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My Old Kentucky Dome

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  • My Old Kentucky Dome

    Motivated by all the other amateur builders here who said "If I can do it ANYONE can do it", We've kicked off construction of "My Old Kentucky Dome".

    It will be a 42" Pompeii oven.

    A recent trip to New Mexico inspired us to finish it out with a southwestern theme. The base will reflect southwestern architecture (stucco, brick), the oven itself will take on the appearance of an igloo Horno oven, like those found in many Indian Pueblo backyards - An Italian brick pizza oven hidden inside of a Native American Horno .

    Our patio will eventually be covered with an overhanging Santa Fe style arbor to tie in with the oven's theme.

    Today we poured the pad (and some stepping stones with the left-over concrete). The Mini Mix company in Louisville specializes in small loads and small trucks. For the money, it was a great choice. I will definitely have them deliver the hearth concrete as well. I'm not mixing dozens of 80lbs bags in 100 degree heat!

    Against my better judgment, I've decided to keep close track of my oven building expenses. Usually, I don't track these kinds of projects, because I really don't want to know how much I've blown! I figured, others might be interested in what the project costs for research purposes. Here's the link to a public spreadsheet that I'll keep up to date:

    Google Docs & Spreadsheets - Pompeii Oven Costs


    Time to put together an order for concrete blocks!

    Ken
    Last edited by Ken524; 12-10-2017, 01:53 PM.
    Ken H. - Kentucky
    42" Pompeii

    Pompeii Oven Construction Video Updated!

    Oven Thread ... Enclosure Thread
    Cost Spreadsheet ... Picasa Web Album

  • #2
    Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

    I started an album so I don't have to chew up Forno Bravo's bandwidth. I'll include highlight shots on my posts and more detailed pics on the Picasa album.

    Picasa Web Albums - Ken

    Ken
    Last edited by Ken524; 12-10-2017, 01:57 PM.
    Ken H. - Kentucky
    42" Pompeii

    Pompeii Oven Construction Video Updated!

    Oven Thread ... Enclosure Thread
    Cost Spreadsheet ... Picasa Web Album

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

      Great start Ken. Nice design on the concrete. Looking foreward to seeing your progress as I continue mine.

      Cheers, John
      "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas A. Edison

      Comment


      • #4
        Block Stand Construction

        We put up the block stand yesterday.

        Cutting the 2" angle-iron was fun. I used my sawzall-type saw with a medium metal blade. This worked great, but I noticed that the second cut wasn't going quite as fast as the first . A closer look at the blade showed that I had worn the teeth right off. With a little adjustment in my cut, I was able to finish.

        I grooved the blocks to fit in the angle iron with my Skil saw and an old diamond masonry blade. This is an easy way to do it! I finished with nice clean cuts in about 30-40 minutes (definitely wear hearing protection!).

        Assembly was very easy. Our amateur-poured pad was level enough that we didn't need any mortar under the first course. The final structure is (amazingly) dead level. I got lucky.

        The stand is a square 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 blocks. The hearth will cantilever over the front wall by 6-8", similar to Robert M's (love that tile work!!).

        We filled every other core + the two extras in the front with concrete. The empty cores were filled with all the leftover hardened concrete drips, slag and debris from the foundation pour. We won't need to stuff concrete bags in the cores.

        Now the real fun starts!

        Ken
        Ken H. - Kentucky
        42" Pompeii

        Pompeii Oven Construction Video Updated!

        Oven Thread ... Enclosure Thread
        Cost Spreadsheet ... Picasa Web Album

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

          looking good! subscribed!
          Steve Kennemer
          Austin, TX

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

            I finished installing the plywood tray. I covered the ply with a heavy gauge trash bag and a bit of duct tape for easy release.

            The vertical 2x4's are not fastened, just pressure fitted and adjusted with shims. The tolerances are close enough that they aren't going anywhere.
            Ken H. - Kentucky
            42" Pompeii

            Pompeii Oven Construction Video Updated!

            Oven Thread ... Enclosure Thread
            Cost Spreadsheet ... Picasa Web Album

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

              Over the last couple of days I built the hearth frame with the cantilever. The close-up picture shows the cantilever detail and a turnbuckle/cable that I installed to hold the slightly warped 2x6's in place.

              The cantilever is 12" at the longest point. Because of the curve, there really isn't a whole lot of concrete that will be extending the full distance.

              Hopefully, I put in enough rebar (can you put in too much?)

              Ken
              Ken H. - Kentucky
              42" Pompeii

              Pompeii Oven Construction Video Updated!

              Oven Thread ... Enclosure Thread
              Cost Spreadsheet ... Picasa Web Album

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

                Today was the big pour. After worrying about the strength of my cantilever, I ran to Home Depot and grabbed 4 more 2' sections of rebar and tied them in to the grid. As I was finishing up, the concrete truck arrived.

                The pour went great. My wife and I used our amateur skills (or lack of) to get a pretty smooth end result.

                Now... Patience while it cures!

                Ken
                Ken H. - Kentucky
                42" Pompeii

                Pompeii Oven Construction Video Updated!

                Oven Thread ... Enclosure Thread
                Cost Spreadsheet ... Picasa Web Album

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

                  Great job. I never got a slab that smooth without pulling out a lake of slurry on top.



                  When I inquired about getting redi-mix concrete, they wouldn't even take the truck on a DRIVEWAY let alone a lawn. I would have had to wheelbarrow the stuff in from the street (in 20 minutes). Needless to say, I mixed my own.
                  My geodesic oven project: part 1, part 2

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

                    Very nice. Wish I would have thought of that.
                    Oven Progress
                    Bread Photos
                    Oven Stand Thread

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

                      Originally posted by dmun View Post
                      Great job. I never got a slab that smooth without pulling out a lake of slurry on top.
                      We took off quite a bit of slurry (oops)! We were screeding with a long 2x4 while the driver was cleaning his truck. Being amateurs, we were going over it several times . The driver (very nicely) told us to knock it off until everything set for 30-40 minutes, then do it *once* more. We gave it one more screed after it started to set and it looked pretty good. Another 20 minutes and I floated & edged.

                      When I inquired about getting redi-mix concrete, they wouldn't even take the truck on a DRIVEWAY let alone a lawn.
                      There's this great place in Louisville (Mini-Mix) that has a fleet of small mixers that caters to people doing weekend projects. The truck was about the size of a Ford F450 with a mixer mounted on the back; holds about 2 yards.

                      He was able to cut right across our lawn, down a small slope to our back patio. With the dry weather we had, he never left a mark.

                      For others getting ready to pour, check your Yellow Pages under "concrete" and look for companies with small or mini trucks. Be sure to call around. Larger towns probably have them. They really saved my worn-out body a LOT of wear and tear!

                      Ken
                      Ken H. - Kentucky
                      42" Pompeii

                      Pompeii Oven Construction Video Updated!

                      Oven Thread ... Enclosure Thread
                      Cost Spreadsheet ... Picasa Web Album

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

                        New Mexico transplant?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

                          Originally posted by jengineer View Post
                          New Mexico transplant?
                          Nope. We have vacationed out west a few times and really enjoy the landscape and architecture. While roaming around NM, we would see stuff and say "Hey that's really cool; our patio needs to look like that!".

                          We're most recently TN and KY natives (with a little bit of Philly and Indiana thrown in).

                          Ken
                          Ken H. - Kentucky
                          42" Pompeii

                          Pompeii Oven Construction Video Updated!

                          Oven Thread ... Enclosure Thread
                          Cost Spreadsheet ... Picasa Web Album

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

                            My wife and I love NM as well. We honeymooned there in Santa Fe last year. I also go out to the labs in Los Alamos to do work from time to time.
                            Oven Progress
                            Bread Photos
                            Oven Stand Thread

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: My Old Kentucky Dome

                              Originally posted by rlf5 View Post
                              My wife and I love NM as well. We honeymooned there in Santa Fe last year.
                              We just spent a week in Santa Fe last month. Ended up using the UPS Store to ship all of our souvenirs home (mostly patio and oven decor ).


                              ...patiently waiting a few days for concrete to cure.
                              Last edited by Ken524; 08-21-2007, 04:22 PM.
                              Ken H. - Kentucky
                              42" Pompeii

                              Pompeii Oven Construction Video Updated!

                              Oven Thread ... Enclosure Thread
                              Cost Spreadsheet ... Picasa Web Album

                              Comment

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