Saint Helena Oven

[jahysea]

Hi Marcel, I'm John (C). I started using the very funny spelling of JC as a web alias as it's rarely taken.

I've had the oven much hotter since I cooked those Thanksgiving Pizza's so I now realize what you mean. It takes a fair bit of wood to get the dome clean, but it sure is hot inside when you get there.

Thanks for the compliment, but I'm just getting good at taking pictures that don't show the flaws!

[jahysea]

Well, I started on the stucco scratch coat. No clue what I'm doing, but I'm more confident after the first side.

I was going to to buy some fancy "crack resistant" stucco at the building supply place but they were closed given it's Dec 24. I made my own with 1 part lime, 1 part portland, 3 parts sand. Seemed very workable, we'll see how it hardens.

I also opted to not put metal lathe or corners over the cinder block and concrete backer board. They didn't have that stuff at our local supply place, and I didn't think it was totally needed. If I'm able to knock the stucco off after it dries then I'll lathe over whatever I can't easily scrape off. I'm very confident it will stick to the cinder block, unsure on the backer board.

I put it on thin and fairly smooth, then scraped over it with a v notched morter trowel to scratch it.

I think it's looking fine.

[redbricknick]

Are you kidding? A stucco tutorial? You could teach a masonry course with the workmanship displayed here. How long has it taken you from start to now? Have you been working mostly weekends? After work? Stucco is easy. The directions are on the side of the box. If in a pinch, grapenuts work awesome as stucco. Try cleaning them off the side of a cereal bowl after a couple of days..

[Marcel]

(M) Jaysea (John),

(M) Did you pre-wet your backer board before puting on the "scratch coat? ___

(M) It looks as though you chose "Hardibacker". I particularly like that product. It is lightly pre-grooved so if you mounted it to "level" you have some idea of vertical and horizontal, as well as even spacing while attaching screws, etc.

(M) "Hardi" IMHO, has less of a chance to crumble when cutting since it has no fiber mesh like, I believe, "Durock" or "Wonderboard". It is relatively light, thin, strong, and you can take a blow torch to it without fearing combustion.

(M) They make it in different configurations. I used "Hardiplank" because I wanted a shiplap look. Mine looks like wood because it has a soft grain impression but it is completely fireproof.

(M) I'm making a "pitch" for "Hardi" but I don't have any connection with the company.

Ciao,

Marcel

[jahysea]

Hi Marcel,

I didn't pre-wet the backer board, good idea though as I think it dried a bit quickly and probably didn't get as strong a bond as possible. I'll try that on the next section.

I did use Hardibacker. It's the Ultimate Concrete Backer Board. I know because it says so all over it! :-)

I chose it for the same reasons as you, Durock crumbles easily and is harder in general to work with. Hardibacker is lighter, thinner, and seemingly more durable.

[jahysea]

Originally Posted by redbricknick

Are you kidding? A stucco tutorial? You could teach a masonry course with the workmanship displayed here. How long has it taken you from start to now? Have you been working mostly weekends? After work? Stucco is easy. The directions are on the side of the box. If in a pinch, grapenuts work awesome as stucco. Try cleaning them off the side of a cereal bowl after a couple of days..

Well thanks for the compliment Nick, but no masonry courses in my future. I'm pretty happy with the results to date though, I'll admit.

I started in earnest in late September, so it's taken me just under 4 months. Worked only weekends and a little over the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Probably have 15+ full days into it, although 3 sons and a wife don't often allow me to dedicate full days.

I've about finished the smooth stucco coat (brown coat), I'll post some pics.

[jahysea]

Well, two more days of Stucco work and I've got the brown coat about done, just one side left to get smooth. I'm going to quit for awhile after that side and let it harden. Then all that will be left is texture and paint.

I've been using the premix stucco product from the building supply place. It has fiberglass threads in it to make it crack resistant. Not really much different from the sand/portland mix I was using before, but I trust the fiberglass will help. It also claims it's a "1 coat" product. I'd already scratch coated half the building, so that half has a scratch coat and a smooth coat with this stuff. The other two sides just have 1 coat, and I can't tell much difference between them at this point.

I've found that the trick to Stucco is to get the substrate damp, mix the stucco pretty thin, and move quickly. Don't fuss over small defects, just let the area set up for 30 mins or so and then take a damp sponge to the surface to remove irregularities.

The eaves are done, I don't plan to texture them. Just primer and then good quality elastomeric paint.

[maver]

Hey, that really looks great! It's really looking finished.

[jahysea]

We had a big night NY:



After making Pizza for the kids, some flatbread appetizers, and some artichoke hearts as appetizers, we fit into the oven at one time:
- 2 Chickens butterflied and marinated in Lemon, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper
- Large frying pan of potatoes
- Large ceramic dish of vegetables
- 1 pot of Mac & Cheese



As I result I can see all the inside of the dome again.

[Versachi]

Seeing cooking pic's like that make me want to go outside with a tiger torch and melt all of the snow and frost in the back yard and get building tomorrow. All of the pic's on this site have inspired me to build one, but it's allways the cooking photo's that really catch my eye. Great work on the dome and the great food. Thanks for posting them for us to see.

Happy New Year from the great north, Versachi