Question On Pouring Concrete Into Blocks

[DaveDQ]

Thank you for this site, it's been such an incredible help in my oven process.

My slab has been poured, and I have been given concrete blocks for my stand. These blocks are not flat on the sides, making it difficult to mortar them. They're even, but have grooves in the sides.

My question is...I know the instructions suggest simply pouring concrete into the block cavities on every other one, but I just want to be sure that others have tried it and have had no problems with just mortaring the first course.

Also, I have noticed some only use 3 course instead of 4. Is that an ok procedure?

Thanks so much.

[christo]

Filling every other core worked fine for me. I also coated the outside of my oven with fiber reinforced stucco - overkill for sure.

I think going 4 or 5 or more courses is a matter of personal preference. Remeber to take into consideration the type of insulation under the oven floor. If you go with a thick layer of verimcrete vs 2 inch iso board you may want to adjust your base height.

The rule of thumb that I found here when I started mine was tennis swing high for the door. Mine is just about there - maybe a little low and seems to be a comfortable height for me. I had 5 blocks high but that is misleading due to my first course is almost totally covered by patio base - so I lost 3/4 of a block in height due to that.

It only gets more fun from here!

Christo

[DaveDQ]

Thanks Christo. I have plenty of block, so 4 it will be.

[Ken524]

Dave,

Welcome to the forum!

I had a nice long response typed up, but then saw that Christo beat me to the punch .

His "tennis swing high" is a perfect way to figure your cooking surface elevation. Nice one Christo!

Dry stacking the blocks and pouring concrete into the holes works great. Once the concrete sets, it will take an act of God to move the base. The plans call for dry-stacking instead of mortaring because most of us have little to no experience laying block. It's a quick, easy and stable system.

There are several different sizes of block out there, so you have to figure out what will work best for you.

Setting up a crude "floor height" mock-up really helps. Stack a few blocks, cardboard boxes, books, or whatever to your target height to assure you have the floor at the right level. Make sure you will be able to comfortably slide pizzas in an out as well as reaching in to remove a dutch oven.

You're going to have a blast. Plenty of "round-the-clock" support available right here!

[DaveDQ]

Originally Posted by Ken524

Dry stacking the blocks and pouring concrete into the holes works great. Once the concrete sets, it will take an act of God to move the base. The plans call for dry-stacking instead of mortaring because most of us have little to no experience laying block. It's a quick, easy and stable system.

Thanks, Ken. I think what you said there is why I'm so concerned. I've laid tile, but never have I wrestled with mortar and getting it level...etc. As far as the height, my wife is about 5'4", so I kind of want it good for her too. I'm 6'4"...so I don't mind having to bend a little.

[wesslock]

I just poured my hearth this week and I did not even mortar the first layer of blocks into place. The slab was pretty level and I leveled the form with shims as I found this much easier than using mortar on the bottom. I thought as long as the insulating layer was level than ai wouldnt have a problem.

Also I poured the hearth and the filled the blocks in one pour which seemed to work well so far.

I tried to cut out as many steps as I could and still wind up with a level cooking floor.