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Post by turkey on May 8, 2012 20:11:22 GMT
I braved the bank holiday rain and have managed a few more rings of bricks, its getting harder to progress now as there are more cuts to do, and also with the angle the bricks take longer to stick and I have had to start to make support batons to hold the bricks in place. I am now on 1/3 brick width blocks as I go. here is a shot of the brick support, I found the arch form perfect to hold the bricks, with the curved edges it was easy to get the right length and can reuse for each chain as it will work by the looks all the way to the keystone. I had no clear plan for the transition, and as I forgot to angle the arch bricks I knew it was going to be an issue. I have taken a shot of the transition and I will try to explain what I did. I think its ok but you could do this better and save yourself the head ache. from here you can see the arch, the first ring above this did not go across the arch completely, you can just see the single bricks that went from the normal dome to the arch, these where in effect 45 degree angle bricks and the are the the dome side underneath just. For the next ring I wanted to get across so you can see I actually used 3/4 sized bricks to bridge most of it, these should act as good anchors, it left a small gap so I cut a more keystone type shape, and to make sure it rested on the arch well I cut a notch into the back which I used to sit on the arch. I also cut a small 45 degree triangle to mount behind it to transfer all the weight it gets down onto the arch. I probably should have photgraphed this specifically as I know I am interested in how folks did their transition. Anyhow the way I made the arch and then had to tie it in meant the circular dome was stretched over this arch so was getting oval. To counter this I added a single extra brick which I shaved to a wide thin V shape which hopefully you can see. This sits in the oval to try and make the next rind close up to a proper circle. I think this has worked quite well, and I think I was quite lucky it worked quite well. Took ages of cutting with the mitre saw as its not very good for dainty trimming lol. I don't think it will look as pretty from the inside, and I might need to apply some homebrew mix later on to smooth the internal structure to aid gas flow.
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Post by cannyfradock on May 8, 2012 20:52:53 GMT
Turkey They always look "blotchy" on the outside. That transition bit from dome to internal arch is always tricky. I was fortunate enough to have built my first dome by guesstimate .....so I learned lots from mistakes from my first build. I still can't afford a decent cutting blade for my angle grinder so all my cuts were made with a hammer and bolster, but with a little foresight I ordered 5 1" fire-bricks from Liam to help with this tricky bit.. Your build is coming along just fine. The sooner you can point the interior the easier it is. Looking forward to seeing the next stage pics. Terry p.s
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Post by turkey on May 8, 2012 21:33:47 GMT
I do worry a little with regards to the pointing, I feel I have probably been very slack and should have paid more attention to it, I know even my brick wall round the base needs cleaning and pointing.... perhaps I should clean out the interior and do that prior to any more brick runs... as I feel access is tight now. Did you point between all the bricks in the end, and also did you stick with half sized bricks all the way to the top. I have now gone to thirds and its looking like a nightmare trying to stop them overlap on the joins vertically. Will have to cut to random widths and then mix and match as required. Those thin bricks look like a really good idea, I did not even know you could get them, top tip for people about to order some bricks I think right about now I do feel I miss not having a form like that, I have considered a yoga ball to inflate and fill the void for the final push. Will have a think on that time saving option...
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Post by cannyfradock on May 8, 2012 22:19:06 GMT
.....don't worry too much about the pointing. Rough edges can be cleaned back to be re-pointed. Worst case scenario.....more time. Yes....make sure your dome is a half brick thickness .....right up to the keystone. Without the use of a good diamond edge blade on your angle grinder....i.e cutting trapazoid cuts angled on all four sides...you must use smaller cuts to complete the dome. Try cutting your bricks first in half, then again cut the halves through the middle. This can be done with a hammer and bolster. The easiest way to complete the dome is to make a form for the completion of the dome. Build up a structure of blocks or timber and place a thin piece of ply on top of the structure. Use wet sand to form....a form to hold the last few rings. This is how I done mine Just make sure that the keystone ....or pieces of fire-brick are tightly packed together and fully filled with the homebrew mix. This is how it should look... Home truths coming out now. This is how mine looked... It doesn't look very pretty, but as a bricklayer (without a decent angle grinder) I knew that all these small pieces were interlocking and would never fail in structure. I might delete this image but I posted it to show you that it doesn't have to be "pretty" to function perfectly. Hope this post helps you with your build. Terry
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Post by bookemdanno on May 9, 2012 12:24:59 GMT
Your build is looking good and going just fine! Thanks for all the sharing too.
I'm getting ever closer to starting, and to be quite honest more nervous too! Those top few chains look so daunting, and just hanging there until the keystones go in...whoa!
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Post by pete123 on May 9, 2012 13:54:47 GMT
Looking good. How many bricks did you order?
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Post by turkey on May 9, 2012 16:58:11 GMT
thanks terry feel free to censor that pic , when I asked about half brick I means width in the direction of the ring not oven all thickness. I can see you did until you made your keystones. I am not sure mine will be FB style as the miter saw is no good for dainty cuts.
these top rings are slowed as the mix takes longer to grab but in truth the arch and its transition was harder, this is just more fiddly. I am taking loads of time, Terry managed it in a day, I have done 3 on the dome o far so don't be put off. Slowly slowly and it seems to be working for me... It is still standing ;-)
Pete I actually won these as recycled bricks off ebay, so I have 141 and hope it will be enough for my 30/31" dome but I would check other build diaries who have rubbished for a final count as I suspect I might be right down to the last few lol.
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cec
WFO Team Player
Posts: 160
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Post by cec on May 9, 2012 18:59:25 GMT
Pete I actually won these as recycled bricks off ebay, so I have 141 and hope it will be enough for my 30/31" dome but I would check other build diaries who have rubbished for a final count as I suspect I might be right down to the last few lol.[/quote]
My 30" took 75 bricks , about 60 where cut in 2 . So I would say 141 should more than do
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Post by turkey on May 13, 2012 14:22:37 GMT
I have topped out, the dome is closed. What a pain in thw back I am feeling today all that time hunched over trying to get it done. I got it to a fairly small hole and had to plan the keystone Due to my arch transition the dome was a slight oval so I wanted to close it up to as close to a circle as possible to make life easier, I cut two thin shims to try to do this. One stuck the other fell off half way through and I never put it back, in hindsight I think its too fine and fiddly and I would have been better to cut the last few blocks as I needed them to specific shapes in the end tho I dont think it closed that bad, it should be very strong th as the keystone almost needed to be hammered in, I think this pic shows more my lack of pointing, it might look better when dry and wire brushed... the indespencible tool worked well and came out of the door easily which was a blessing, as I was nto sure I had the energy to break it apart at the end og the day, would have made o firewood tho I suppose.
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Post by bookemdanno on May 13, 2012 20:42:48 GMT
Way-hey, well done Turkey!
...Maybe that should be the first dish?
Looks great, and the blog has been a great read.
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Post by faz on May 14, 2012 5:39:29 GMT
That's a nice tidy build turkey.
I will be starting the construction of my 30" Pompeii next weekend, so it's been really interesting reading this thread which has no doubt answered plenty of the questions I'll be asking during my build.
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Post by turkey on May 14, 2012 8:16:10 GMT
thanks for the comments, its wierd as up close you see all the niggly bits, and how the dome is slightly lower on one side etc....
but the one thing I would change is setting it further back on the stand, which probably means in my case making it smaller. I only have a single brick length for the opening to support the cimney and to make matters worse that brick will need to be cut at a near 45degree angle due to the stand edges. Will be looking for advice here, but I focused on the dome too much when laying it out.
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Post by cannyfradock on May 14, 2012 8:27:40 GMT
Turkey........well done !!!
I like the way you closed your dome top and if you had to force the last piece or keystone in, then you know it can't move.
Even though you didn't have a decent blade to cut the arch dome transition....it won't fail. For an extra measure to stop any external cracks around this area, fix some ex-met or chicken wire around the vulnerable area's with homebrew......or sand cement and lime (if you haven't any fire-clay left), before you put on the blanket.
Terry
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Post by tonyb on May 14, 2012 8:40:01 GMT
Well done Turkey
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Post by turkey on May 14, 2012 9:03:34 GMT
For an extra measure to stop any external cracks around this area, fix some ex-met or chicken wire around the vulnerable area's with homebrew..... is this why people put a skim coat of homebrew over the dome? I was trying not to with the idea of keeping the thermal mass down a little so its quicker to heat up. Pretty sure the transition is not going anywhere now, but might stick a little more round the top and transition to be sure.
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