Hollow spaces under oven floor

[Dan94550]

Well I got the stand and insulating form poured and ready to place the oven this weekend. I took it off the pallet that it was resting on and brought into the back yard next to where it is going to go. Looking at it upside down, I noticed that the bottom isn't solid but it has some spaces hollowed out in each section. If this isn't clear, I'll take some pictures when I get home from work and post them. The assembly brochure (attached) does not show this.

My question is do I fill the hollow sections in with refractory mortar, a vermiculite/cement mixture like the insulation platofrm or just leave them alone? Unfortunately, the assembly brochure (attached) does not show this.

[Dan94550]

Any ideas now???

[Unofornaio]

Interesting?

But if its not in the brochure it may be a design change mid stream.
Either to save on weight or on material (for them). Then again it may be a cavity to put rigid insulation. How thick is the actual floor where these cavities are?

[Archena]

They look to be about 4 in deep on the sides so that would mean roughly about 1/3 the material is absent leaving 2 1/2 inches, correct? Also, who is the manufacturer?

I don't see how insulation would be more effective that way - in fact, I'd think it would be less with the sides acting as heat sinks down to the slab. I'd bet on weight reduction being the reason (both for shipping and for construction) and that it should be set on an insulating base like a normal oven. The voids could be filled or not then.

[Dan94550]

[quote=Unofornaio;14468]Interesting?

But if its not in the brochure it may be a design change mid stream.
Either to save on weight or on material (for them). Then again it may be a cavity to put rigid insulation. How thick is the actual floor where these cavities are?[/QUOTE]

The floor is 5-1/2" thick and the cavities are 1-1/2" deep. I've been storing the oven for over 25 yrs and the manufacturer is still in business but not making ovens anymore. My father in law is in Italy so I asked him to call them but they don't have anything on the oven any longer To insulate or not to insulate, that is the question.

[Dan94550]

Originally Posted by Archena

They look to be about 4 in deep on the sides so that would mean roughly about 1/3 the material is absent leaving 2 1/2 inches, correct? Also, who is the manufacturer?

I don't see how insulation would be more effective that way - in fact, I'd think it would be less with the sides acting as heat sinks down to the slab. I'd bet on weight reduction being the reason (both for shipping and for construction) and that it should be set on an insulating base like a normal oven. The voids could be filled or not then.

The manufacturer is Caminetti Montegrappa. See my previous post (reply to Unofornaio) for the dimensions. Just wondering if its going to make much difference to fill in the cavities or not

[Dan94550]

Well I got side-tracked for a few weeks by starting the framing to my outdoor kitchen which I attached to the oven hearth. I plan on setting the oven floor tonight when I get home from work and I decided not to fill the cavities but since the floor is in 3 pieces, do I put mortar in between the joints or just dry fit them?

After letting the base set, should the rest of the pieces be dry fitted also or should the be mortared? Once the oven is in place can I begin with some fires or should I wait till the framing with metal studs is complete and back filled with vermiculite? One last question, should the vermiculite be dry or 5-1mixture as in the hearth?

Sorry for all the questions at one time but since I've been working on the kitchen, I got sidetracked but I've been thinking about all these things and need to get-er-done.

Cheers,
Dan