Matt1 - Just joined

[matt1]

Hello all.

Have just joined the forum and am a bit overwhelmed by the amount of info on here!

I am trying to decide between building my own oven, or buying a pre-built one. I have the space in the garden and not too fazed by the thought of building one (as an almost competent DIYer), but time constraints and other projects make the idea of a bought one seem attractive. 

My my better half thinks I should buy one mainly down to the number of other things I have to do but I prefer the enjoyment of making things myself.

We have seen a company called woodfired-pizza-oven.co.uk that appears to sell them at roughly the £400ish mark but I'm not sure about the quality?

If anyone has knowledge of them I'd be grateful for some info as I can't find any reviews out there. Or any thoughts on DIY versus pre-built?

thanks in advance.

Matt

[oblertone]

What you are buying is a pre-formed dome, which is actually only a relatively small part of the WFO build process. You'll still need to construct a base, insulate it before placing your dome, insulate over your dome and then weather proof it in some way before tidying up the surrounding area, building benches, tables, prep areas ... etc
What I'm trying to say, is 'build your own', it doesn't have to be a geometrically perfect stunner using expensive refractory bricks individually shaped on a water-fed brick saw (although that is the Gold Standard) but it is an integral part of the process and something you'll be proud of for years to come.

That's my opinion, others will differ ...

[truckcab79]

Hi and welcome. Only joined a few days ago myself. I’m building mine, somewhat of a half-way house as it’s a pre-cast inner dome with a block built base and clad in reclaimed bricks. In a similar situation to you with lots of projects and a love of building stuff. Mine is essentially a kit of parts with a lot of cutting done for you but still leaving you loads to do. Perfect compromise for me personally. I bought mine from Pizza Oven Supplies. Well worth a look at their website. They manufacture themselves and are very helpful. . They’ll sell you everything from a small internal pre-cast up to building it all for you. Will be more than your current budget but I too started looking at the same ovens as you and slowly convinced myself to spend more to get (hopefully!) a better result.

[matt1]

Thanks for the replies. I think I have a lot to learn before I take the plunge.

I thought the ones I had seen would only need a base with insulation then stick them on top and then be ready to cook - I hadn't realised they needed additional insulation on top of the dome.

Time for a bit more research!

Thanks

[truckcab79]

If you're looking at the same ones I did, then you don't need additional insulation. They are a complete ready-built and insulated oven that you just drop onto a base. Those chaps also list their ovens on eBay and I believe even offer a timber base that you can install them on, though it seemed quite pricey to me compared to the oven.

My reservation with them is that I couldn't see how you could make, ship to the uk and then ship again to the end user and everyone still be making money, unless there were compromises in materials and performance. They do seem very good value for the ease and size though. I was very tempted. Getting it safely through the house was what finally put me off though.

I'm sure that they cannot be as well insulated or efficient as anything you could build yourself. The next step up is to buy a pre-cast modular oven, then build a base and you can insulate and render to your own spec. That's more or less what I'm doing. Difference in price is substantial though. My oven, insulation, bricks, blocks, etc etc will come in around £1,500 I reckon, and that's probably a fraction of the cost of some of the builds on here.

If you're still mulling it over for a while yet, then watch along on my build thread in 'modular ovens'. Will give you an idea of what's involved. Might be a slow build though. Not least with the imminent snow forecast. I'm also new to this, so don't take what you see me do as necessarily the best or correct way!