Pompei oven progress from Carlo

[biondoli]

Finally the patio is finished and I started working on the form to pour the concrete for the base, hopefully tomorrow....
I have a slope on the patio so the slab will be 3"-3.5" on lower side and 5.5" on the highest side. Hope it will not start freezing in the next few days!!

[dmun]

Lights in the wood bin? Now that's classy.

[biondoli]

Lights? Not planned ...but you never know....maybe ....thanks for your support,
today I poured the concrete...just on time ...tonight will freeze and who knows when I can start working again!
Carlo

[biondoli]

Today I decided to start the blocks work. I stuck them dry first but the slab was not well leveled so I used some mortar to compansate the first and second row. Now it is much better and 3rd and 4th row should go pretty easy. Any suggestions is welcome...first time I do masonry work...I am a little scared...
I'll keep you posted with other pictures as the work progresses, ciao Carlo

[sarah h]

Hey Carlo,

Things are looking good! You're right, it's a huge challenge for those of us who have never done this kind of thing before, but hang in there.
I noticed you mentioned frost a few days ago though and frost and wet uncured mortar don't go together too well so, unless you have a way to keep things from freezing, you might want to think of waiting till spring before you go much further (I don't know where you're located so I'm not sure what your winters are like).
I thought I had plenty of time when I started but I ended up with some high-anxiety moments concerning freezing temps and I still have a few more days to go before my oven is safely cured.
Be careful - you don't want to risk all your hard work!

Sarah

[Frances]

There are lots of us here who have never done masonry before, I'm sure you'll work it all out. To my untutored eye your stand looks fine so far. And I must say, somehow I just really like a hexagonal oven stand....

Frances

[biondoli]

Thanks for your support guys....after some thinking regarding Mr master builder DMUN suggestion...I decided to add lights in the wood bin!
I am also planning to pour the heart slab sometime next week, even though it will start freezing during the night 25-28, but back to 40-50 during the day. My plan is to cover the slab and add a light bulb 100W plus another one in the wood bin 24x7, this should be enough to not allow the freezing temps... I know that I should wait Spring to be safe, but I am looking to some new ideas to avoid 5-6 months stop.....waiting for your comments! thanks ciao Carlo

[thebadger]

Carlo,

Looks good. I love your patio. Is that stamped concrete or stone? I'm in Ohio so the weather is starting to turn cold as I'm working on my foundation/base. I've heard you don't want your conrete to freeze. I like the idea of the light bulb - should provide just enough heat.

Keep up the good work.

Dick

[biondoli]

Thanks for your comments Dick, the patio is made with pavers....the initial idea was the build the oven, but I didn't want to put it in the middle of the yard, so decided to build the patio, which has been huge project ....so the first pizza I'll make will be very, very expensive! Ciao Carlo

[thebadger]

Carlos,

Looks beautiful. You may want to ask around but my only question (maybe concern) would be the pavers and what's under them being able to support the weight and or shifting over time. It sounds like you're in freeze zone. I don't want to alarm you as this is new to me as well. I was going to put mine on an 8 inch slab but I didn't have adequate footers (below the frost line) so I'm now digging down 30+ inches to build a footer/support wall.

Thanks
Dick

Only trying to be helpful. What you did looks GREAT. I just want to be sure your foundation is rock solid before you proceed. My apologies if I'm incorrect and cause any alarm.