Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

I'm currently attempting to build a brick oven in my yard.
Currently 5 weeks in, and would say I'm 75% done with the project.
There's a lot of waiting for things to dry and cure in between steps, and the crazy heat has slowed me down too.
I'm halfway through the oven construction, which I'm hoping to finish this coming weekend, then I'll need to insulate and render the dome, and finish the stand.
Before this project, I never mixed a bag of cement, mortared a block, or laid a brick in my life, and I thought cinder blocks were for smashing storefront windows.
That said, I'm pretty satisfied with how things are coming along.

Here's some photos of the process:

Blank slate
https://i.postimg.cc/wvyfR473/1593642803113.jpg

I had to pour a foundation slab. After talking with some people that know what they're doing I poured a 6 inch slab on 6 inches of crushed and compacted stone. Reinforced the slab with 3/8 inch rebar on 6 inch centers.

https://i.postimg.cc/TwzkVjD0/20200707-070315.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/bvvFpwPx/20200707-115842.jpg

After the slab cured for a week, I mortared and laid the block.

https://i.postimg.cc/8P83MGdG/20200714_144508.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/FF0xSz0x/20200715_225305.jpg

Once the mortar dried, the cores of the block needed to be filled with cement.
I ran 1/2 inch rebar through every other core to tie in to the suspended slab.

https://i.postimg.cc/667JCzDr/20200716-165228.jpg

Next I had to form up and pour the suspended slab.

https://i.postimg.cc/8cxZbRfw/20200719-202337.jpg

Added a second grid of 3/8 rebar to reinforce the slab.

https://i.postimg.cc/cJdXT46q/20200721-113754.jpg

Finished product

https://i.postimg.cc/mrVVnfFP/20200730-131915.jpg

After another week of curing, and roughly 4 weeks total I was finally able to start the oven.

Started with 2 inch calcium silicate board to insulate the floor, then formed up and poured a 1 inch refractory castable base.

https://i.postimg.cc/QMkX5px3/20200731_205014.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/SNzTxvHP/20200803-194544.jpg

Next I mortared and laid the floor tiles.

https://i.postimg.cc/BbdWR6Qp/20200805_070531.jpg

And then, finally started work on the dome!

https://i.postimg.cc/mgLqxzH2/20200809_123004.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/Wb6Kf6tH/20200809_122827.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/qByF6z5k/20200809_082040.jpg

I haven't gotten much done since I took these pictures Sunday morning
Took Sunday to point the mortar joints, and scrub the brickwork clean, and this morning I laid the first of 2 arches across the opening of the oven.

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Wow, Dom, that's a lot of work, but it looks great! I know you said that you had no experience with this, but you must have been a mason in a past life.

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

That looks awesome

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Very nice Dom!

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Very cool! :tu

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I can't even hang curtains so this is incredible. Great work, Dom! Can't wait to see it in action :ss

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Fantastic, Dom!

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Quite handy! Well done. Is this for pizza's or just general cooking?

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

"Meh...probably going to burn waaaaay too thick pizza anyway"...(posting for a friend..)
:r:r

Nice work my brother!

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Amazing, Dom!

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Real nice work. If all else falls by the wayside, you can always use it as a bomb shelter !! That thing is built stout !!

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Great job so far. Keep the pic's coming

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:cl great work Dom!!!

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

That's amazing Dom!!!

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Looking good so far. Can’t wait to see the finished product.

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Pretty damn impressive, Dom. I can see why you decided to ruin your nipples for this.

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Very cool, Dom! I am so impressed with all the thought and effort that you have put into this project! You should be very proud of your accomplishment!

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Awesome work!!:salute:

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Thanks, guys.

Thanks for all your help!!

Little bit of this, little bit of that.
With the thermal mass of the oven it should stay warm enough to cook in for 3 days from a full firing.

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

That's incredible, Dom, although little surprises me with your outdoor cooking masterpieces. Can it toast pretzels? :D

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Great work Dom looks awesome can’t wait to see it in true cooking form

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Dude..thats awesome!!

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Kind of short for a walk-in oven.... didn't know umpa lumpas came in Jew mode.

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Wow!

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Wow. Amazing. Well done.

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

You might want to stay away from the pretzels.
Usually the handle breaks, and they fall all over the floor.
We pick them up, put the box in front of Roger, and merrily giggle as he stuffs his pie hole. :D

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

That's coming out amazing. I would never have known this was your first attempt with Masonry.

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Ahhhhh.....memories of simpiler times.....

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Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

That's Bad A$$, Bro!!

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Got some work in on Saturday, but Sunday was a washout with rain, so I haven't finished the dome yet.
It was a little slow going as the walls got steeper because the bricks want to fall in.
I had to wait a few minuets for each brick to set, and use some wood to prop them up and hold them in place.
I'll be using a domed fiberglass form for the next few rows to prevent this.
I also botched the section where the ring crosses over the entry arch for the first time.
I didn't build it up enough, and turned my ring into a teardrop.
Of course I didn't notice until after the bricks had set up so it took some time to fix.
I had to build up and shape up the mortar in that spot to get the next row back in a ring.

You can see the dip here. The brick that is in the tool, and the one to the right of it

https://i.postimg.cc/g2jJxM69/20200815_160545.jpg

Back to a ring

https://i.postimg.cc/rs9mr3JT/20200815-201053.jpg

You can see here how steep the sides are getting.

https://i.postimg.cc/g062DnDN/20200815_181911.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/v87DkxdK/20200815_201142.jpg

Where I'm at currently

https://i.postimg.cc/NfgLcGsj/20200816_140251.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/vH3THRTL/20200816_140301.jpg

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

:cl

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

excellent work Dom

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It just gets better and better. :)

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Wow! That's getting more and more amazing. The Taj Mahal of backyard ovens.

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Amazing build man! Can't wait to see pics of that oven in action.

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I've finished the dome. :banger

Inserted the fiberglass form which is held in place with a car jack.

https://i.postimg.cc/3xPnNmMF/20200817_162050.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/y85rR2R9/20200817_162119.jpg

Working up the dome

https://i.postimg.cc/G2n77Yqm/20200818-104412.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/x80sYQrr/20200818-132750.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/yNM5M2YB/20200818-135555.jpg

And then poured my keystone with refractory castable.

https://i.postimg.cc/52jR6fXb/20200818-143134.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/x8YZCHz4/20200818_143457.jpg

Once the keystone is set hard I get to remove the form and crawl in the oven on my back to clean and point the joints. :hn

Going to spend the time waiting for the castable to set building up a landing around the door for the granite to sit on.
Still have a lot of work to do, but the hard part is done.

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Sweet bajeebuz but that's amazing!

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Cooler as you go, Dom! :tu

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Sooooooo...what's a "carjack"??

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Outstanding, Dom. Well done!!

:tu

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Wow! You said you are not a mason?
That is incredible!

God's blessings on the project!

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Awesome, Dom!

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This is all Greek to me, very interesting! I have some questions!
Why on the bottom structure are there 2 sides?
Is it for storing wood?
Is there going to be a chimney or vent?

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Nice, Dom. As for your issues with the dome, Filippo Brunelleschi had the same one when he built the dome for the Florence Cathedral. But he solved that in the mid-15th Century, so you have no excuse. :r

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Yes, it's for wood storage.
The bottom is 7 feet long. I segmented it and left it open on both ends so I wouldn't have to crawl in to get at the wood stored in the back.


I have to lay another arch at the front, and install the chimney.
That's the plan for today.

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Forgive a stupid question (or four):

So the wood fire and the cooking food both go in the dome?

If so, I assume that it takes a bit for the oven floor to get hot?

How much wood will it take to get the oven hot?

How long do you think it will take to get it hot?

Re: Brick Oven Build (Pic heavy)
 

Obviously this is all based on what I've read. No real world experience..... Yet :D

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Tic tock... tic tock....Looking forward to seeing it in action!!....Morning gents!

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I thought that would have been the trick to get Adam to crawl in:r