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Post by mart321 on May 17, 2012 19:51:27 GMT
hi all. been lurking on the boards for a bit looking through some of the excellent ovens and im thinking about trying to do one myself. firstly i dont want to spend a great deal and i dont know whether it will be a pompei, barrel or clay build. im just thinking about the base and plinth at the moment. i have just today picked up some free reclaimed house bricks. managed to fit around 70 in the boot and am planning on making a few more trips so i will be definately incorporating these in the build. i still have much research to do but i have an idea of what i would like the base to look like. i am a fan of this oven but i prefer the double wood store in this one which easily allows for support from the centre. whatever i do i am planning a fairly simple build as am young and fairly inexperienced when it comes to diy. at the moment i am thinking i can dig a foundation, fill with cement. have an inner and outer layer of bricks going round the outside with cement in the middle. of these layers, fill the middle with rubble etc, level with cement. lay fire bricks over the top. sure its much more complicated than this but these are just my initial ideas. does anyone have any tips or suggestions? any help appreciated.
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Post by rivergirl on May 17, 2012 20:02:54 GMT
I got my husband to dig out for the base, made the base and then my very first bricklaying job was a cement block square which I filled in with rubble bottles and sand. I put a paving slab lip around the edge and built my clay oven over the lip . This lip gives a good foot around the oven for longing, drinks, tools etc.
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Post by turkey on May 17, 2012 20:25:09 GMT
welcome aboard. tips. I would not waste bricks making an inner ring to form a void for concrete. I would get breeze blocks for the inner wall, light and quick to lay, these will support the weight, you can then clad them with your reclaimed bricks to make it look good. this build is on the old forum and you need yo register to see the pictures but this base is made with blocks and has a middle wall. You might not want to do the arches but it gives an idea. woodovenukforum.forumup.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=851&mforum=woodovenukforumalso don't forget a damp proof course . Especially under the hearth if you intend to fill under it with rubble. This will keep the hearth dry and help performance. and don't forget insulation on the hearth under the oven floor.
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Post by bookemdanno on May 18, 2012 12:37:30 GMT
I suppose the build style depends on how much space under the oven platform you wish to use. if you only wish to use a section at the front like the ones you've shown, then you can fill the un-used section with any old things you want to get rid of. Blind it off with some fine rubble and sand then cast a reinforced slab or lay 50mm paving slabs. Take a little more time and thoroughly view some of the builds on here. It should provide the answers and you can always continue to ask questions.
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Post by slowfood on May 18, 2012 13:33:15 GMT
Hello, lovely ovens. If your bricks are clay you could use them to build the oven itself. and by chopping each brick in half you should be able to build the whole dome and porch with more or less 150 bricks. (A brick is fired at 1100c and is stable until your oven reaches that temperature.. which it won't) As for the base if your'e on a budget how about an old water tank, drums and pallet, wood frame or stone all can be found for free. build the base much bigger than the oven, you'll be amased how tight space can be when you finnish the oven. Firebricks should certainly be used for the floor and don't underestimate how much insulation tou shouldhave under the floor, (Vermiculite is only around £12 per 100l in travis perkins) I had never laid a brick in a day and I completed the whole floor dome porch and flue in a day. Suprisingly easy. Get a copy of "your brick oven" by Russel Jeavons, Brilliant book and easy to read with loads of recipes as well. Attachments:
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Post by tonyb on May 18, 2012 21:35:12 GMT
I think 1100C is at the top end of normal brick firing temperature range but its more than just about the firing temperature, its about being able to handle heating/cooling cycles, relative expansion, moisture, hot reactive gases etc. I'm sure some ordinary bricks can handle this challenging environment, I just don't know which, whereas I do know that firebricks can as this is the type of environment they are designed for.
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Post by slowfood on May 18, 2012 21:55:34 GMT
Sure but on a budget firebricks are not cheap, when I built my brick oven I got a few different regular clay bricks and put them on/in a fire and bbq etc to see which were the better, The Oven in Russel Jeavons resturant is made from housebricks and that is an extremely busy commercial oven, He just uses regular cement as I did and again no problem, However there are sometimes people selling reclaimed firebricks on ebay very cheap indeed.
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Post by tonyb on May 19, 2012 7:39:22 GMT
Agree with all that and have no problem with people using ordinary bricks or any other material for that matter, I've been pushing the 'horses for courses' idea re wfos on this forum. It just worries me that with the wide range of bricks out there some may not be suitable for building a wfo.
I think the fire test you used is a good simple screening idea but only answers one of a number of questions about the suitability of a common brick for use in a wfo.
There's also a chicken and egg situation here in that we don't know the level of risk in using a common brick so people don't use them so we can't get a better handle on the scale of the risk.
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Post by mart321 on May 19, 2012 17:02:45 GMT
hi, thanks for the replies.i would be a bit unsure of using the bricks for the actual oven. they are standard house bricks, i can see that some of them even have spray paint on them and must have been an outside wall in an alleyway or something. tbh i think i will be moving house in the next 2-3 years so i dnt want to attempt a massive project. this is something id like to do as a bit of practise for a really good oven when i move house. i also have good clay soil in the area and am leaning toward a clay oven. i been checking the garden out today and i think the oven will be going in the corner aswell so i think a sort of diagonal facing oven set the corner is what i am after.
will definately be using breeze blocks now also, cheers. i will use my house bricks to clad these.
im thinking for example. base 1.5 metre high. breeze blocks around outside then filled with rubble,hardcore cement up 0.75m, then levelled and split into two sections for logs up to a 1.5 metre height. then paving slabs over the top. then circular brick pattern cemented in filled with bottles on top of the paving slabs,levelled. then firebricks etc....
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Post by mart321 on May 19, 2012 17:47:34 GMT
oh also is there a particular type of breeze block i need. are aeriated ones ok as they are cheaper.
and when i do my foundations, do i need to dig the full area out or can i just dig around the edges, i think i saw a build where a guy just dug the edges then filled the whole area higher than what the centre was wich created a full size concrete base.
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Post by turkey on May 19, 2012 20:54:32 GMT
the aireated blocks are fine, they are also very good insulators so you could cut them into a circle and edge with brick for good under floor insulation.
not quite sure on the base design, and in fact if filling then I would wait for Terry to approve the structural nature of the base design. If doing a middle wall so the each pacer is supported then you probably don't need to back fill. But if you have stuff to dispose off, its a good spot.
perhaps draw the plan (basic in paint is fine, save as jpeg not bmp tho)
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Post by rivergirl on May 20, 2012 8:28:50 GMT
My base was filled with rubble then empty bottles and sand . I am just going to start a repair job on mine as the weather and a blow from a Douglas pine branch have damaged mine. You are lucky at being able to dig out your clay as I had to go to Belgium to buy mine ! I still have not painted the base although I have been collecting china to mosaic it.
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Post by mart321 on May 21, 2012 6:13:20 GMT
I will do a paint jobby this week although i keep making alterations in my head. i also do not have a lot of room to work with. Around 1.7m x 1.6-2m . As for the clay although there is plenty of it i dnt fancy digging my garden up so i still need to suss that one out. Why do ppl mix hay in with it? Im presuming for insulation purposes.
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Post by rivergirl on May 21, 2012 7:15:19 GMT
Straw is preferred and I think it's for strength as well as insulation
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Post by cannyfradock on May 24, 2012 14:32:24 GMT
Hello Mart.......welcome to the forum. I missed your first post, but you've already had most of your questions answered. The only thing that wasn't answered (I think) was the concrete base question. You have many options......you can just dig...and lay a strip foundation to take your support walls, but it is the same work to lay a full concrete slab....most people do this as there is no need for any infill......you can build straight up off the base for your walls and the centre piece of concrete is the perfect base for your wood store. If you are inexperienced (in general building) I strongly advise you register with the old forum and do a little more research. There are so many builds on there which give great detail of every stage. When you've decide on something, then keep posting and we'll try to help the best we can with each stage (there's usually someone about) Here's a link to a build which I show to a lot of people who are thinking of building their own oven.....it's a bit complex, but gives a good picture diary of the stages.. picasaweb.google.com/115426447285405371194/WoodFiredOven Mine is also a bit complex because I bridged a wall but it will give you a better idea of what people were saying about using thermolite blocks... woodovenukforum.forumup.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=851&mforum=woodovenukforum ...or maybe you can see it here.. www.fornobravo.com/forum/members/cannyfradock-albums-2nd-pompeii-build.html Also people often add links to their posts (at the foot of their posts) which are often a diary of their build. All the best with your project. Terry
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