cement but after seeing the weight of these ovens i dont know if i am going to have to build a proper reinforced slab in the garden area just to be safe , I know there is no rebar in the cemented area only wire

[stonecutter]

Re: building my first brick opven

What is your plan for the oven? What size? Finishes?

[pizzaobsessed]

Re: building my first brick opven

Id 36x40 fire brick low dome maybe 14 or 15 inches strictley for pizza, least mortor as possible and plan to use dense ridgid insulation board underneith and around sides completly enclosed with either block or wonderbaord. thats the plan any ideas

[pizzaobsessed]

Re: building my first brick opven

Also I dont plan on going with the round design I like the half barrel design for lack of a better word. I feel there is more room yes, no?

[Gulf]

Re: building my first brick opven

My back yard is 70% concrete and 30% garden and i was originally planning to build my oven right on top of the cement but after seeing the weight of these ovens i dont know if i am going to have to build a proper reinforced slab in the garden area just to be safe , I know there is no rebar in the cemented area only wire

There are some options out there, If you determine that your concrete area will not handle the weight. You might want to look into a concrete wet saw rental in your area. The saw in my quick search link is a small one. There are larger saws available with more umph .

Shop around for the best deal .

[david s]

Re: building my first brick opven

Another slab laid over your existing concrete should suffice as it will spread the load cutting and removing concrete is a pain..How big/heavy an oven are you planning?

[Gulf]

Re: building my first brick opven

Another slab laid over your existing concrete should suffice as it will spread the load cutting and removing concrete is a pain..How big/heavy an oven are you planning?

David,
You may be right on this. I would do the same as you suggest in my subtropical climate. But, this oven is in an area of "frost heave". Not my area of expertise. Maybe some one from the arctic will chime in .

[stonecutter]

Re: building my first brick opven

David,
You may be right on this. I would do the same as you suggest in my subtropical climate. But, this oven is in an area of "frost heave". Not my area of expertise. Maybe some one from the arctic will chime in .

You are correct Gulf, slab over slab is not a good technique in the Northeast. (I lived in CT until a few years ago) This slab is most likely 4", and cutting out footers wont be that big of a problem...compared to the effort of doing it over.

Edit: It might be worth checking the depth of your concrete...you might have a 6" slab, that would work with what you are doing.

[pizzaobsessed]

Re: building my first brick opven

The oven will not be that big maybe 36"x40"outside diam but together with the concrete blocks (which i plan on filling the core as well) and the concrete base its gonna be heavy maybe that big base is an overkill,the base will actually be heavier than the oven itself, I see alot of ovens on metal bases if I can do that then i can set it wherever I want right?

[stonecutter]

Re: building my first brick opven

No question that the masonry used for the base is heavier than the oven, but you are still going to need support for the oven itself with some type of platform.

If you are going the steel route, maybe think about framing out the platform with steel joists 16" o.c. with cement-board on that, then your insulation...on to your firebrick. That would shave quite a bit of weight off the structure itself. And rather than four legs resting on directly on the slab, consider a sill with support legs to distribute the weight.

Basically, a skeletal base made of steel. I'm thinking 2" square stock. This is all theoretical..I have never built one like this...take it with a grain of salt.