New Guy

[jschadt]

I decided to build an oven. in the early summer and the patio it is going on took this long! That said I was concerned about the Alumina in the bricks as I see others were. Coming form the construction industry and the hazards that abound in it only compounds the issue. Any more opinions out there?

PS: The pad is poured and the blocks for the base are coming. Other questions involve building the arch for the opening as the rest looks like it is manageable between me and my brick layer friends!

[dbhansen]

Welcome! Post some pictures of your project if you can.

Where is alumina exposure a concern? Is it the dust from cutting the bricks? Or just handling them?

[dmun]

We've got a lot of people here eating food directly cooked on alumina bearing refractory materials, with no deleterious effects so far. James estimates that a million homes in Italy have WFO's, most made from modern refractories.

[Ken524]

If these things were bad for us, there is no doubt in my mind that CALIFORNIA would have banned them long ago

[james]

Originally Posted by Ken524

If these things were bad for us, there is no doubt in my mind that CALIFORNIA would have banned them long ago

Even if they aren't bad for you. Think lead crystal glasses.
James

[james]

On a more serious note, the FB Casa, Premio, Ristorante and Modena have passed NSF (national food sanitation), though we are still awaiting the final report. Even restaurants can use them.
James

[jschadt]

This is what happens when you get a ceramics engineer and some contractors together. We make a mountain out of a molehill! To answer the first reply my concern with fire-bricks (the engineer's really) has more to do with the cooking than the building. If there is a dust problem during construction we can cover that with masks, though I have a wetsaw for bricks coming to the site. This week the concrete blocks will be laid. Next week the top will be formed and poured weather permitting. The top will be cantilevered over the blocks due to not having downloaded the book before starting and undersizing the foundation pour! Undersized though it is it has footings down 54", well below frost in Iowa. Extra re-bar in the top for sure!Oh well. I will start pictures this weekend for information and entertainment!

Back to the bricks, I am going to trust the opinions of all who have went before me and build it as per plans. The ceramic engineer's idea of casting the oven is just not rustic enough for me, and who is to say the casting material is any more or less healthy?

[Les]

Originally Posted by jschadt

and who is to say the casting material is any more or less healthy?

I may have missed something - where is it written that eating pizza IS healthy? Life is short - enjoy the build and enjoy the product.

Les...

[Breven]

Good one Les...