Corner Install with Kitchen/Prep Area

[aceves]

I've started with the rock facade install on my oven stand. It's going a little slow due to the heat and little time I've had, but at least it's getting done! I plan to finish the storage area arch before I complete mortaring the rock.

[aceves]

Hi Members!

Well, if you have been following my build, you're probably aware that I've been building a 2-level wood deck next to my outdoor kitchen and WFO. So depending on the time (per weekend) that I have to build, I have been working on one project or the other.

Here are some pics of my completed, stained & sealed upper deck. I'm staining from top to bottom, so the next thing on the list is to stain and seal the lower portion of the deck.

Just wanted to include some completion pics because I had included a half-built deck in my previous posts.

More pics of the WFO project coming right up!

aceves

[aceves]

Side note:

If you happen to visit Sacramento, CA, you HAVE to stop by Pizza Rock on K Street. The pizzas are AWESOME!

They have a wood-fired Cirigliano Forni italian oven.

My family and I stopped by for the first time this weekend and the pizzas were amazing! I strongly recommend the New Yorker pizza.

The word is out that this place is a "must see" in Sacramento!!

aceves

[aceves]

OK, so I got quite a bit done this weekend!

Here's a brick cutting tip I used on my storage arch:

When you're setting up an arch with only one row of bricks (facing bricks) and you want the look of 2 mini bricks between full bricks, just cut your full brick in half on one side, with the cut being the width of the mortar gap you intend to use. That way you are still setting up a full brick, but once you fill in the mortar, it looks like 2 half bricks.

Easy "cheat" for the proper 1-2-1 brick look, but it only works on archs with facing bricks that are one brick in depth.

This works great for storage archs as well as oven archs where you're setting up a facing brick arch only!

The 2nd photo shows my completed arch with the 1-2-1 brick facing layout, with the gaps mortared in, as well as the stonework I've done to date.

Slow and steady!!

aceves

[aceves]

One other thing I added to my build was a bit of fun and functionality to my WFO.

I finished up my storage arch with a custom keystone. And I went with a literal meaning of the word. I cast my own keystone, with a skeleton key in the stone... get it? Keystone!!

In the first pic you'll see the finished piece. In the expanded view you'll see the completed arch.

In the next 3 pics you'll see how I cast the keystone. I printed the text I wanted to incorporate into the cast. I reversed the image (mirror image). I used a router to cut the text as grooves in the mdf, and I created the box with the correct dimensions for my arch. I used a mix of portland cement, mortar, concrete and colored powder I had from a previous project. It came out with a sandstone color instead of the usual grey.

I believe this may be the first keystone in the FB forum that has a key in the stone... literally!!!!

aceves

[aceves]

And why would I place a key in a stone? Like I said, fun and functionality! This key is no ordinary skeleton key!

Check out the pics below. It's a wine bottle opener and a beer opener - the oval handle part opens beers!

I envisioned cooking pizzas, drinking wine, wanting to open a new bottle and missing a bottle opener... so why not have one readily available right on the WFO?

You have a beer that needs opening? Hey, the opener is on the keystone!

I thought of the idea and I just went for it. If it didn't work, no harm, no foul. But it turned out just fine! I found the skeleton key on eBay.

The last pic is the mock-up of my arch right before I starting setting it in place with mortar. It shows the keystone ready to go.

More ideas in the works for this build!

aceves

[cynon767]

Nice to see another Sacramentan making progress!

I like the way the spaces of the deck and outdoor kitchen flow together.

Only one quibble... that key looks like it projects right about a crotch level. I'm forseeing a certain amount of potential for accidental injury in an uncomfortable area...

[aceves]

Hi Jamie,

A big hello to a fellow Sactown builder! Your WFO came out awesome! I like the white stucco & brick design. I can't wait to get the dome done and start cooking in it like yours!

As for the key in my keystone, it will not be in the way... I made sure of the measurements (double and triple checked). My oven entry ledge is going to stick out about 4" beyond the key, as I still have to set the stone facade on the ledge right above the keystone and my brick landing on top of that with a few more inches sticking out beyond that.

So the key will be "inset" from the final oven entry landing. The pics you see are not the final product, I still have to finish the front landing area.

I'll be checking in on your WFO cooking from time to time!

aceves

[aceves]

Hi all,

I've started a new thread in the "Pompeii Oven Construction" Forum. This weekend I switched from just "getting started" to starting on my dome!! It feels great to finally get started on that thing!

It only took me 3 years!!!

I'll post pics of my dome build on the other thread, but I'll continue to post a pics of the overall build on here as well.

Happy WFO building!

aceves

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/a...ild-16501.html (Aceves's Corner 42" Pompeii Build)

[aceves]

Here are some pics of my 2-level deck! It's 90% done, just need to a built-in bench, a couple of steps, and outdoor lighting and it's done!

I worked on the deck this weekend, as well as on the entry/vent on my 42" Pompeii. More pics on the way!

aceves