Oven landing depth

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> I think your oven landing is 12". How is that depth working for you,
> and would you recommend either deeper or narrower?
>
> James

Gargoyles are necessary around here. We have them everywhere. There
are a couple guarding the step onto the patio down there too. :-)

The 3' space (cross-wise) directly in front of the oven is 12" of
granite tile. To either side is another 2 feet of 18" tile. I also
have some part of the throat to use as a landing zone too. So I've
actually been able to do some neat things with it. When we're doing a
lot of pizza I'll pull the pies out to the granite to cool and slice.
When it cools off too much we'll toss the slices onto the firebrick in
the throat as those are much hotter so they'll warm the slices right
up without needing to go deep in the oven.

I don't feel a need for a deeper landing zone but I really do
appreciate the full width. It's handy to be able to toss things
(tools, food, lights, etc.) over there on one side or the other. I'm
not sure if I would want more depth if I didn't have the serving cart
& rack next to the oven. -- I don't know if I've posted any pics of
that but I've got a stainless steel cart on the left side of the oven.
There's a stainless steel restaurant rack behind & above it. The cart
came from Target or somewhere and has an ice tray under a stainless
steel cover on one side and a granite slab on the other half. That
lets me prep a pizza with the ice section holding beers <grin> or
toppings like shrimp that need refrigeration. The rack has two shelves
cantilevered above the cart. I can stick pizza pans, plates, small
plastic containers with toppings, etc on those shelves up there. If I
haven't posted a picture let me know & I will. It's very handy to
have all that room.

By the way, there are also hooks in the front of the soffits that I
use to hang the peels on when I'm cooking. During off times they hang
on the backside of the door of the garden shed that's on the other
side of the patio but when I'm cooking I want them handy. I took
regular aluminum peels (about $15 at the restaurant supply store) with
wooden handles. I drilled a hole in the end of the handle and ran a
loop of leather lacing through. That loop hangs over the hooks and the
peels are right at hand. I keep a long peel, a short peel, and the
brass bristle brush hanging on either side of the oven door. Very nice.

Jim