My first oven build...HELLO from Texas

[FrankT]

I have uploaded a few pictures of where I'm at and would love any input and suggestions.

Thanks to this great forum I have gotten to this stage...

[Tscarborough]

Hello, Frank, looking good! You should close the courses as you go though, it makes it much stronger.

[FrankT]

Thanks for your feedback and your contribution to this forum I have read many of your suggestions and advise. I understand, I defiantly got ahead of myself.

The mortar job as you see it was done on Thursday in 4 hours with a break for lunch.
I mixed two batches, I used type S mortar, heatstop50 fireclay and fine silica sand.
I have zero experience with brick and mortar, my friend who happens to be a retired mason helped me mix the mortar and my goal was to finish 3 courses that day.
I was kneeling on the floor as he handed me each brick. The work went fast, the 3 courses were done in the first hour, I had most of the bricks cut in half and the vent arch was not ready when he came over.
Had the vent arch been formed and we had not run out of bricks we would have closed those courses and almost finished the dome.

Another strap of 75 bricks and we will have enough to finish.

[forno di Lucca]

so you will have used 150 firebricks for you WFO...can i ask what the internal diameter is???

[dmun]

I have zero experience with brick and mortar.
I used type S mortar, heatstop50 fireclay and fine silica sand.

Well there's a novel mixture. Where did you get that idea?

[FrankT]

The oven floor is 42" in diameter. I'm sure I will have a few bricks left over.

After reading Appendix 6 High Heat Mortar, my friend who happens to be a retired mason, came up with this mortar mix recipe. The type S masonry cement we used has no aggregates so, 1 part type S, 1 part fire clay and 3 parts sand.

This mix is like coolwhip, then once the brick is placed you have less than 10 seconds to position the brick before the mortar bonds, if you try to move the brick after that the bond will break.

[FrankT]

Correction on the homebrew mortar recipe I am using...

I was not paying attention when he was mixing the mortar, until today when I wanted to mix my own and I called him and asked.

2 part sand
1 part type S masonry cement
1/2 part heatstop50 fireclay

[dmun]

Just to clarify, for new builders who may be lurking, Heatstop, whether or not it's in a fifty pound bag, is a ready mix refractory mortar. It may have a bit of fireclay in it, but it isn't fireclay. Among other things it's about five times more expensive than fireclay.

[fxpose]

I was a bit puzzled myself with the above mentioned home brew mix using Heatstop.

[FrankT]

So what do you all think will happen to my oven?
Did I put too much faith in my friend and his recipe?

I'm pushing on with confidence, today I set two more courses by myself...