Oven on wheels

[wotavidone]

No hearth insulation yet, apart from the scoria-crete slab. Hearth bricks are loose. Reckon I'll put a layer of vermicrete under the bricks. Sorta cast it in-situ, if you get my drift. The scoria is supposed to be reasonable anyway, so I reckon a 50mm layer on top should do it.

[cobblerdave]

Gudday
Just thought I'd point out that if you lift your hearth up and re-insulate after the dome is built you will upset the 63 per cent ratio of door to dome height by changing you floor height.
A large oven perhaps could tolerate a 50mm (2in) change but a smaller oven?
Hope this helps rather than hinders

Regards Dave

[wotavidone]

Yep, aware of that, Dave. Don't stress, it will have the extra insulation under the floor before the dome is finished.
I have to cut a brick to close the circle, which I just couldn't get motivated to do after work last night, but I will do that before the weekend. Then on Sunday I plan to mix some vermicrete and see if I can lay it in to my satisfaction.
One thing about a 30 inch oven, you need quite a bit less of everything.
Easter coming up. One of the few family traditions to follow on Good Friday. I always go fishing on Good Friday with the kids, and dinner that evening is whatever we catch. Never gone hungry in 21 years of marriage.
Then I hope to pretty much complete the arch and dome over the rest of the break.

[david s]

It is worthwhile to allow the vermicrete to dry for at least a week before relaying the floor bricks over it otherwise you are trapping the moisture in and that under floor water is hard to remove.

[wotavidone]

David,
Here's another non-conventional idea. As you no doubt can see from the photos, the dome walls go straight down onto the insulating concrete floor.
Once I lay a couple of bricks across the front, I have a contained tray in which to lay my vermicrete.
I wonder whether one could lay dry vermiculite in there and put the bricks straight on that? Just spread it out flat and drop the bricks on it, or would it compress too much over time?
The bunnings ovens seem to just have a blanket under there, which must surely compress and lose effectiveness over time?
As far as drying it out goes - I'm lucky to find 2 hours per week to work on this thing, by the time I fire it up, it'll be dessicated, dehydrated, drier than a dead dingo's donger, drier than a lime burner's boot, etc.
But I'll leave it a while before I put the bricks back, just the same.
Mick

[david s]

Yes, you could place the vermiculite in dry, but you might have some problems with the floor bricks settling and moving unevenly.

[wotavidone]

Thanks David.
Do you know if anyone has done it successfully before?
Regards,
Mick

[Gulf]

David,
Going back to my build where I placed a 3/4" layer of "fine" vermiculite on top of the course vermicultite (both were 5 to 1 vermicrete). The large marble/small marble conversation . Would adding a thin layer of vermicrete on top of the dry bed help expidite the drying time and still give a firm underlayment for Mick's floor?

[wotavidone]

Ah bugger it! I'll get over the laziness factor and mix some vermicrete. I only have to fill in a 750mm circle with a little bit of landing at the front.
Can't be that hard. (famous last words?)

[Gulf]

Originally Posted by wotavidone

Ah bugger it! I'll get over the laziness factor and mix some vermicrete. I only have to fill in a 750mm circle with a little bit of landing at the front.
Can't be that hard. (famous last words?)

There ya go. You only get to do it once. Take the time and the effort needed to do it right.