oven dome Newbie Forum Discuss oven dome in the Good Background Information forums; hi iam new to masonry and pizza oven work and wanted to know if i could make a sand dome ...

[istoven]

hi iam new to masonry and pizza oven work and wanted to know if i could make a sand dome for the pizza oven and just pour a sand morter concrete mix on the dome or if that will crack. my other option is to take bricks and make a dome but the only bricks i can aford are the rock sand one and i thought those would crack so what would work better.

[Ken524]

Be sure to download the free Pompeii plans:
Brick Oven Plans | Build an Italian Brick Oven

The plans mention that if you can't afford or can't locate real refractory brick, then using plain house brick is better than nothing. You can visit a local brickyard and get second-hands and leftovers for pennies a piece. We have several ovens on the forum made from standard brick.

Good luck!

[dmun]

A plain concrete dome will simply fall apart in chunks when exposed to repeated heat/cool cycles. Ken's advice is good.

[istoven]

Originally Posted by Ken524

Be sure to download the free Pompeii plans:
Brick Oven Plans | Build an Italian Brick Oven

The plans mention that if you can't afford or can't locate real refractory brick, then using plain house brick is better than nothing. You can visit a local brickyard and get second-hands and leftovers for pennies a piece. We have several ovens on the forum made from standard brick.

Good luck!

when i go to download the pdf it takes me to the shoping cart then i went through that and all it did was say order is prosed

[dougrappe]

You should get an e-mail with download instructions,( I think.) Really worth reading cover to cover, then review a couple complete oven threads and check out the gallery.

And then, I dare you to try to get anything else done once you start building that oven.

Doug

[papavino]

And then, I dare you to try to get anything else done once you start building that oven.

Doug

Are you referring to the forum addiction? Because I have that.

[dougrappe]

Yeah Papavino, serious forum addiction, and I haven't even begun to explore the recipe/cooking technique section.

But hey "istoven" (I see by your name you're already thinking it might not be your last oven, see how easily you get sucked in) it's all good. My only problem now is patience to get it done right!

Doug

[Neil2]

There are two very different types of concrete used for pizza oven construction.

- Portland cement based concrete. This is normal everyday concrete. It needs water to cure and once set is not adversely affected by moisture. This is what you use for footings and structural slabs. This type of concrete will not stand up to temperatures of over 600 degrees F or so.

- Refractory Concrete. Specialized concrete or mortar for high temperature applications. Does not need water to cure - it cures by being fired. It is also susceptible to deterioration is exposed to excessive water.