Hello from Connecticut

[Knitter06040]

I'm so happy to have found this site. I'm kicking around the idea of building a brick oven for pizza and breads in my back yard. I used to cook professionally, but I've not done this before. My husband is convinced I can't do it which is all the reason I need to plow ahead and try it.

Couple of questions from you experienced types: I have an old fieldstone fireplace in the back yard that was there when we bought the house umpty-upm years ago. It is on a stone slab and has an arched opening. Is it possible to build some type of simple oven inside of this? I want to do something really cheap and simple, maybe even temporary just to get started. Any thoughts, ideas? Thanks!

[dmun]

My guess, based on no evidence, is that an outdoor fireplace wouldn't be big enough to support a brick oven. Also, building it inside an existing enclosure like a ship in a bottle would be well nigh impossible. Just as a guideline, a three foot inside dimension brick oven needs a five foot slab to support it and its insulation.

As I say, these are just guesses. Give us pictures and measurements and we will tell you more.