Way to go Balty

[james]

I just took a look at your photos of closing in the dome. That is just outstanding work. Complimenti -- your trapezoids are perfect.
James

[JoeT62]

Agreed. As someone who has yet to apply mortar to a single brick (in my entire life), I am inspired...and intimidated!

Amazing work Balty! Congratulations!

[telehort]

It has been fantastic to watch your progress! Congratulations

[wlively]

Agreed! Beautiful brick work. It is such a nice dome, it is a shame to have to cover it up with insulation.

[ihughes]

Inspiring work indeed. I was going to post some pics of my block stand but I think your work deserves to sit as the newest pics at the front of the forum for several days to inspire others.

I see you've done the dome first, was this to make it easier to form up the dome or other reasons?

I've been wondering about how I go about my vent area and how to tackle it, particularly how the chimney attaches. Doing it in two stages would give me time to research/figure out how to do the vent and chimney.

Are there advantages either way?

[Balty Knowles]

Thanks for the kind words guys they're very much appreciated. The information gleaned from the theads in this forum is invaluable, all the guys sharing their individual experiences adds up to a formidable resource for anyone taking on this type of construction.

It feels good to have the most intimidating part of the project behind me.

With regard to the dome first chimney second question. It was not an intentional design plan, after I built the arch the natural progress of the construction took me in that direction. I don't see it as a big deal, if you look at the Artigiano at Forno Bravo it is designed without an integral flue, the vent bolts directly to the face of the arch.

I intend to plant another arch in front of the existing one to form a vent & chimney. I'm considering leaving an expansion gap & filling it with high temp caulk but really havn't thought this entirely through yet. Might go searching for threads on this to see what the other guys think.