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Post by bookemdanno on May 29, 2013 12:32:20 GMT
C3-PO... The Rockwool Fire Blanket comes with a chickenwire already stitched into it and is 1mtr wide. I cut a length slightly longer than the oven circumference, then stood it up around the oven. Then piching the slack material together, i cut triangular darts into the material. Then stitched the two cut faces back together by threading some more fencing wire i had through the chicken wire, and pulled tight...ish. Rockwool is very flexible, so it was quite a fight! Keith... As i went for a full hemispherical archway for my aesthetic reasonings, not the more common arch, i based it upon the 63% rule. I made a full size drawing of my oven. Then drew out the usual styled vertical walled entrance. About 3 courses high with a slight curved arch. Then overlayed my design. I cannot remember the exact dimensions right now, but i can seem to think it was around 11" in Radius, dropping to around the 62%. What you gain in width at floor level you lose in the top left and right corners. Resulting in the overall entrance size being the same as a more common vertial walled arch, but you've just changed the shape. My personal thoughts were that i gained in use-able space into the oven, maybe in oven draft through more low level (cool air) intake, and i just preferred the shape as it matches the oven form. Whether that makes it better, or worse in respect of performance, heat loss, fire up, or cooking, who knows? I don't have another oven for back to back tests! All i know is that it's a beast that i have yet to tame! I'm a bit of a pyromancer, so find the ability to feed the fire within my dome too easy, and i got too carried away with my early fires! I'll have a measure up of my arch former tonight, and let you know. But yes, i'm a full 36".
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Post by bookemdanno on May 29, 2013 20:37:39 GMT
Keith...my oven entrance is 11 1/4" Radius. So that's 11 1/4" high. by 22 1/2" wide. I then went to a 12" Radius for the outer arch/ chimney arch.
Hope that helps.
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Post by kstronach on May 30, 2013 20:28:31 GMT
danno - thanks for explaining that, i too am going for an arch opening although it won't be fully symetrical! so is the highest point of your arch 63%? i have now decided i am upping the oven size to 34" and going for a 18 by 11 inch arch opening! it's tight for room but i'm pretty sure i can fit it on! i'm going to have 7 1/2 to 8 inch either side after my brickwork to fit insulation and render finish in thats should be ok shouldn't it? anyway tonight i have drawn out a template on 6mm ply for my oven bottom and opening and landing so i can now lay my storage heater bricks out and trace round it then get cutting!! Attachments:
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Post by bookemdanno on May 30, 2013 21:12:34 GMT
I'm a 36"er, so oven height is 18". 11 1/4" is around the 62% region.
At 34", you'll be 17". 11" tall opening is around 65%.
I don't know where 63% comes from, but i'd say these WFO aren't that technical, and somewhere in the region of that number will be fine.
It sounds like you'll have enough room too. Just bare in mind whether you'll want to have a surface finish around your oven and how much "land" you'll have to fit it. You're doing well chap, stay confident! Those heater bricks are a doddle to cut, but kick up some staining dust! Make sure you wear PPE (Ears, eyes, nose and mouth as a basic) and don't cut near to anything precious, or it'll end up a shade of purple!
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Post by kstronach on May 30, 2013 21:43:27 GMT
Thanks!
I'm thinking of bedding a narrowish flag around the edge of the dome after the rockwool layer with about 2" overhang over the brick below then I can render down on to it for a tidy finish. I'll post more pics when I get the oven floor down! I can't decide wheather to bed them down on a lime and silica sand mix or just on sharp sand then whacked down level as you would do if you were laying block paving!
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Post by faz on May 30, 2013 22:20:44 GMT
It surprised me how easy the storage heater bricks were to cut as they are so bloomin dense, but they were easy apart from the purple trouser syndrome!
kstronach - I did the same as you - cut the floor bricks to a template first, laid them then butted up the first course of dome bricks as a soldier course around them. I didn't really leave an expansion gap between the dome and floor but it didn't really seem to matter.
And if you have the bricks with ridges along the shorter edges, you should find that if you lay the thick part of the brick to the outside the radius will be almost spot on for a 32" dome, which is a bonus.
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Post by kstronach on May 31, 2013 6:31:44 GMT
Hi faz,
Thanks for the input. Do you cook directly ontop of your storage heater bricks or did you tile ontop of them?
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Post by kstronach on Jun 2, 2013 20:27:45 GMT
a few more pictures! got the floor in today, the arch built and the first course round. i went for a half soldier course for the first course as i thought a full brick was too high. the next tricky bit i'm thinking is going to be the transition over the arch!! i can't quite get my head around it yet but, i think it will become more clear when i get up there. i will have to cut the angle off the back of the arch bricks in situ as i didn't know what angle or how much too cut off them as i was building it! Attachments:
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Post by kstronach on Jun 2, 2013 20:29:34 GMT
first course and floor Attachments:
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Post by cannyfradock on Jun 2, 2013 20:54:49 GMT
Kieth I just made a post on this thread regarding the dome/arch transition ukwoodfiredovenforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=pompeiiovens&action=display&thread=970... have a look. Don't forget that a perfect curve may not meet the top of your arch. You have to slightly coax the brick rings of your dome to meet the top of your arch......even if it means making the dome slightly pear shaped at the transition......you're in charge....it's bricks and mortar and as long as you have a continuous ring of bricks over the dome/arch transition......it will work. Some people leave the arch bricks whole and cut the dome bricks into them.....I do the opposite. Have a look at the link.....and keep looking at other peoples builds.....it all helps. Terry
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Post by bookemdanno on Jun 3, 2013 12:37:19 GMT
Way-hey! Off we go! Well done Keith!
Looking good!
you can nip off the back corner of those bricks later with a 4" grinder when you've got a few more chains up. Bit fiddly, and again more dust but you get used to it!
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Post by kstronach on Jun 4, 2013 20:25:44 GMT
well a couple more courses round i think 1 more round then i'm gonna be on to the dreaded arch to dome transition!! Attachments:
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Post by faz on Jun 4, 2013 22:22:15 GMT
Hi faz, Thanks for the input. Do you cook directly ontop of your storage heater bricks or did you tile ontop of them? I put quarry tiles over the heater bricks and they have stood up to the firings over the last year without any issues. There are a couple that sound loose but they haven't lifted - I think using a slightly thicker layer of homebrew would help to prevent this, as I used the thinnest layer I could. ukwoodfiredovenforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=pompeiiovens&thread=291&page=3#3876
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Post by kstronach on Jun 5, 2013 8:10:34 GMT
Hi faz thanks and I'll have a good look through your build! Do you think I could cook directly on top of the heater bricks? Was there a reason for you putting tiles on top other than it being more aestheticly pleasing? If I need to tile ontop of them I'm gonna have to make thatone of my next jobs.
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Post by bookemdanno on Jun 5, 2013 11:58:32 GMT
I put Quarry Tile over mine, as the Storage Heater Brick weren't that great, edges wise, i had some to use up, and i liked the look they'd create. It just felt a better surface to cook onto. Like Faz, mine sound a bit hollow here and there, but no worries. Be quite easy to replace a tile or two anyway.
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