Sarah's Progress Photos

[sarah h]

Finally! With all our supply issues sorted out and some glorious weather (see first photo) after days of rain and gloom, we started the floor this morning. I had expected to be farther along than where we ended up by this time tonight but it's good to at least see something more than just the stand.

The cuts are not as elegant as others I've seen on the forum but we're working with what we've got and the outside will have a layer of mud anyway. While almost everything up to now has been accomplished in a 50/50 joint effort between my husband and me, I was happy to let him do all the saw work (he decided to make do with his old circular saw - I think he did a pretty good job given what he was working with) while I did the things like sorting, soaking, measuring, marking and placing the bricks.

Nothing's mortared yet - just wanted to get an idea of things by positioning the bricks - but at least we're up and running ...

Sarah

PS - to see earlier pics, see my thread at:
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f21/...tawa-2724.html (From foundation to hearth in Ottawa)

[Gentcpa]

Hi Sarah:

Way to go this stage is much better than lugging 80lb bags of concrete and cinder blocks.

One question though, how high are you making your entry?


Julian

[Mojoe]

Fun and exciting times. Looks good and I hope the weather holds long enough for you.

[sarah h]

We're still working that out - the plans say 12.5 inches for a 42-inch oven.

It looks awfully high in my photos but I think that's because many of the others seen on this forum have arches, which seem to start lower on the sides.

We can't decide whether to go arched or straight because we haven't yet been able to sort out some of the details concerning the transition between the vent and chimney - it'll be hard to go much further before we do.

[sarah h]

Thanks Mojoe! I know we're pushing it, weather-wise, but so far it's held. We won't risk harming all our hard work though so we're keeping a close eye on the forecasts and will adjust strategies or quit till spring if we need to.

Sarah

[Frances]

Originally Posted by sarah h

We can't decide whether to go arched or straight because we haven't yet been able to sort out some of the details concerning the transition between the vent and chimney - it'll be hard to go much further before we do.

...or you could do it my way and get to the top of the doorway with still no idea of what comes next . I thought it would be obvious once I got there, but noooo, it wasn't. Still, it worked out in the end.

[asudavew]

Hey Sarah,

A quick tip for you, maybe it will save you some grief.

I used a piece of cardboard for the pattern of my the dome - mistake.
I would suggest using something more substantial, if I had to do it over again, I would use a piece of Styrofoam or a couple pieces would be even better, or even plywood or OSB.
And make sure you hold to the pattern. I didn't.. figured it was close enough. But my last few courses weren't even close to round. And I ended up using bricks cut in four pieces and some triangle-shaped ones as well.

But it did work out...

Thought I would throw in my two cents.

[Gentcpa]

I didn't figure out the dome /entry way transition until I got there either. That is why I have built everything all together. If I was to do it again, I would seriously consider skipping the entry way arch and just do a cosmetic arch on the outside. An arch just makes things more complicated with the cutting and transitions. With a straight angle iron supported doorway you will transition from the dome to the entry way on one course of bricks rather than several. Also it would be a lot easier to transition the chimney if it was flat.

The inspiration for my oven was from an Italian freind. His oven just sits on a reinforced stone wall. I have since learned that it isn't insulated at all, and is fairly open (it isn't a full circle, no chimney, no entry way. Best pizza I have ever had both sides of the Atlantic, no problem getting up to temp. My wife looks at the monster object I have built so far and is pretty much put-off, as she thought I was going to build one like my freind on a stone wall somewhere in a weekend. Instead I am cutting bricks in all kinds of weird angles for weeks on end. None of it will ever really been seen.

Ditto on the above comment regarding patterns. I bought some scrap peg board from HD, which has worked very nicely especially as it has nice even holes so you can really make certain everything is symmetrical. Definitely use some kind of pivot or string from the center to get the angles and circle correct. I am using a ruler mounted on a pivot in the middle.

You are on the right track though, I like the canopy, I wish I had one to work under.


Julian

[sarah h]

More progress!!

It's been a productive afternoon and evening - we finished in the dark but round three is now complete ! It's pretty amazing to see the dome start to take shape and things seem to be moving faster at this stage - hope that continues to be the case.

Thanks everyone - I'll answer your comments tomorrow but for now, I'm done (in mant ways!!).

Sarah

[RTflorida]

Great work. I think we would all like to see you finish and enjoy your oven before your weather turns sour. Wish I could send you some of our heat (and humidity) for wintertime use. Still hasn't cooled below 90 degrees (day) 72-75 (night). As you hope for a bit more nice warm weather, we are begging for a cool down (and a bit of rain to avoid wild fires in the coming months).

Keep it up, we are all pulling for you.

RT