Insulation - top down or bottom up? Design Styles, Chimneys and Finish Discuss Insulation - top down or bottom up? in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; I have placed my blanket oven my dome and put the chicken wire in place. I have heard that the ...

[pizzahead]

I have placed my blanket oven my dome and put the chicken wire in place. I have heard that the vermiculite concrete insulation is hard to apply and was wondering if i am better starting at the top and working down or start at the bottom and work up?

Any thoughts?

Cheers
Jase

[egalecki]

I wouldn't have been able to do it top down- I think you'll have to go bottom up. Just do it like a sand castle- wear gloves and pack it with your hands in layers going up. See my thread and you'll see the layers in the vermiculite!

[RTflorida]

Elizabeth is correct, I think it would be darned near impossible to go top down. It really doesn't like to stay in place; the chicken wire helps give it a bit of hold and working up gives you a base for each handful you slap on.

RT

[Ken524]

Jase,

I did my vermiculite insulation "bottom-up" with a slight variation to avoid troweling on that weird stuff.

I put some hardware cloth loosely around the dome (to provide added support for the vermic) then I built a crude form around the structure with foam board (from Office Depot) and duct tape. Then I poured the mixture in the form and gently tamped it down.

After a few days it set up very nicely. I did a couple of test fires and the board never got warm, so I left it there.

Here are the pics from my construction thread (My Old Kentucky Dome)

[Les]

Ditto - bottom up!

Les...

[pizzahead]

Yep, bottom up is the only way to go. That is horrible stuff to try and keep in place. Got about 1/3 of it done last night and it seems to have dried ok this morning. I reckon that has got to be one of the least fun jobs of building a WFO?

Thanks guys.

Jase