Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts Pompeii Oven Construction Discuss Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; Thanks everyone for the input on filling holes. Wiley, your build sounds like it will be really strong. I'll follow ...

[Dino_Pizza]

Thanks everyone for the input on filling holes. Wiley, your build sounds like it will be really strong. I'll follow RT or Mikes method to fill the front holes.

Christo, my front-half opening has the only angle irons and block-header across it. My side-half opening (Thanks for the compliment Ken , it's a modification of what Mike (mfiore) did and our desire to get crap OUT of the garage and hide it some where.

My only "problem" in everything I did yesterday was that angle iron in the front. I wanted to recess it in the block but oooh....what a hassle to grind 1/8" by 2" deep front and bottom of 4 plus blocks!!! I used a 7" skill saw, a masonry blade and almost an hour of my time to BADLY grind just 1 block! Then my masonry blade brock apart. To cut 1/8" off is really hard and the blade bends out. I GAVE UP. I just put both front and rear angle iron in and therefor my front row is 1/8" higher than all the other blocks in the stand. I plan on bringing the hearth slab pour back to level when I form it.
IS THAT OK? Does anyone see a problem with it?

PS: what was I doing wrong? Should I have used a 7" diamond blade on my little saw? I couldn't fit the 16" long blocks on the HF wet saw.

Thanks again everyone, I never could have got to this stage without this website.
-Dino

[Wiley]

Dino,
If I understand what you are saying correctly, at present the lintel blocks have not been cut to accommodate the angle iron. If that is correct you still might consider what I did, It sure was a whole lot easier than the cutting the blocks and installing the angle iron. Here's a link to the post with some pictures of what I did:

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/3/st...html#post35280

Wiley

[exceloven]

Dino,
At the rate you are going you probably filled your blocks today already. I dont understand why it it took so long to notch the block for the angle iron. Maybe you had the wrong blade. I used my 4" angle grinder and it took about ten minutes to do them all. Either way your stand looks great and in the end it won't matter anyway. Keep up the good work and the pix.

Mark

[Ken524]

Mark (Exceloven) is right. It won't make a bit of difference. Once the slab is poured and you finish the exterior, only you will know about the 1/8" inch difference (and you'll probably forget about it in a few months ).

[christo]

One hint with the HF saw. But it may be a reckless suggestion. So beware.

I took the motor off the unit and used it as a freehand unit when cutting base blocks. It seems like it's intended to do that as it has nice handles on each side. It was balanced and easy to handle.

Needless to say - be careful - even though the blade does not have teeth or serraations I bet it could still do a number on a finger or thigh....

Christo

[Dino_Pizza]

Thanks Mark and Ken, I'm sure your right and I'll leave it alone. Wiley, I did go too far to bother with inverting the bond beam blocks. Thanks for picture too. I understand now what you did and it was great! I would do that next time.

And Christo, I totally fell in love with my HF saw yesterday and now you tell me it can do even more! I would have totally removed it and tried cutting free hand but it's too late now. And I think my angle grinder WOULD have worked had it not been used since the '94 earthquake repairs so the grind-disc would barely cut a cake let alone block. I'm putting much quality time and good money toward this so the least I could do is replaced worn blades and such on my hand tools. Word to the wise (or newbie).

I'm almost thru re-baring my freeway on ramp...I mean my oven hearth base. Sunday, I'm going to see how many cells or holes a 60lb bag will fill with concrete and that will tell me if I'll fill all block cells or almost all.

thanks, Dino

[exceloven]

Dino,
Just a thought. I filled my cells all the way to one below the top block. Then I formed the hearth and poured the hearth at the same time as the last block to tie it all together. I don't know if it really matters but thats what I did.

Mark

[christo]

Looking good!!!

That looks like the beginnings of a super strong floor. Based on your strong start - I'm definately going to be following your build!

I used the fiberglass reinforced surface bond finishing mix to coat my base - I put it on about 1/4 inch thick. Result? all imperfections forgotten!

Thanks!

Christo

[mfiore]

Dino, I missed a few days. Looks like your off to a great start! You'll be really happy with your double entrance stand. I like the modified design. If you haven't yet, post a photo of it in the photo gallery under hearth and stand. This will give ideas to future builders.

[Dino_Pizza]

Hi Mike, thanks for reminding me to post to the photo gallery. I'll do that for sure. It was pics of your split base that helped me with my design & it's amazing how the visual stuff is so helpful!
Also, I just received, 3 hours ago by fedex, my FornoBravo FB board and 2 boxes Refmix. I'm sooo exicted. Tomorrow, or Sat, I will pour my 4" upper base so I'll be playing with cutting the Insulation Board and my haring bone brick pattern while my concrete dries.
I found a place that has 95 cent Muddox fire brick about 20min. away from me so I'll be picking up 275 bricks.
I just checked your entire thread and really enjoyed your pics. They will be so helpful for the dome and arch build. It's exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. It's just great.
Thanks, Dino