Making Progress in Montana

[christo]

When I make my next oven I believe I'm going to do the same thing!!!

I had fun making an arched vent, but then I felt I needed to add butressing etc to make sure that over time the arch does not try to push the sides out. At that point I was wishing I had gone the angle iron or poured vent approach.

The stainless needles sound painful....

Looks great!!!

[Unofornaio]

Originally Posted by swripley

Question for any who have an opinion. Do I need to worry about the crake that will be created where the cast vent will meet the angle iron? My plan was to fill the gab with the same high heat mortar I used in the dome. It shouldn't be very wide, maybe a 1/8", but I don't want to worry about smoke seeping into my enclosure.

Sharon

If you have not addressed this area yet you should do so before the curing fires.
Ideally you should shove some insulation in the gap first. If you have fiberglass insulation cut a strip and twist it like a rope and shove it in between the metal and the vent just enough to close the gap (about the thickness of the steel-1/8"?). Make sure to moisten the area well and then add the mortar to fill the gap. If you are using the fire clay mixture, mix some straight clay with water to make a thin paste first, paint it on the surfaces that the filler (mortar) will come in contact with then add the mortar before it dries. If you can thin the refectory mortar (Don't know never worked with it) do the same this will help the bond.
This is another one of those areas that have a lot of movement especially the steel expands quite a bit. I say do it now because you will be able to see the cracks which will most likely occur. When you put the mortar in do it in thin applications with a smearing motion at first (use a tuck pointer if you have one) or just use your hands.
If you have the refractory blanket cut a strip and fill the entire area (height of the steel) then mortar over it.
For others using angel iron for the opening a good tip is when building fireboxes we always rest the lintel on a small piece of fiberglass insulation to allow for expansion. So you would have the brick- insulation -lintel-next course of brick.
EDIT>>>saw that you ARE using the blanket, this is the ideal material to use in this example. Shove this in to cover the metal and then follow the fire-clay/refractory mortar directions.

[swripley]

Uno,

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I had moved past that point before I read your post. I only used high heat mortar to fill that gap which was maybe a ¼” at its widest point. I just a popsicle stick (my favorite mortar tool ) to push it into place so I feel like I got it filled pretty well. But now am very concerned about the vent failing. Oh well, at least I now know how to fix it if I have problems in the future. I made certain that I had plenty of blanket insulation well packed around the joint on the outside.

I completed the blanket insulation and was able to get the walls of the enclosure finished today. The insulation was easy but a bit itchy - cover up! (not very pleasant with the 100 degree plus weather we have been having) I dry fit the chimney and everything seems fine there. I will move on the roof later in the week. This will undoubtedly take a while as I'm still building up my confidence to tackle a hip roof.

Sharon

[Unofornaio]

Your welcome. Popsicle stick...I like it. Ive done stonework on some pretty ritzy houses and had a few smart a$$ customers and others on the site make comments or give strange looks at me for using a piece of scrap wood to tool the joints but it still works better than ANY tool for sale..
Why are you worried about the vent (piece you cast?) falling?

[swripley]

Originally Posted by Unofornaio

Why are you worried about the vent (piece you cast?) falling?

Not worried about the casting - its not going anywhere. It weighs a good 75 pounds. But am about concerned where it meets the dome. After reading your suggestions wish I had added insulation around the angle iron.

S

[Unofornaio]

You say failing I say falling you say tomato I say....sorry I misread it. Don't sweat it sounds like it should be OK. When you do your curing fire/fires you will know if its OK, its not like its a structural area and its easy to get to so if it leaks you can either add or re do it. Its a small area in the scheme of things.
Good luck.

[swripley]

Pretty productive weekend. On Thursday afternoon I got a bit of help from the professionals. A friend of mine in the business called in a favor and a couple of guys came over and helped frame in the hip roof for me. They got more done in 2 hours than I could have accomplished in two weeks. I still have to put in the common rafters, but the hip is done. Spent the rest of the weekend framing in the counter to the right that will house the grill, double burner, sink and bar. Another friend roughed in the electrical for me. Started putting the hardibacker on. Which brings me to a question...two sides of the oven/counter are 6" away from the fence. Do a really need to stucco this? It will never be seen. Will the hardibacker wear better with the added protection of the stucco? Or will it just not make that much difference? I'm starting to run out of steam and thought this would save me a bit of time. But I want to do this right. So if I really need to stucco this, I certainly will.

I couldn't wait any longer. I started the first curing fire. Although the chimney isn’t in place yet, the vent worked very well.

Sharon