Elizabeth's oven

[Ed_]

Wow, that slab looks like it could hold up two or three ovens' worth of weight! Nice!

[egalecki]

Thank you one and all.

If you're considering an oven, you should consider the steel decking- it's a permanent part of the slab. We got the eleven foot long by three feet wide sheet for about $51.00. They cut it in half at the store free. It cuts easily with a metal blade in your circular saw (and lots of really cool sparks too). It also cuts down some on the concrete needed to do the hearth because of the corrugated surface. We used 12 bags for a 64x64 (minus a corner) size.

I neglected to mention it, but we toenailed the actual forms into the support boards we'd nailed into the block. It seems to have done a good job keeping the form from expanding.

The rain did make the top look a little weird but I think it'll be fine to work on anyway, and I doubt much will be showing when I'm finished. What's showing I can always cover up with tile or something else...

[egalecki]

Well, I used the water/portland slurry onto the wet vermiculite method to pour my insulating layer today. Worked pretty well, although I hesitate to call it "pouring" when it's of the consistency you get! It worked great, I think. I won't really know until I see it dry. I taped my cove base forms from my stepping stones back together to make the form, and supported it with some of the bricks turned on their sides. It's as level as I can make it- it's hard to screed it with the texture.

If it all comes apart like a sand castle when I take the form off I'm gonna be pissed. I got cement all over my shoes and pants (the @@#$% bucket spun when the mixer started up). Maybe I'll just leave the form on until I get the floor laid and the dome started... then when I'm ready to blanket and vermicrete the outside, I can cut it off then...

by the way, my local pool supply also had vermiculite and portland cement premixed in bags. Has anyone used it that way? I wasn't sure about the ratio, so I didn't buy it, but then, after dumping and mixing this morning, I have no idea about the ratio I just did, anyway!

on to planting the last few things in the garden, and then to cutting bricks. I need to get some fireclay so I can set my floor- I'm going to use what I get from cutting the bricks, I hope. It's not easy to get around here.

And if the little man who lives next door tells me ONE MORE TIME that what I'm doing looks like a job for a man, not a young lady, I'll scream. I swear I will.

[dmun]

And if the little man who lives next door tells me ONE MORE TIME that what I'm doing looks like a job for a man, not a young lady, I'll scream. I swear I will.

Don't worry, he'll move on soon to the reliable "when will it be done?"

[Frances]

Originally Posted by egalecki

And if the little man who lives next door tells me ONE MORE TIME that what I'm doing looks like a job for a man, not a young lady, I'll scream. I swear I will.

Ha ha! I got some of that, too : Sourcing firebricks... "Ah, obviously what you're looking for is a pre-cast oven." No I'm NOT!!

[egalecki]

Onward and upward. I have put on the insblock layer and the floor. It's a little ragged around the edges, but nothing is wobbly or unsupported, so I figure what gets covered up doesn't matter. George's motto applies here, I think. My bricks weren't all quite the same thickness, so I kept having to pick them up and add more dust to make the floor as level as possible.

Here's the floor and the soldier course laid out. Do my angled bricks at the edge of the door look like a viable way to start my arch? I figure 4 courses like that, then go sideways with the arch, peaking at 12 inches. I'll have to use a form, but I have plenty of foam to make one.

The inside diameter has worked out to 36 1/2 inches, which is pretty close to what I was working for.

[egalecki]

Which brings me to my next question: does this picture look like your layout for the courses of the dome? I'm shooting for a maximum of 20 inches to the ceiling, which this is, but it's kind of squatty-looking. I'm sure that I have a half-circle in my head, which I know it isn't.

Did all your gaps work out evenly between all the courses? Mine seem to be wider at the bottom and smaller at the top. If I try to make them even, it grows too tall. This is 12 courses. How many courses should I have for a 36 ish oven?

[dmun]

Looking good. I first thought I was seeing a double layer of splits on your floor, but realized that it was an artifact of cutting your bricks.

Your dome will progress sort of the way it wants. Once you start slinging mud, you will find your dreams of ideal geometry will fade. You're right though, you don't want much more than 20 for a 36 oven.

[thebadger]

Elizabeth,

I think the FB plans call for now mare than an 18" height for the "taller" version with the 36inch. I wanted between 16-18 for my 36 and ended up with 17 1/2.

Dick

I think I had about 10-11 courses (gets a little squisehd toward the top).

[asudavew]

Sorry I missed this thread.
Looks great so far.

Keep going!
the hard part begins!

thanks for posting