Three enclosure walls are on. The chimney is covered in lath and perl-crete. I just found out that the masonry store has perlite for 1/3 the cost of the hydroponics store ($10/bag), so I’ll be filling the entire enclosure with loose perlite, rather than messing around with chicken wire or partitions.
The dome has had about a month to cure on its own while I messed around with the vent, chimney, and enclosure. The evenings are getting warmer, so it’s time to get moving. I lit the first fire tonight. Just a pile of sticks, really. Probably a little larger than the “1 newspaper” fire recommended, but the oven seemed pretty dry.
It burned for about 30 minutes. The smoke went right up the chimney, not much was escaping out of the front. After it was finished, the outside of the dome was slightly warm to the touch. No cracks (yet).
Thanks for the site, James, and thanks to everyone who has contributed to the forum. It's a great resource.