[cvdukes]

Pizza Freak,
I built my oven complex as a part of retaining wall at the toe of a dam holding back a 1.5 acre pond, so if no one else throws in some advice I may have a few pointers. Anything is possible but some things just take more advance planning and thought.

But first a few questions about your site. You say a 16 % slope... just so I'm clear on your measurement, does that mean that for every 100 feet of horizontal distance, your elevation rises 16 feet? If so, that sounds like a pretty gentle slope

Also, your 32 inch retaining wall... I am assuming that you want to have that under the front of the oven and extend the bulk of oven backward into the hillside? If so, a few more details on the wall...how long has it been there? Construction materials and foundation?... Drainage on the wall? 32 inches is getting right to the height that water pressure can easily knock over a lot of retaining wells (I've seen 12 inch walls fail here...but we tend to be wetter than many places )...is the soil upgradient of the wall undisturbed soil for the distance going back from the wall at least as far as the oven will extend or or was it cut-and-fill (usually done by filling in behind the wall with dirt dug out from in front of the wall.)? Generally, what type of soil do you have uphill from the wall...very shifty sands/gravels, plastic clays etc.?