40" WFO in the New Orleans

[banhxeo76]

After one year of stalking this forum and amazed by what people built in there very own backyard, it is time to build my very own WFO. I just want to thank all of people who had so many great ideas and suggestions posted on this forum. Ever since I had a that prefect slice of pizza (photo below) from Di Fara Brooklyn, NY, I have been dreaming of a WFO. Hopefully within a few months, I will share some WFO's pizza with some friends and family.

Here goes nothing.

[banhxeo76]

I have a very small backyard and I decided to increase the size of the existing concrete patio to accommodate the necessary space for the WFO. My house has an old concrete patio which has three pilings underneath it to prevent the slab from cracking and sinking over time. You have to understand that the most of the homes built here in New Orleans used to be swamp land; therefore the land is very soft. To increase the existing concrete patio, I had to add additional pilings before I could pour any concrete. The pilings are pounded into the ground until they contact the sand bed. Knowing that the WFO is going to be super heavy, I had to make sure that concrete slab can handle the load of the WFO. I don't want my WFO to lean like the Leaning Tower of Pisa a few years from now. Right of the bat, it costs a lot just to get the slab done but it give me a peace of mind. 10 sq. yard of concrete and 7 pilings.

[Neil2]

Yes, a good foundation is the first important thing. Looking forward to your build. Post photos.

[buckeyebreadman]

that's nearly $1000 just for the base!?........ouch!
I used to live in NO and don't remember prices so high, but that was several decades ago.\

[banhxeo76]

Buckeyebreadman: Well, it is not only for the base of the WFO, I am also increasing the size of my concrete patio as well. The base of the WFO is going to be on the corner of the concrete patio.

I wish I had a house to start this project 5 years ago. Material and Supplies seemed to increase a lot in the last couple of years. All of the suppliers around New Orleans is selling firebrick for at least 2 bucks a pop. However, I am only in my mid thirty and I pray that I will get to use the WFO for a long time. Hopefully.

[Lburou]

Great start!

Did you find water during your digging? I know the water table is just below the surface in New Orleans. The extra care for the foundation is warranted, good planning on your part.

[banhxeo76]

Initially, I was going for A. Scott & D. Wings designs for WFO which is barrel design. I read The Bread Builder cover to cover at least 3 times and had a solid plan in my head. However, I ran into this forum and the rest is history. However, the book from D. Wing is a very good reference for WFO and bread making. I am still going to incorporate a lot of ideas from Wing/Scott into the Pompeii design. I truly convinced that a good WFO need to have more mass on the bottom to bake multi load of artisan breads (I love bread more than pizza) and the ability to retain heat for a long period of time is a big plus for me. However, I love the look of a Pompeii design and this design allow to have more space if I need to cook pizza or roast anything for that matter. I do agree that the insulation should on the top of the slab rather than the bottom because heat should be retain and stop at the firebrick.

3 1/2" concrete hearth slab
2" ceramic insulation board
5" firebrick for cooking surface/hearth (by double stack on 2.5" firebrick)
4 1/2" firebrick for wall and dome
3-4" of insulation blanket on the wall and dome.


I know that 5" thickness of firebrick is a lot for pizza but I want to cook a lot of breads from a one fire. Like I mention early, I am combining ideas from this forum and from Alan Scott.

[Lburou]

Everyone seems to sift through all the same issues as we build an oven. I built my base for a barrel oven too

I worried about the mass of the floor and the mass of the dome a lot and ended up building as close to the plans as possible (well, I did a couple extra things with floor insulation and thermal breaks). I can bake a lot of bread and so will you, whether you increase the mass of the floor or not.

A spec pompeii oven can easily bake two 10 pound loads of bread on one heat charge. Do you eat that much bread? A spec oven can cook for three of four days with one firing, just plan to cook with high heat initially, and low heat on the fourth day.

[banhxeo76]

Originally Posted by Lburou

Great start!

Did you find water during your digging? I know the water table is just below the surface in New Orleans. The extra care for the foundation is warranted, good planning on your part.

I didn't dig that deep to see the water because the beam part of my slab is only 16" deep and the rest of the slab is 5" deep. Yes, the water table, which varies from 3 to 4 feet is indeed near below the surface of the land in New Orleans. That is why most of New Orleanians have flat boats in their yard.

The guy who put the pilings for me had to drill about 5' into the ground first then he pounded 25' piling into the hole. As you can see the attached photo, the drilled hole was full of wet mud.

[banhxeo76]

More concrete pouring for the WFO's counter top.