Essex Seaside Build

[woolf26]

Hi Everyone,

I started a build a few years ago and moved house half way through - learnt some lessons though and have decided to go again....

I'm off the ground and the base is almost done.

Plan is to build a pompeii style oven with an internal oven width of 75-80cm

Looking for a few pieces of advice please;

1. for under the oven hearth for insulation i'll either use vermiculite mixed with concrete (5:1) or Calcium Silicate board - which one would you all go for? and how thick in each?

2. For the size of my oven, roughly how many bricks would you estimate i'll need for the hearth and dome? (I plan to wrap it in a high temp blanket and then more vermiculite on top before rendering) 

3. Where would you recommend order the bricks from?

I'll send through some pictures as i go

[Thomobigands]

Mar 30, 2020 17:18:57 GMT woolf26 said:

Hi Everyone,

I started a build a few years ago and moved house half way through - learnt some lessons though and have decided to go again....

I'm off the ground and the base is almost done.

Plan is to build a pompeii style oven with an internal oven width of 75-80cm

Looking for a few pieces of advice please;

1. for under the oven hearth for insulation i'll either use vermiculite mixed with concrete (5:1) or Calcium Silicate board - which one would you all go for? and how thick in each?

2. For the size of my oven, roughly how many bricks would you estimate i'll need for the hearth and dome? (I plan to wrap it in a high temp blanket and then more vermiculite on top before rendering) 

3. Where would you recommend order the bricks from?

I'll send through some pictures as i go

Hi there, good luck with the build although with everything going on I imagine you will struggle to get materials now.

For when you are ready though:

Originally I was going to use vermicrete but the long drying time and a few other things put me off. I opted instead for lightweight fly ash blocks that were about £1 each from a local builders merchant and I used maybe 15/20? I cast a normal slab of concrete for the hearth, then when that was set I then set another layer with the blocks in, just in the area where the oven would sit. This was surrounded by more concrete. Photos in my posts if you have a look. This is a cheap way to do it. Sil board great but expensive and unnecessary I feel.



Once all this was set, I mapped out my oven floor that would sit over the sunken blocks. I only had a bolster and chisel and an angle grinder with a diamond blade that was a birthday present, so no fancy cuts here. The outer cooking floor bricks were just roughly cut as I knew they would eventually be buried and I sat the first soldier course on top of the cooking floor. Incidentally, the bricks are 42GD – 230 x 114 x 76mm. They were from kiln linings and I ordered 195 of them. I wasted quite a few messing up cuts and had about 40 intact bricks left that I sold on if that helps you with quantities? I used a hammer and bolster for 98% of the cuts and it was fine – I cut them on a flat, relatively hard area of lawn and just used the same spot every time. The few cuts that I had to do with the angle grinder I did with a respirator as well as goggles and just took my time. Having never used an angle grinder I was a bit nervous at first but it was fine. Sometimes I could not cut all the way through given the size of the blade so went as far as I could then gentle bolster and chiselled the rest.

Kiln linings great for stuff. Plan ahead and order anything else you need though like clay as they have a minimum order value so need to order all at once.


Ps my oven is 36 inches internal.

[woolf26]

Hey,

Thanks for the reply - that's been really helpful.

Over the weekend i spent time finishing the base and laying the concrete top - I definitely should have hired a mixer for this and not mixed all 16 bags in a wheelbarrow, it was a LONG day.

Placed my order with Kiln linings last week and should be arriving today.
Now i am on to the exciting bit with the oven i have a few more questions....

I  decided to go with the Calcium Silicate board (50mm) for under the hearth of the oven, but am a bit unclear at this point how to lay it, so questions below;

1. would you lay the Calcium Silicate board straight onto the concrete slab on top? if yes, then do you need to add 'home brew' mix below it to secure?

2. I've seen people wrapping the Calcium Silicate board in tin foil...is this required? and if so, why?

3. When i lay the bricks on top of the board, again would you use home brew to secure the bricks?

4. when i lay a soilder course of bricks around the oven base, i understand that this should not be actually cemented to the floor of the oven and only inbetween the outsides of the bricks for expansion - is this right?

Sorry for all the questions - just want to ensure i get this right! Thanks for any help.

[Thomobigands]

Apr 8, 2020 10:04:40 GMT woolf26 said:

Hey,

Thanks for the reply - that's been really helpful.

Over the weekend i spent time finishing the base and laying the concrete top - I definitely should have hired a mixer for this and not mixed all 16 bags in a wheelbarrow, it was a LONG day.

Placed my order with Kiln linings last week and should be arriving today.
Now i am on to the exciting bit with the oven i have a few more questions....

I  decided to go with the Calcium Silicate board (50mm) for under the hearth of the oven, but am a bit unclear at this point how to lay it, so questions below;

1. would you lay the Calcium Silicate board straight onto the concrete slab on top? if yes, then do you need to add 'home brew' mix below it to secure?

2. I've seen people wrapping the Calcium Silicate board in tin foil...is this required? and if so, why?

3. When i lay the bricks on top of the board, again would you use home brew to secure the bricks?

4. when i lay a soilder course of bricks around the oven base, i understand that this should not be actually cemented to the floor of the oven and only inbetween the outsides of the bricks for expansion - is this right?

Sorry for all the questions - just want to ensure i get this right! Thanks for any help.

Hi there.

As I understand it with the board it doesn't need securing as the weight of the oven will be enough. Foil not necessary. Your soldier course will also keep it in place. I didn't home brew under the soldier course, just between and over the backs of them. A bed of sand only for the cooking floor as it allows you to lift and replace them at a later stage if needs be once your oven is built.

Sure others will have some different advice but that's mine for you!

When your bricks arrive, handle them carefully as they chip easily. Perhaps start by setting aside some clean and sharp ones for your cooking floor.