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Old 05-15-2008, 01:02 PM
Ed_ Ed_ is offline
Apprentice
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Iowa
Posts: 123
Default Re: Stone ovens in cold weather climates

Welcome!

There are a number of us who live in the northern US and Canada, and the weather has been a topic of some conversations. As far as I know, the main thing you need to concern yourself with is a proper foundation so that you're protected from the effects of frost heave.

There are two options in this case. One is a deep foundation, where you dig below the frost line, pour a footing, and build a foundation wall up to grade. Your slab rests on that wall. Look for recent photos from mfiore and dbhansen to see some examples of this.

The other option (which I am considering here in Iowa, where the recommended depth for footings is 48") is what's called a frost-protected shallow foundation. Not a lot of builders on this site have done this, but it is more or less the approach used in the Alan Scott oven plans. A good explanation of the method can be found here; the last diagram is especially relevant to ovens.

Ed

Last edited by Ed_ : 05-15-2008 at 01:04 PM. Reason: typos
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