Post by samcoombes85 on Oct 15, 2013 18:02:20 GMT
Hi All
A lovely forum, and one of the reasons, after lurking in the background, that I wanted to build my oven / garage combo.
I'm afraid my write up is short, and to be honest is still work in progress. I started back in March. We used to keep chickens, but the wife wanted them gone, so what better to fill the space than an outdoor kitchen?
I started with my base, solid concrete blocks laid flat laid on a 12" footing. I wanted something strong, and a space under for wood storage. The top for the oven would be stressed lintels with 2" council slabs. The blocks didn't need to be overly neat as it would all get rendered, and the inside of the wood store painted. The tops either side and around the BBQ would be cast concrete.
Weather put a stop to my work for a bit, and work seemed to take over, but I soon got back in the swing of it. With the slabs on, block work done, I needed to cast the concert tops. Originally I wanted to do them remotely, but this failed so I shuttered them up and poured them in situ. They came out just as I wanted, a rustic look.
With this all done, I could render the front walls. I chose K Rend, but it was god awful to do. Wish I had got a pro now to be honest, but it looks ok and probably saved a few £000's.
The render looks good in the sun, it has a sparkle to it which the wife likes!
I made a stainless tray and grill at work for the bbq - it's 1 meter wide, i like plenty of space as our parties always seem to end up with the world and his wife attending!
Anyhow, with the oven base already insulated, it was time to start bricking up the dome. I originally only allowed for the width of the oven floor, but following advice I made it thicker and wider to ensure the entire base of the oven is insulated. I had some solid clay red bricks at work and planned to use these. They became really dusty so I abandoned that idea and purchased fire bricks. 1" bricks were used for the floor, on top of 3" vermiculite cast in a round.
I followed some guides on the net, but to be honest I just went with the flow. Was it perfect? No. But i'm no bricklayer, and i was reasonably happy. In hindsight I would have taken more time to cut all the bricks as they go up just to add the rigidity.
I made homebrew to stick it all together after being fobbed off at the wholesalers with 75kg of Vitcas Fire Cement
My mix was 3:1:1:1 Sand, Portland Cement, Fire Clay Powder and Lime. It seemed strong enough.
My front arch was formed using Celotex - easier than I thought! I left a hole for the chimney which consists of insulated flue with a rain cap.
My door was from ebay. A chap on there seems to sell all sorts of shapes and sizes, and although i'd probably never use it, it looks nice and can just be lifted off. I set the frame in by drilling it and using resin to hold some bolts through and into the brickwork.
The first curing fire was lit tonight, and I'm happy. I will continue to cure with another 5 or 6 fires, then the dome gets another 3" layer of vermiculite, finished with a layer of the K rend. Not quite sure how this will work on a dome, but I hate being beaten! I also need to find a cheap temp gauge, will probably end up with the vitcas one in the door.
Incidentally, my first fire has made everything inside black with soot. I presume this will burn off once the heat gets up?
All in all, I am happy with my new project, it's been great fun - cannot wait to start cooking!
A few questions which I would appreciate some advice on;
What wood is best?
How long does your oven normally take to get up to temp?
Do you cook with a door on or off? With my door shut, the fire almost goes out?
Thanks for reading.
A lovely forum, and one of the reasons, after lurking in the background, that I wanted to build my oven / garage combo.
I'm afraid my write up is short, and to be honest is still work in progress. I started back in March. We used to keep chickens, but the wife wanted them gone, so what better to fill the space than an outdoor kitchen?
I started with my base, solid concrete blocks laid flat laid on a 12" footing. I wanted something strong, and a space under for wood storage. The top for the oven would be stressed lintels with 2" council slabs. The blocks didn't need to be overly neat as it would all get rendered, and the inside of the wood store painted. The tops either side and around the BBQ would be cast concrete.
Weather put a stop to my work for a bit, and work seemed to take over, but I soon got back in the swing of it. With the slabs on, block work done, I needed to cast the concert tops. Originally I wanted to do them remotely, but this failed so I shuttered them up and poured them in situ. They came out just as I wanted, a rustic look.
With this all done, I could render the front walls. I chose K Rend, but it was god awful to do. Wish I had got a pro now to be honest, but it looks ok and probably saved a few £000's.
The render looks good in the sun, it has a sparkle to it which the wife likes!
I made a stainless tray and grill at work for the bbq - it's 1 meter wide, i like plenty of space as our parties always seem to end up with the world and his wife attending!
Anyhow, with the oven base already insulated, it was time to start bricking up the dome. I originally only allowed for the width of the oven floor, but following advice I made it thicker and wider to ensure the entire base of the oven is insulated. I had some solid clay red bricks at work and planned to use these. They became really dusty so I abandoned that idea and purchased fire bricks. 1" bricks were used for the floor, on top of 3" vermiculite cast in a round.
I followed some guides on the net, but to be honest I just went with the flow. Was it perfect? No. But i'm no bricklayer, and i was reasonably happy. In hindsight I would have taken more time to cut all the bricks as they go up just to add the rigidity.
I made homebrew to stick it all together after being fobbed off at the wholesalers with 75kg of Vitcas Fire Cement
My mix was 3:1:1:1 Sand, Portland Cement, Fire Clay Powder and Lime. It seemed strong enough.
My front arch was formed using Celotex - easier than I thought! I left a hole for the chimney which consists of insulated flue with a rain cap.
My door was from ebay. A chap on there seems to sell all sorts of shapes and sizes, and although i'd probably never use it, it looks nice and can just be lifted off. I set the frame in by drilling it and using resin to hold some bolts through and into the brickwork.
The first curing fire was lit tonight, and I'm happy. I will continue to cure with another 5 or 6 fires, then the dome gets another 3" layer of vermiculite, finished with a layer of the K rend. Not quite sure how this will work on a dome, but I hate being beaten! I also need to find a cheap temp gauge, will probably end up with the vitcas one in the door.
Incidentally, my first fire has made everything inside black with soot. I presume this will burn off once the heat gets up?
All in all, I am happy with my new project, it's been great fun - cannot wait to start cooking!
A few questions which I would appreciate some advice on;
What wood is best?
How long does your oven normally take to get up to temp?
Do you cook with a door on or off? With my door shut, the fire almost goes out?
Thanks for reading.
