How level is level?

[DimTex]

WARNING: Potentially silly question thread here:

My slab is fairly level, less than 1/8 inch drop from back to front or side to side across the proposed dimensions of the stand. Is this significant enough to require leveling with mortar or will the hearth base concrete pour level things out in any case?

Thanks

[papavino]

I think you'll be able to level it out with the hearth base. Or you could mortar the blocks on your stand to level it out. But it sounds like you're pretty close to perfect, IMO.

[DimTex]

Thanks for your fast answer

David

[exceloven]

David,
Your'e fine. After you set your blocks you will level your form boards for the hearth. No worries!

Mark

[DimTex]

Thank you for this information

[Lars]

David,
I don't think it is a silly question at all. Even when using a level, you can be within the beads lines and not EXACTLY level.

One thing I have not seen discussed, and I think might be a good thing to keep in mind. Wouldn't you want to have the oven, in general, be naturally draining to the opening, say, at least 1/16" per foot, which would be at least a 1/4" over most ovens?

If I had a driving rain, and my oven was open, and took on a gallon of water, I would really prefer that it drain out the front vs. puddling, soaking in, etc. Also, many, like myself, may be building on freshly excavated dirt. The slab goes down, then the weight goes on. I purposefully left a 'drain to the front' persuasion in my slab. I haven't checked it lately, but if the oven drains 'out', I doubt it would interfere with fire making and pizza baking, or any other type of general oven use.

What do the rest of you think?

Lars.

[dmun]

What do the rest of you think?

Your cooking floor should be level enough to bake a pumpkin pie. Everything else is conversation. If your wood bin floor slopes to the back, you can always leave a weep hole to drain it. I did slant my landing shelf downward, to avoid channeling rain into my oven, but took no further precautions.

[brokencookie]

In rain county ( pacific northwest) I always tilt for water. No matter how exacting I am, nothing is every exactly level or square. (or maybe that's just me ). I figure that if I deliberately add a slight slope, the worst that could happen is that I end up being level.

Bruce

[Cypress]

I wish I had put a tilt in the front for water. When not if I get a lot of rain here I think that I will have some real issues.

[Neil2]

I'm north of the "pacific north west" so I put a slope of 0.5% in from back to front just to make sure I would not get any pooling of water. On my 40 incher, the front is 1/4 inch lower than the back. No one can tell that its not level.