angled flight deck

[Neil2]

I have used the "angled" landing as shown in the photo below. Advantages:

- Can get closer to the fire and cooking floor (11 inches) than any other entry landing design.

- Pizza prep area is continuous with oven opening.

- Hot pots and pans can be slid in and out with no lifting.

The photo shows the first landing I did. It worked so well I cast an new one 12 inches longer. The landing is 1 1/2 inch thick polished concrete.

[Gary Mots]

Neil, that really looks good and very practical. I thought it was marble or granite when I first looked at the finish.

[DTHERR]

nice polished work ... what was used too seal it and can you describe the support beam ?

[Neil2]

No support beam. One end sits on the 8 inch sono pier column and the other rests on the suspended slab. Wen I cast it I put in a couple of anchors to bolt it to the slab and to the pier to prevent tipping if a huge weight is ever put on the cantilever end, although it is generally designed as a gravity structure.

It is ground/polished using diamond wet pads and an 5 inch angle grinder down to 3000 grit.

There is no coating but I did use a product called "enrich-n-seal" to give it a "wet" look and bring out the colour of the exposed stones. This seal is food safe and heat proof.

[mrchipster]

Neil,

I just noticed the pipes you have planted in the ground next to your oven.

That is one great idea. Do they have drain holes at the bottom to prevent water from just sitting in them and what are they made out of and how are they mounted to the ground?

Chip

[Neil2]

They are just some 2 inch pvc pipes I had around. They are just driven into the ground about 6 inches. I then cut slots with a hack saw about 1 inch above ground and filled the pipes with pea gravel to about 2 inches above ground.

[texman]

very nice. great ideas.

[Amac]

The landing is 1 1/2 inch thick polished concrete.

Neil - I love the look of your oven - the polished concrete counter, and surrounds - and nothing imo beats the dome finish. - very good work. I would love to attempt a similar polished concrete counter finish, but maybe it is a step too far for a novice. Do you have details of the concrete mix and any other additives and aggregates you used?

It is ground/polished using diamond wet pads and an 5 inch angle grinder down to 3000 grit.

Also did you use a "dry" angle grinder fixed rpm or do you need a variable speed grinder with water supply?

[Neil2]

Ordinary concrete.

I usually mix my own concrete, but when doing my first counter tops the navy-jack (aggregate) available locally was mostly blast rock. Blast rock does not make the best concrete.

Since the quantities involved are small, instead I bought bags of pre mix. Pre mix is well graded and usually has a good percentage of natural crush mix. This gives a good variety of exposed stone in the the finish. Look for rounded stone in the mix with only one or two fracture faces. Once you find a bag of premix you like, buy a bunch of it. Premix aggregate can vary from batch to batch. You can add powder or liquid concrete color to the mix. I don't use any other additives.

I used 3/8 rebar reinforcing and cast it face up. After three days, while the concrete is still "green", I used a 5 inch fixed speed grinder with a diamond grinding disk to take off the top 1/8 inch or so to show the exposed aggregate.

Fill in any pin holes or dents from the grinding with a concrete filler then cover up and let sit for three weeks (keeping well supplied with water) so it hardens enough to take the pollishing.

Next the polishing. I used a set of diamond pads (4 inch - which also fit on a 5 inch grinder), from 50 grit to 3000 grit.

Flood the surface with water and polish in even overlapping passes. Keep surface wet or you will burn out your pads in no time, heat is what kills the pads. One pass then flood it again. The pads will last a long time, I'm on my tenth counter top with the same set (except for a new 50 grit). This is all a very messy process and is best done outside well away from anything and with a poly screen. Invest in a set of rain gear.

That is the general process and is not too difficult but is labor intensive. I strongly suggest you do some trial pieces (stepping stones or such) to get the technique and color you want.

[Amac]

Thanks Neil - informative answer and much appreciated i - I also found another thread yesterday with a lot of discussion on the same subject which was very good and a lot of other info and a few links to buddy rhodes and fu tung cheng vids

The aggregate I used for the slab was pre-mix and I think all the gravelly parts seem to be like smooth pebble - I still have some left over but I thought the pebbles might be too big for that job. I'll try and find a suitable premix here.
I was planning on doing the slab surround in situ but from what you say I should cover the dome first in some protective sheeting.

Would it be too hard on the disks to test it out on already "cured" concrete. I have two grinders - one a cheap 4" I bought from Lidl (hardly used) and the other one I borrowed and used to cut all my brick is a 9" makita. Will the 9" fit those pads or vice versa?

Also the "concrete filler" - is that just cement or do you have a particular mix?