Pompeii made with cement pavers Pompeii Oven Construction Discuss Pompeii made with cement pavers in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; I got to check out a 42" Pompeii (style only but not from the FB plans) oven being built by ...

[nissanneill]

I got to check out a 42" Pompeii (style only but not from the FB plans) oven being built by a neighbour with advice from another but unknown person and I informed him that the bricks that he made the dome from were cement pavers, not fired clay pavers and were totally unsuitable for the oven dome construction.
I showed him the difference between cement and clay bricks which was new to him. He also had a new crowbar trying to break up the polystyrene foam mould from inside the completed dome, He is about ready to insulate it and then brick up the entrance void and put in the 8" chimney.
I was looking carefully at his hearth which are fire bricks and asked if he had insulated his base. No, was his reply! Sad news as I explained the consequences and recommended that he demolish the dome, lift his hearth and I would help him build a new insulated floor, relay his hearth and then rebrick his dome.
At this stage, I am not sure of what he will do but I will find out in due course.
It will only be 2 days work and well worth the extra effort now instead of trying to cope with the consequences.
I think that there is a lesson buried deep in here somewhere, join this forum, research your ideas, ask questions, follow a couple of builds and then progress with help from the forum if needed.
Don't have blind faith in some one or something that you have little knowledge about.

Neill

[jmhepworth]

I just noticed you hit 1000 posts. Congratulations. There's a lot of wisdom in those posts, for which I thank you. You are right about the value of time spent reviewing the plans and wandering around in the forum. With that help, anyone can build a really nice, functional oven. Without it, who knows for sure?

[dmun]

concrete instead of brick - check
no insulation in sight - check
let me guess: the vent's in the center of the dome...

Where do people get these ideas?

[nissanneill]

No David, he has the vent to be bricked out the front of the dome.
What annoys me is the influence that people who obviously don't know (nor probably care) what they are doing or providing totally WRONG and MISLEADING and EXPENSIVE information on the gullible learners.
I don't have a problem with an experienced person trying out something for 'size or performance', but building an oven with the costs in time and materials lost, is unforgivable.
two weekends ago I saw another oven "built for $50 bucks", with no insulation anywhere, no door (or at least it fell off and broke) with a 4" flue coming diagonally out of the top of the dome!
"Oh, we got it up to 350 last time, the pizzas took 6 to 8 minutes to cook" was the comment, and when I told him that I get mine to 500˚C and cook my first ones in a minute, he was shocked!
Still, I guess we are always going to run into these disasters? works of art? how the hell do they work? ovens?
Maybe we should create a new category "What NOT to do"!

Neill

[timo]

Originally Posted by nissanneill

I think that there is a lesson buried deep in here somewhere, join this forum, research your ideas, ask questions, follow a couple of builds and then progress with help from the forum if needed.
Don't have blind faith in some one or something that you have little knowledge about.

Neill

Couldn't have said it better. Do it that way and you'll have a pretty good chance of success, without it...

[Tscarborough]

This is what happens to concrete pavers in a normal firepit, much less an oven.

[goodgulf]

Originally Posted by nissanneill

Maybe we should create a new category "What NOT to do"!

Neill

You probably said this with tongue in cheek, but it very likely would be a good idea.