My Monmouthshire Oven

[daibaker]

Greetings all, 

I'm just about to order my bricks and start my oven but I've so many questions that hopefully you can help me with.

1. is it worth the effort shaping bricks to fit and using fire cement or just cutting bricks in half and using screed? Are there strength benefits, heat, looks?

2. What is home brew, how do you make it and what does it replace, can you use it for big gaps like screed?

3. Do you cement in the calcium Silicate fibre boards, or lay them dry, is it dangerous to cut them up will i need a respirator and keep the kids away? 

4. do you lay the bricks dry on the board or cement them in?

5. is there any way to judge before you start the 63% arch to height ratio, I was thinking about getting a ready built arch from vitcas, unless anyone thinks thats a bad idea.

Ive so many more questions, it seems so daunting but I guess the most important question to start with is brick cutting and the type of mortar. I'm hoping a lot will start to make since when the buildings under way.

Thanks in advance

Dai

P.S When I built the base I didn't put any additional support under the concrete hearth, its resting on Hollow blocks on three sides and the arch at the front, its 160cm x 170cm and 10cm thick, doest anyone think only i'm ok to build a 1000kg oven on that? or have I just built an expensive dog kennel.

[awalker]

Do you have rebar in your 10cm top?
I would put some middle support in there. But I am over cautious and would not want the base to fail after the oven is built on top.

[bry]

I'm not expert on any of this as I'm pretty much at the same stage as you although have a different base. That being said, if your dome reaches out to the point where your concrete is over your hollow blocks then a large amount of its weight will be transferred down through to the hollow blocks, the only weight technically in the centre will be your hearth, the rest of the weight will be spread around the circumference of the dome. But if it does concern you, you could build a couple little piers inside and a lintel on top, use some slate between the piers and lintel to wedge the lintel up to the slab so it actually supports the slab

[daibaker]

I did put Rebar in there, hope its enough.

[daibaker]

Ive got 4 hollow blocks left over so I'll try and jam them in underneath.

[keithw]

That base isn't going anywhere, you don't need any additional support underneath and you could build 3 ovens on top without worry.

[daibaker]

Seeing as Ive nearly finished I thought it was about time I added some photos of the build so far:

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[awalker]

Very nice build. Great use of a car jack. Like the arched door way