900mm Oven in the UK

[Jochen]

Hi everybody,

I am building a small 900mm oven in the UK. I got a lot of information from this forum and it has given me lots of ideas and solutions during my build so far.

Last week I finished the dome. I did the first four chains without an inner form and then build a form from polystyrene for the remaining chains. The downside of this was that I could not see the motor joint anymore. As you can see from the pictures I am not stone mason so I was left with some rather big gaps after removing the polystyrene.

My question is now whether is worth the effort trying to fill the gaps from the inside. The opening of the inner arch is too small for me to actually go inside the oven so doing this work would be a real pain. I am also not sure whether it would add any strength to the build as the gaps are filled with mortar by about 2/3.

I would appreciate any comments.

[ross]

Hi

I had a dome crack see
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/c...html#post39474 (crack in top of over)

which stemed from not pointing the inside of the oven...Ideally I think your supposed to have the brick so close it doesnt need pointing but it there are gaps I would suggest filling them, mainly so the heat can bounce around in a nice smooth dome..and its harder for the heat to escape...

[Dutchoven]

Jochen
You should really fill those...preferably with a refractory mortar...here in the US they have a fireplace mortar repair repair product that comes in a tube like you would normally see with silicone caulk...it is made using sodium silicate(water glass) and is relatively easy to clean up...as someone said on a different post...see if you can "rent" a really small and competent person to handel that task...I know it will be a pain but it will be worth it in the long run...I think the size of your oven contributed to the larger gaps as well...I made the mistake of creating a form of sand near the end of the build and I wish I didn't in hindsight...different issue than yours but, it still left me displeased...
Good luck!
All the best!
Dutch

[Jochen]

Ross, Dutch,

Thanks for posts although I was hoping for different answers . But I think you are right it might be worth spending the extra effort to fill in the gabs. Especially after investing so much time already. I have got plenty of refractory mortar left. I think I might buy a mortar gun to make the job easier. I’ll let you know how I am getting on.

Thanks again

Jochen

[ross]

No Worries

You can also get the fireplace repair cement from B&Q in tubes - I found this really good for filing any gaps or cracks that appear during firing.

see link Fire Cement, 5015725870147

[Jochen]

Filled most of the gabs over the weekend. I used the fire cement from B&Q that Ross recommended. The cement is black but it doesn’t matter as I only needed it at the top of the dome which can’t be seen easily anyway. It was very difficult work because I could only get my head and one shoulder/arm in the oven. Balancing the “silicon” gun wasn’t much fun. The end results is however quite good. The gabs where deeper as I first thought as I have now 5 empty fire cement tubes.

I also did the front arch, the fire blanket and vermiculite cement over the weekend. Unfortunately I run out of vermiculate before I could finish it off. If it doesn’t rain tonight I might get the rest done today.

[ross]

looking really good....its good stuff that cement

how wide do you have the hole for chimeny ive got mine 3 bricks wide and it
could really do with being 4.as I still get some out of the front of the arch..I was going to redo it as when i started making fires i was crap and there was loads of smoke..

I tried the way of making a fire that james did at
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f41/...fire-5204.html (Lighting a fire)
its fantastic lots of smoke for 5 mins then its fantastic no smoke out of the front of the arch at all..

[Jochen]

After 4 month without any work on the Pizza oven, this weekend finally was warm and sunny enough to do some work outside.

I have lots of fire bricks left over so I have decided to build a brick chimney. I first started cutting down the bricks into smaller bricks. I think it will look nicer than using the full size bricks. So far I managed to complete 3 levels and I am planning to go up to at least 7. Getting the bottom bricks cut was quite tricky especially as I am only using a tail cutter.

I will still have lots of fire bricks and fire cement left over. I am planning to print a list and pictures in a couple of weeks in the forum. If anybody is interested, let me know.

[Jochen]

Another sunny day and I put the first layer of plaster over the vermiculate/concrete.

For the plaster I used 1part cement, 1 part lime, 5 parts plaster sand and water proofer. It went on quite well but the finish is probably more a rustic Italian finish. It might need another layer?

I also added another 2 layers on the chimney. It still looks pretty straight.

On the picture you can also see my new oven door!

[egalecki]

I like the rustic look. I think it all looks great, chimney included!