The Oven is ON!

Thursday night Scott placed a one-inch ceramic pad on top of the slab and started placing the firebrick. The firebrick will be the base of the oven - where we cook the pizzas. Once again, we had to do some research about the placement. Nothing is simple with this project. Do we stagger them? Do we set them on their side, or flat? Do we mortar them in place? After reading through my blogs and sending messages to my experts (thanks - again - to all of them), we decided to lay them flat (only 2 1/2" high) and not stagger them. This would minimize the cuts we had to make in the brick.

I forgot to take a picture of the final brick placement.
Here is a view from the oven front.

Scott and I have been talking about moving the 800# oven out of the truck and on to the base. I called my 'friends' at Victoria Repair & Mfg. and asked them if they would drive their forklift over. They said, "Sure!" So today they drove their forklift the 1.7 miles through the big town of Victoria to our house. Within minutes Tim and Chad had that thing off the truck and on the base. Piece of cake! All for $50 .. a steal.

We had to make some adjustments, but it moved easily.

Thanks to my photographer, Ryan Hill.

And there you have it .. the oven is ON!

As I write this, Scott is at Home Depot getting the materials to build the box that will go on top of the oven. We are hoping to fire the thing up July 4th. We'll see ...

A Good Deed

When I picked the oven up from the shipping warehouse, the ceramic pad, door, gas line, etc. were under the oven. I wanted to get that ceramic pad out of there before the guys come to move the oven because we have to stack firebrick on top of the pad, and I don't want them waiting for me to get it done.

So today I drove to a local welding shop in Victoria, called Victoria Repair and Mfg. I walked straight into the welding shop and simply asked, "Could you lift an 800 pound pizza oven out of my truck so I can pull some boards out from under it?" The guy didn't blink when he replied, "Sure, let me get someone for you." Within minutes a nice young gentleman was driving a forklift toward me. It took him all of about 5 minutes to lift the oven while I pulled the boxes, gas line and ceramic boards from underneath. 

Once we were done I walked back into the shop and asked, "How much do I owe you?" He said, "For what?" When I replied, "For lifting my pizza oven out of the truck", he said, "Nothing. Consider it a good deed." I do my friend. Thanks! 

Pouring the Structural Slab

Scott got home from work, finished up the framing, and we poured the slab. By the end of the night Scott said, "This part of the project exceeded my expectations!" In a nutshell, it was a piece of cake.

We used 13 bags of Quickcrete 5000. Quickcrete 5000 consists of a commercial grade blend of Portland cement, sand and gravel, and is used when you need a little extra strength.

Those 80# bags are heavy!

After filling the frame with 13 bags we needed so little to complete the job, but didn't want to mix a whole bag and have left over cement. What would we do with it? So Scott started scrapping out the concrete stuck to the sides of the mixer! We were able to get 'just enough'. We couldn't have planned it better.

I don't think it took us more than 45 minutes to mix all the concrete, pour it and screed it. Simple. Light work. The easiest task pf the project thus far. Although cleaning up the mixer and tools was a pain in the behind.

Now for the next challenge: How do we get the 800# oven out of the back of  my truck and onto the base? Before going to bed, Scott sent an email to our neighbors. The Subject Line was 'Free Beer': 

"Thought that would get your attention ... I have free beer for anyone that can help me out on Friday night.  I only need about 15 minutes of your time. The slab was poured tonight for the oven and the next step is to get the oven out of the back of my pick-up and on top of the slab. Please let me know if you would be available Friday night and what time: 7PM, 8PM or anytime.  After I hear from everyone that can help, I will confirm the time. Looks like Friday will be hot so bring your kids and wife (or girlfriend if you prefer) for a swim in the pool. Thanks."

Building the Slab Frame

Scott spent the weekend building the frame for the Structural Slab. He built the sides out of 1x4's. Our goal is to have a 3 1/2" deep Structural Slab. Many Alan Scott Style ovens build a much deeper structural slab (5 1/2"). But we know the thicker you make your slab, the more time you spend heating your oven because the whole slab (and oven) has to get hot before you cook. We were told by the owner of Artesian Ovens, that 3 1/2" is a good amount, as you don't spend a full day heating your oven and yet it lasts long enough to feed a large crowd. Once again we went back to our goal: Make an oven that we can use to host a Pizza Party. We realize it isn't going to stay hot as long, and that is why we plan to insert a gas burner that we can use to 'crank up the heat' if the temperature begins to fall during events. Once again .. focus on the party.

Placing the rebar right after we poured the walls.

Scott placed plywood on the 'floor' of the slab (in the hole), which was held up with three 2x6 T's underneath. This will be removed once the slab is hard. At least that is our plan!

After the walls were dry Scott started laying the rebar and realized we had too large of a space between a couple sets of rebar. I read that they shouldn't be any closer than the depth of your slab (3 1/2") and max of 12" apart. We originally placed the center two rebars 15" apart, to prepare for our ash slot (so the rebar wouldn't have to run through it). But we were concerned about strength more than convenience.

Laying wax paper over the plywood, so it will remove itself from
the concrete easily. Notice the placement of the Ash
Slot (as far forward as possible).

He put up some braces to hold the frame in place. We are ready to pour!

Pouring the Walls

We knew we would be mixing about 20 - 80# bags of concrete, and the little tub we were using for the masonry mix wouldn't work. We needed a mixer. I was too cheap to pay $70 for four hours worth of rental (Eden Prairie Rental), so I searched Craigslist. I found a guy in Bloomington who would rent me an electric mixer, 6 cubic feet, for only $40 per WEEK (Tom @ 612-237-8821). As I was driving back with the unit attached to my mini-van, I wasn't quite sure I would make it in one piece (the thing was a bit unstable), but the money we saved made it worth the dangerous drive. I'm making Scott return it ...

We placed rebar all the way down in the corners, and into two holes in the middle of the long sides. About one foot apart we put short (18") pieces of rebar; these will be used to tie the rebar across the  structural slab. In the plunge-cut holes Scott cut earlier, we laid two rows of rebar. We tied all the joints together with rebar wire. Fairly easy job.

As for all the remaining holes, we jammed them with paper, plastic bottles, and whatever else we could find. This prevented us from having to fill every hole all the way to the bottom with concrete. If we were to do it again, we would have filled the holes before laying the rebar. But it worked.

Our daughter, Paradis, jamming the holes with paper. 

Scott shimmed a 2x4 in the bottom opening, so concrete wouldn't fall through.

Then we started mixing the concrete. The mixer worked great. We used 3 bags of left-over Masonry Quickcrete (green) and 6 bags of the basic Quickcrete (yellow bag). We simply poured the concrete from the mixer into a wheelbarrow, and then scooped it out with a shovel and poured it into the holes. We used rebar to 'tap' it down into the holes. Pretty simple.

Preparing the Base

Scott was motivated to continue progress on the base, so after work today he created a 'knock out bond beam'. He plunge cut the top row of blocks and knocked out the small wall; this will give room for the rebar.

We are fairly confident his 'mask' doesn't meet OSHA standards. Yep, that is a washcloth tied in the back with a bungee cord. I added a mask to our Home Depot list!

After the slots were cut, he put 3/8" rebar in the four corners (all the way down to the bottom), and one more column of rebar in the middle of the long sides. These six columns will get filled with concrete. He also put small pieces of rebar (18") about 12" apart in-between these columns; these will be used to connect the rebar 'grid' on the top slab. 

Start of the Base

This past weekend we started building the base of the oven. Last night, after spending most of Saturday and  Sunday working, Scott and I evaluated the weekend. I was pleasantly surprised .. I thought we did a great job, I learned a lot about building a wall out of concrete block; I had low expectations. Scott was disappointed .. he felt it took us longer than he had expected; he had high expectations. Same result - different expectations, something we have learned to adjust during this project. It wasn't 'hard' work, but it was definitely a learning experience. A skill - not simple 'idiot work' like digging the hole for the slab.

Here is the final product ... our walls are straight, the box is a square, and when we kick it, it doesn't fallen over! At least yet.

Saturday morning started at 6:00am with our neighbor Todd driving his truck to Home Depot a couple trips to pick up block. Our truck is holding the oven, so we were without it. We needed 60 concrete blocks at 36 pounds a piece (2,160 pounds) and 5 bags of Quickcrete Mason mix at 80#'s per bag (400 pounds). No  task for our mini-van.

The next job was chalking the lines for the first row. That was our biggest struggle. How to get the box centered over our 'not so perfect' slab. Scott wouldn't want me saying how long it took, but let's just say it was equal to the value of the dollar bill that Abraham Lincoln's face adorns .. in hours. It is only fair to say we hosted my Aunt and Uncle during an hour of that time.

First row. The most difficult, as we struggled to get it square.

End of Day One .. Saturday night around 8:30pm. Yes, we started at 6:00am.

At the end of Saturday we started to panic about the height of the base, which in essence will give us the height of the hearth. We talked this through for hours in advance of this weekend, but when I saw how high three layers of block were, I thought our plan of five block would be too high. I started sending out emails, bombing the Brick Oven Yahoo group, and just plain thinking it through again and again. We decided to stick with the 48" height as planned. It was either 47", or 39" (4 or 5 rows of block) and we felt if it turned out to too high we could add a platform to the ground. Better than being too low and bending over all the time. 

As I mentioned before, we buried 2" PVC conduit in our slab, to use for electricity and water in the future. We must have spent an hour discussing this as well. Should we have it go through the middle of the block and up through the slab? Should it go outside the block? We concluded that we don't want it going through the slab, as it could get too hot and melt. So we brought one side through the block and back out so we could 'mount' an electric outlet to the outside of the wall down the road, and one side we left outside the block. I can't say we fully planned to have them different, we just forgot to put the one inside the brick as we were building the wall. And we aren't really sure which one will be better down the road, but at least now we are confident we will be 50% successful! 

PVC Conduit going through slab and up, outside the block.

PVC Conduit going through slab, up through block, and back out the

top row of block (covered with duct tape).

So overall here is what we did:

• On the two sides we laid 4 block, on the back we laid 3 1/2 block, and on the front we laid 1/2 a block, leaving a 24" opening for the wood storage and ash bucket (for only 3 rows).
• Final dimensions were 64" x 56".
We went 5 full rows up. We placed a 3" x 3" x 30" piece of angle iron above the front opening (front and back of the block) to continue our top two rows. Tip: If you live in the Twin Cities, you cannot buy this angle iron at your local hardware store (e.g., Home Depot). Saturday morning I had to drive to NE Minneapolis (Discount Steel">).
• We went through close to 60 8"x8"x16" block and 5 bags of Mason Mix (Quickcrete).
• The final height was 40 1/2". On top of this base we will put a 3 1/2" slab, 1" ceramic pad and 2 1/2" firebrick (total of 7"). That will bring our height to approximately 47". At least we hope.

Here is what I learned:

• The consistency of your Mason Mix is key. Too wet and the blocks sink. Too dry and you can't level them. The consistency is something you have to figure out on your own. I got it figured out just before I started row 4!
• Mandatory tools are gloves, a large trowel (16" ?), a small trowel (8" ?), a short level, a long 6' level, and lots of patience.

For fun, here is the video of me placing the last block. As you can tell from the video, and photos, it rained most of Sunday. We simply put up our canopy and worked under it. It actually made us look very professional, like we knew what we were doing. Don't be fooled. We didn't.

The Oven Has Arrived

I picked up the oven and supplies today. All 1,000 pounds ... I am SO excited!

I picked it up from Lakeville Motor warehouse, which is located in Roseville. I could have had it delivered directly to the house, but I didn't know what we would do once it arrived. They would have had to put it on the driveway, and I really didn't want it sitting there until we were finished with the base. And then how would we pick it up, carry it to the backyard and put it on the base?

So our plan is to keep it on the truck until we are finished with the base. The height of the truck is 'about' the same as the height of the base, so I'm planning to buy a case of beer .. invite the neighbor men .. and have them 'slide' it onto the base. All 800 pounds of it. We'll see how that plan goes.

Have I said yet that I'm SO EXCITED!!

More Planning

Tonight Scott and I sat down, under the gazebo, overlooking the new slab, and planned the next phase of this project. No kids, and a couple bottles of beer made the evening very enjoyable.

The size of our base will be 56" (3 1/2 concrete blocks) wide by 64" (4 concrete blocks) long. The height will be 40" - five blocks tall. We will leave a hold in the front (for wood), which will be three block high, and two more above. Chad told us to plan for the hearth to fall between your belly button and diaphragm; for Scott that is 45". Above the 40" blocks we will put a 3 1/2" slab, a 1" ceramic pad and 2 1/2" firebrick for a total of 47".

We are planning to bring the next level (the oven itself) in a bit - only in the front - and the third (and final) layer will come in yet again. Remember, here is our dream:

We talked, at some length, about the facade; we are using field stone. I would love to use the FREE stone from the farm Scott grew up on, but we know that will require a lot of our time. We have time, but we would rather spend it making pizzas then becoming masonry experts. We calculated it would cost around $1,500 (160 square feet) to purchase a man-made, easy to install, field stone veneer. If we go this route, we will wait until 2013 as we didn't plan that in the budget. At this point we are just going to wait. I am going to research some cheaper stores (the $1,500 comes from our local landscaping company Timberwall). I also contacted Tom Hickson and he suggested I look into 'Slipform' Stone Masonry; you put a form in front of the wall and simply stack the stone in the form and add concrete. A thought ...

Here is the paperwork from our evening of planning. As we wrapped up the night we reminded ourselves that this project doesn't come with an instructional manual. We know there will be things we wish we would have done differently, but we just need to go with what we feel is best at this point.

Slab Done!

The slab is done and looks great.

As I mentioned previously, we inserted three conduits for water and electricity. We used 2" PVC tubes and we put an angled elbow at the base (more than 90 degrees) to help with feeding things through, as we will need to remove them before winter each year. We guess on where to place them, and hope we don't regret the location later. This is a learning process ... that we will never repeat again.

Slab Nearing Completion

I called around for concrete estimates. I learned, from others that had built before, mixing your own concrete is a lot of work. Scott and I were convinced we would have the concrete delivered and simply pour it ourselves. I need about 1.5 yards, and was getting estimates of $350-375.

Coincidentally our neighbors are building a Sport Court this week. Tom, the neighbor, suggested I contact his contractor and get our concrete at the same time. Kevin from Sport Court offered to finish framing the concrete, fill-in the remaining Class 5, lay the rebar, install conduits (for water and electricity) and pour the concrete for only $500. Check written. Slab off our 'To Do' list!

Austin, from Doran's Concrete, working on the Class 5. 

Rebar laid. Waiting for concrete Monday .. ?

We have decided to bury three 2" PVC tub es for electricity and water. Not sure if we will use them, but they will be there. We decided on 2" so we can feed through a garden hose and extension cord as we will not run the electricity or water permanently. We are thinking a spiket on the end for water or a sink in the counter. As for the electricity we are thinking sconces in front of the oven and two lights shining down on the grill and counter top. 

A Design .. At Last!

I have spent endless hours looking at Brick Ovens on the internet. I have joined Yahoo groups where members are way more obsessed with brick ovens than myself. I have read endless books about the process ... but I could never get my arms around a design that I liked.

Here are my goals:

• I want to use only 'natural' products. We have field stone and pavers in our current outdoor area, and I didn't want to 'commercialize' the oven look. No man made facade. 
• Once the oven is done, I don't want to wish we would had done something different. So I was trying to think through the design as much as possible. 
• Scott and I would like to include concrete countertops. We like the simple look and feel they will hold up well outside.

On Sunday, while in the Menards parking lot, I came across the following picture on my phone (internet) and fell in love with it! This is what I'm basing our outdoor kitchen on. It isn't going to be as big, and ours will  curve, but I like the general idea. I've been struggling with a hearth .. do I get a granite slab? Rock? Now I'm going to create a form and make it out of concrete, including pigments to match the concrete countertops. Perfect.

And as I told Scott, "I'm going to put a fake plant in front of it, just like the one below!"

Breaking Ground

On June 1, 2012 Scott and I broke ground on the oven. We spent the weekend preparing the ground for the concrete slab that will be laid.

I'm not going to sugar coat this part of the process. It was hard work. Simple idiot labor, but hard work. We were working against the clock, trying to dig up all the dirt, haul it to the dump and get enough Class 5 rock before 1:00pm on Saturday, when all the stores that sold Class 5 (and took dirt) would close. We wanted to work throughout the weekend.

Steve Zupke, who owns a home just a couple doors down, was mowing and came over to see what the crazy Vandeputtes were doing in their backyard. He offered to help us dig out a couple scoops with his hauler, but more importantly loaned us his truck so we could pick up a yard of Class 5 and have it available after the store had closed. Steve will be our first pizza customer!

Lessons learned:

• We dug the hole deeper than necessary. We miscalculated the depth needed for the hole. Therefore we dug more than needed, we hauled away more dirt than needed, and we had to buy more Class 5 than necessary. Nothing critical, but more work. I got a good tan during the process though. 
• The gas powered compacter rocked! The gas powered compactor was a great help. Since we added about 10 inches of Class 5, when we only needed 6, the compactor reduced our work load. Nice. 

You'll see from the photos below, our design is taking shape. The oven will be in the middle (approximately 5' x 6'), a gas grill will go to the right, and a counter top will go to the left.