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Post by jsmythk on Sept 27, 2013 15:15:37 GMT
Thanks for that, the base is level and the blocks fit tightly together, its just that the corners are not 100% square!
I will take a picture and then fill the gaps with mortar and get the floor laid over the weekend with a bit of luck.
thanks again for the advice.
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Post by cannyfradock on Sept 27, 2013 19:01:08 GMT
Jms
You mentioned..."and then fill the gaps with mortar"....exactly what I would have said. As Dan mentioned by laying the blocks dry you may not have a level surface to lay your hearth on.....no big deal, but I lay my hearth bricks on a bed of homebrew spread on with a 10mm notched tilers trowel. This gives a little play to gently tap the hearth bricks down level with a rubber mallet. If your insulation block surface isn't level you may have to lay a deeper full bed of mortar to get the hearth flat. Which ever method you use...persevere....you'll get there.
Terry
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Post by jsmythk on Sept 30, 2013 16:09:09 GMT
Couple of pics to show my slight dilemma with the amateur bricklaying! This pic shows the Thermalites in place after a bit of shaping Attachments:
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Post by jsmythk on Sept 30, 2013 16:10:22 GMT
This is the gap that I was talking about. I filled it with Mortar as confirmed by Terry and then set about getting the oven floor sorted. Attachments:
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Post by jsmythk on Sept 30, 2013 16:13:47 GMT
Measuring up the floor ready for the next step. I am amazed by how long everything takes, making the mould for the dome took me far too long and that delayed actually getting the floor laid this weekend. I had done some tech drawings to get dimensions and angles right but then when I applied them to actually measuring out the arches with bricks etc, it went wrong and I had to start again! Head down, crack on.... Attachments:
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Post by bookemdanno on Sept 30, 2013 21:13:34 GMT
Aw, that gap wasn't anything to worry about! That's a cracking bit of work, especially as you say you have limited bricklaying experience. I really like the way you created that base. I see storage heater bricks, is that your brick of choice for the whole oven?
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Post by jsmythk on Oct 1, 2013 10:14:22 GMT
Thanks for the encouragement!!
Yes I will be using storage heater bricks for the whole oven.
I got some 75mm Calcium silicate board cheap off cuts from Kilnlinings so I will set the base of the oven on that which will make it perfectly elbow height.
I just need to figure out how to do the transition of the oven / chimney arch. I had wanted to do a 5cm thermal gap then 2 arches of regular bricks in front of the oven, but I fear it will only be 1 arch as I am running out of space!
Very keen to get this oven up before the winter but may have to wait until the spring to render it.
Next job is to get the floor laid.
Any advice / comments / suggestions are most gratefully received.
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Post by bookemdanno on Oct 1, 2013 12:40:02 GMT
No worries JSM. I love helping out where i can, as its almost as good as building an oven! I takes a bit more grinder work, but i'd stagger the floor bricks by a half brick to create a stretcher bond. Sometimes its easier to visualise something when your actually nearer to the area, build wise. I know i thought about the transition point on my pompeii for ages, but a solution only came to light when i actually got to that point during the build. I don't think that there's any hard and fast rules for entrance arch depth, but too deep an arch can actually limit the accessability into the oven. A 5cm Thermal gap is quite large too, if you needed to gain a little space you could reduce that. Good luck!
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Post by jsmythk on Oct 1, 2013 19:58:24 GMT
Thanks for the tip on staggering the bricks on the oven floor.
I agree about visualising it once you have the materials in front of you and then try to work through the problems that come up.
I will keep going, build the oven, front and back walls and then worry about the transition!
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Post by jsmythk on Oct 7, 2013 15:38:15 GMT
I managed to get cracking over the weekend, but needed a complete re-think after changing the rotation of the heater blocks for the floor of the oven. Plus I decided to keep the Calcium silicate board in place by building a separate wall around it with some thermolite blocks sawn in half lengthways. I feel that these will also give additional support to the arches of the vault especially the first layer of vertical heater blocks. As ever, I really appreciated any feedback / suggestions / other ideas! Cheers JAS Attachments:
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Post by jsmythk on Oct 7, 2013 15:39:17 GMT
Thermolites cut and fitted snug around the Calcium silicate board Attachments:
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Post by jsmythk on Oct 7, 2013 15:41:15 GMT
Oven floor laid on half sand / half powdered fireclay. It is extremely hard to get it completely flat as I had varying thicknesses of heater blocks. This pic shows that the floor in place, not quite a snooker table, but I hope it will suffice! Attachments:
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Post by jsmythk on Oct 7, 2013 15:42:54 GMT
Floor and first layer of walls. I still need to use homebrew to cement them together, but this pic was taken after measuring them all out and cutting those that needed it. Attachments:
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Post by cannyfradock on Oct 7, 2013 17:45:21 GMT
JSM
Even with new pristine fire-bricks laid for a hearth, they are never 100% perfectly square within themselves. The same will be for storage heater fire-bricks. You can only get them...as good as you can, then, they may need the edges smoothed off with a grinding disc on a 4" angle grinder. It may be easier to do this now before you start building your vault. Have a look to see if your peel might "snag" on any protruding edges and just sand them down.
It's probably been mentioned, but, if you soak your fire-bricks/storage heater fire-bricks before cutting, they will be more manageable.....and save your blade a bit.
Terry
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Post by jsmythk on Oct 7, 2013 20:19:03 GMT
Hi Terry,
Thanks for the reply!
I had read a number of posts about the floor and tried very hard to get the floor level. There are no edges that the peel will catch on so i think i should be ok. I may just try to level the outside edges of the heater blocks as they are slightly higher than the inner edges but i guess you can go on tinkering with it forever!
The blocks have been left out in a field for a few weeks, then i put them in a garage so they have a good moisture content and my disc cutter goes straight through them.
Question about thermal gap.....
I have enough Calc sil board to cover from the entrance of the oven to the front edge of the oven, but what material would you recommend to form a thermal break on top of the Calc sil board at oven floor level?
Thanks in advance for ideas and suggestions!
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