Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI Pompeii Oven Construction Discuss Greg & Karen's 42" Deck WBO in MI in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; Dave, I installed the soldier course and the entry bricks before I did the grind so that the floor bricks ...

[glindhout]

Dave,

I installed the soldier course and the entry bricks before I did the grind so that the floor bricks couldn't move around. Even though the bricks are relatively soft, it still took awhile to grind smooth--even with a brand new 4.5" diamond cup wheel. I probably should have done it with a wet surface, but I kept it dry. It creates a HUGE amount of dust and fireclay, so make sure you wear a good respirator.

The key is to make sure you keep the grinder relatively level and move quickly. You shouldn't have a problem making a gouge in the bricks. If you're nervous about using a diamond wheel, you could always start with low-grit polishing disks and take your time -- you can't possibly mess up with those!

Greg

[Dino_Pizza]

Like Greg said, move quickly and use deft hand (which will come in handy on that odd brick in a row that is somehow taller than the ones next to it later on in your build)

That said however one of the pro's on this forum said to me to always take a pizza peel and slide it in and out on the floor first. You will be surprised at how well the herringbone pattern works to resist anything catching. Then, I only took down the 6-8 highest EDGES and left it at that. However, a really smooth floor is beautiful thing to look at. -Dino

[DaveW]

Thanks Greg and Dino. I kept the hose on the bricks so airborne dust was minimal. However the results were not good. To see my frustrated explination see here...

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/8/da...html#post71305 (Dave's Northern Virginia Build)

I wish I had read your replies before I dove in! Anyway, the plan at the moment is to replace the floor with new bricks. And if I end up with a high spot I will go at it with a sanding disc.
Dave

[stonylake]

Greg, how far along are you? I keep thinking that I should have just continued after i built my hearth, but it is Michigan. I'm going to set up a wet saw in my shop this weekend, and hopefully cut some brick over the Thanksgiving holiday. Did you buy insulation board at Industrial? What was it?

[glindhout]

Stony,

I have been stuck on the fifth ring for over a week, despite the nice weather because we've been really busy at work, etc. I'm hoping to continue working as long as I can with my heater, but I'll have to give up for the season as soon as the snow starts accumulating on the "pizza hut".

I bought my insulation board at Industrial Brick -- it's 2" Duraboard RGLD board, milled one-side (rough on the other) -- it's cheaper than the milled 2-sides and works great -- I used 3 sheets of 24x48", which gave me a small piece leftover for my door eventually. The total cost w/out tax was 377.28 ($15.72/sq ft).

They also have boxes of 1/2" insulating blanket available as mill-run end cuts (about 40" x 40") from their die cutting service. It's only $50 per 100 sq. ft., so I'll probably use that around the oven when I'm ready to insulate.

I bought hydrated lime and 250 fire bricks at Spruit Bros. for $1.22 each. And got a 50 lb bag of fireclay at Belden Brick for $18.00.

Greg

[geisen]

Greg
Just drop the sides on the shelter, crank up the heater and keep going. Snow and cold is no excuse ;-) easy to say from san diego.

[glindhout]

"Oh the weather outside is frightful..."

Geisen, here's the view that we awoke to this morning... should be about 12" on the ground before this storm has passed thru the area by this afternoon... and yes, that is my HF tile saw somewhere under the small tarp. :-0

And there's a few shots showing the current progress. I only had to shave about 1/4" off a single brick to make the arch go together. But I'm really concerned now that my bricks are too much in alignment towards the middle of the oven -- I wasn't paying attention to that before, so I'm going to have to really watch for that moving forward.

Maybe I need to put a strand or two of xmas lights on the pizza hut to get me motivated to go work out in the cold!

[mfiore]

You're a true Michigander, Greg! Keep plugging away! Looking great.

[stonylake]

Good Morning Greg... we're never really quite ready for that first big snow! being in the exterior building products business, you can imagine how slow we are today... i stopped at Belden yesterday and bought some firebrick splits, i laid out my solder course on a piece of plywood in my shop and needed a couple of splits to finish the circle. i see that you bought the fireclay from Belden, what ratio are you using for your mortar? i called Falcon Manufacturing in Byron Center this morning, and they can cut me a half sphere made out of EPS, 36" diameter. if the cost isn't outrageous, i'll cut all of my brick and assemble the oven "dry" in my shop.. I can then go full blast in the spring...

[kebwi]

No snow in Seattle, but it's 27F. I'm still laying bricks. It helps tremendously that my saw is inside in my basement. In addition, I mix my mortar not with hose water (which may or may not run at this temperature anyway) but rather with warm water from the house. Keeps my fingers from freezing and is better for the mortar anyway.

You would be surprised how warm a halogen work light will make you when it is pointed directly at the area you are working on (and thereby at you).