My Modified Barrel Vault in Texas

[larrycooper]

Alan Scott ( one of the authors of the Bread Builders and masonry ovens) uses angle iron in all of his barrel vault ovens at the mouth of the oven. Can't imagine it would be a problem after all of his builds.

[shuboyje]

The fornobravo plans used to use it to. I think there is a reason it "used to". I had no concerns using it when I built because I had seen it done before, but it was certainly an issue, and you would have never known it was so bad if you didn't demo the oven and see the other side. From the interior it looked ok.

[david s]

The thermal expansion of steel and concrete are virtually identical so I guess that would also go for brickwork. The trouble is the steel is in a place where it's going to get hot first and being a much better conductor, will expand before the brickwork has time to heat up. Many builders have used steel lintels and not reported problems, but if you are concerned then maybe leave a little space either end of the angle iron so it has room to move without placing stress on the brickwork.

[cobblerdave]

Yep my ovens opening is square with double pieces of angle as a lintle...
do I have cracks yes..... is it a problem....no
There small and well everyone reports cracks of some type.... mine well they disappear over the work week and reappear when the oven hot on the weekends....

regards Dave

[luca]

I decided to take Brickie's suggestion and make a "Welsh Arch" to support the opening. It dry fitted well and so I cemented it all last week and all looks good. Thanks for all of the input!

[luca]

If anyone is still monitoring this page, I am now at the stage of enclosing and insulating the enclosure with either perlite or vermiculite. Since I'm in a very cold climate (Vermont) I'm concerned about water retention around the oven in winter--even with a roof and "box"-- and have read that Perlite retains less water than Vermiculite. Anyone have any experience with Perlite as an insulator and/or any issues with using it, as opposed to Vermiculite?

[Tscarborough]

It is an excellent insulator and most of it available to the public is siliconized which helps with the water issue.