Hansen Horno

[james]

Very nice.

Are you going to put a nice run of rebar in the course of blocks that spans the wood storage? I notice that you didn't use angle iron under those blocks.

That might be a good idea. What do our construction experts think?
James

[dbhansen]

Originally Posted by james

Are you going to put a nice run of rebar in the course of blocks that spans the wood storage?

James, the pics in post #5 above show the two very substantial pieces of angle iron I used under those blocks. Is that what you were referring to? My only concern with embedding them was that the blocks may be weakened a bit, but I'll fill the remaining lintel cores when I pour the hearth.

[dbhansen]

PizzaPolice, wow, that's some excitement! You didn't actually cut any utility lines, right? Did they let you proceed with the sheathing?

[PizzaPolice]

Nope... Nothing was cut, merely uncovered. The damn thing traversed diagonally across the base blocks just above the pad. The blocks had to be cut to accept the run. No pressure was put on the gas or electric (we're subterranean here) I wanted only to beef up that section that ran through.

Another funny part was when the Gas dude slowly advanced and learned the real reason I called. He said he'll make a phone call to see if it was OK if I can continue the build. He came back and said yep, it's OK. Yeah, AS IF!

[mfiore]

Looks great, Daren! Don't second guess the foundation (mainly because I followed your lead and did mine almost identical!).

I'm looking forward to the rest of the build.

[dbhansen]

Finally some progress! The hearth is complete. It's a little rough, but it's (mostly) flat and square. I'm glad it will be covered up in the end! The Quikrete was much tougher to work with than the ready-mix that I got delivered for my foundation, but it wouldn't have made financial sense to have it delivered for the hearth.

The grey patches are "Quikrete vinyl concrete patch," which I used to fill a few low spots on the top. The leftover went around the outside edge just to smooth it out a bit. The 2 copper pipes sticking up are for a thermocouple that will go in the middle of the oven floor. The wires will be routed down into the wood storage area and up the other pipe to join the other thermocouple wires coming from around the dome.

The hearth is 4" thick with lots of rebar. The cantilever sticks out 12" at the peak, 4" at the sides. Total dimensions are about 72" x 84" (to peak of cantilever).

Thanks go to Acoma, Ken, and others who inspired me to do the cantilever!

[dbhansen]

Score!!! This is a van-load of kiln-dried hardwood that a friend gave me, gratis! Box after box of small slats, almost too nice to burn. Oak, maple, pine, black walnut, mahogany, and probably others. That should keep me in business for a while, and inspire me to get this oven done. But I do some woodworking on the side and it really will make me feel guilty to burn it!

[mfiore]

Daren,

Love the cantilever. I'm considering one myself. I'm enjoying your build, I'm right behind you! How late did you wait until pulling the forms?

What do you plan for an insulating layer, vermiculite/concrete or CalSil Board?

[dbhansen]

Mike, I waited one full week. I had it covered with plastic on all sides until then. For the insulation, I'm planning on using 2-3" of insulating board, but I haven't decided whether to splurge for the FB Board or go with Insblok-19. I need to decide very soon....

[dbhansen]

Here's my template for the 42" oven floor and entryway, and I mocked up the bricks. The template is just heavy poster paper, hopefully rigid enough to transfer to the bricks; I may need to switch to rigid foam or foam-core. I think I'll continue the herringbone pattern into the vent/landing area, like shown.

The vent/landing is 3 brick widths deep and 20" wide at the oven, with a 1/2" reveal on each side, and it angles out 1.25" on each side. I may increase that angle, it looks a little shallow.

Now to concentrate on picking the best bricks for the floor, and getting it level.

I'm not sure if I'll be sanding it or not, but has anyone used a small (5") random orbital sander for the floor? Or would it be best to rent a belt sander?