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. 

An Outdoor Kitchen?

My husband tends to move a little slower than I do when it comes to change. Who doesn't? Usually when I begin discussing crazy ideas like building a pizza oven in our backyard, he simply ignores me. He wishes my ideas will go away. This time they didn't. After seeing all the bread making, masonry, and brick oven building books on my nightstand, he knew this wasn't going away. So he jumped on board. Thank goodness, because I don't have the patience to cook in a wood-fired oven and needed Scott to come along to the party!

Scott is a Grilling King, and after spending time with co-workers in South America who make grilling a social gathering, he started talking about getting something from this project as well. Scott  has always wanted a new grill, and so we decided to add that to the plan as well. Oven .. check. New grill .. check. Heck, let's add a counter for prepping all those pizzas. What did we come up with? An outdoor kitchen my friends!

Lorenzo

On April 29, 2012 Lorenzo, from Lorenzo's Ovens visited my home. We talked about my oven obsession. He had pictures of his own oven, and it was beautiful. Very large, but beautiful. I loved talking with him about the 'community feeling' one gets from hosting a pizza party. I loved chatting with him. His sexy Italian accent didn't hurt.

However, his price range was significantly higher than that of Artesian Ovens, so I pretty much made up my mind.

Workshop Cancelled

Around April 15, 2012 Derek sent me an email stating he had a conflict with our workshop date. I had received several interests in the class, but no strong commitments, so I decided to cancel the workshop. I was bummed, but determined to get the oven completed.

I went back to my research and came across the pre-built ovens I had found on the internet. I started making some calls and met Chad Cater from Artesian Ovens. I liked everything that Chad had to say about his ovens. Although I had this Alan Scott style oven in my head, I was easily convinced that if I wanted a brick oven for recreational purposes only, his oven would more than meet my needs. I was hooked, but felt I needed to do some more research.

Here are the ovens I considered buying:

• Artesian Ovens. This is who I ultimately purchased my oven through. Why? The business was located in Minnesota, and I thoroughly enjoyed the fabulous customer service the owner Chad Cater gave me. And his oven was within my price range. 
• Lorenzo's Ovens. Lorenzo himself came to my home and we discussed my project. I'm sure the ovens are great, but too high for my budget. 
• Forno Bravo. Out of my budget range. 
• Mugnaini Ovens. Again, out of my budget range. 

Oven in Eden Prairie

On March 16, 2012 I picked up some firebrick and Foamglas insulation from a gentleman in Eden Prairie. He had built an Alan Scott style oven in his backyard after attending a class at North House Folk School (taught by Derek) and had some supplies left over.

The oven was much smaller than that of Tom's in Stillwater; although the oven was the same size, the surrounding frame was smaller with a much different look. Although I didn't care for the 'modern' design, I liked the smaller footprint.

I picked up 75 firebrick and a case of Foamglas insulation for $75. A great deal. Was this commitment?

Pull the Trigger or not?

On March 5, 2012 I sent the following email to my husband:

"I have to make a decision about the backyard oven. I REALLY want to do this. I think it would be a fun ‘neighborhood’ activity, and would give you some experience on cooking in a wood burning oven for when we live in South America!

Two reasons I haven’t pulled the trigger:

1. The cost. Minimally I’ll spend $2,000 on building supplies. That doesn't include the façade, which I’m hoping can be boulders from the farm, but I could end up needing to buy something. And it doesn't include baking supplies (e.g., large ‘spatulas’) – that is around $400. Realistically this could be $3,000-$4,000. 
2. The work. I hate to admit this, but the project freaks me out. I’m confident I can get the workshop organized to get Derek here for the weekend. I’m confident I can get all the materials. I’m confident I know what needs to be done. But I’m not sure I can do all the work that needs to be done in advance of the workshop (e.g., laying the slab, building the base) or afterwards (e.g., façade). I would need help – I HATE to admit that.

But if I’m going to move forward, I need to get a check to Derek to schedule his time. I need to start recruiting workshop attendees. I need to start ordering materials so I can save money. And this spring I need to get the slab laid, etc.

What are your thoughts?"

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Here is my husband's reply later that day ...

"Pull the trigger.

I can do the slab and other work (the HARD LIFTING - the IMPORTANT stuff).

I think it would be fun to build and enjoy making pizzas.  Rather than trying to fit the work in at night, I just need to take time off work and do during the day."


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I love him ...

SPBC Eden Prairie Slice

On February 20, 2012 I attended a meeting of the St. Paul Bread Club. We met at the Eden Prairie mall food court, and there were two other members . The full group meets in St. Paul several times throughout the year, but there are also 'local' meetings in various parts of the Twin Cities; these gatherings are called 'slices'. Very clever.

I chatted with the members about my oven obsession. Neither of them had one. Neither of them planned on building one. But they did bring some bread, that was yummy!

Tom Hickson's Oven

On Saturday, February 18, I visited the oven of Tom Hickson. Tom lives in Stillwater - an hour drive from my home - and has an Alan Scott style oven built by Derek Lucchese. Derek is the owner of Both Hands, and was going to teach my Oven Workshop.

I fell in love with Tom's oven. I loved the design. I loved the use of all the natural stone. Making the trek that day got me even more motivated to get my oven built. 

Oven Obsession History

Written on June 3, 2012 (I back-posted to keep these in order):

Today I'm starting this blog, because I realize building a brick oven in our backyard is going to need some documentation.

Here is a little history: Roughly five months ago I saw an ad in a Three Rivers Park brochure advertising a class for building your own 'Portable Brick Oven'. I personally had a conflict the day of the class, but told Scott, "I think you and the girls should attend the class. Wouldn't it be fun to cook pizzas in our backyard?" Since that time I have spent hours, and I'm talking probably more than 60 hours, researching brick ovens on the internet, purchasing books, joining clubs, visiting the library for masonry books, and dreaming about having an oven in my backyard. How did it go from one small portable oven to a full outdoor kitchen? Short answer: My name is Rae Ann Vandeputte. I can become a little obsessive.

After seeing David S. Cargo's class description for building a portable brick oven, I started looking on the internet. What is a brick oven? What do you use it for? What do they look like? How are they built? The amount of information was overwhelming. And yet at the same time, the project has been challenging. All the information is written by DIYers like myself. Much of the information contradicts one another, so it has been challenging.

Here are just a couple phases I went through ...

• A small portable oven will be fun. The portable brick oven class I first read about seemed perfect. I would spend a small amount of money buying firebrick, stack them together to form an oven, bake some pizzas. Perfect. But after looking at other ovens on the internet, and seeing how beautiful they can be on one's backyard, I had to have a permanent one of my own.
• I'm going to start selling bread for a living. You may be laughing, but for a short time I wanted to build the biggest and most robust oven out there. One that could produce 50 loaves of bread at a time, so I could ... oh, I don't know. Sell it? Throw it away? Bragging rights to say I can bake 50 loaves of bread in my oven? I hooked up with the Saint Paul Bread Club, liked their Facebook page, and attended one of their meetings. A couple weeks later I said, "What am I doing? Isn't this simply about the party I will have in my backyard once this oven is built?" So the bread making business went away. My new goal: Make an oven that could compliment my need to host a party. Focus on pizzas. Breads would be nice, but aren't the priority.
• I'm hosting an oven building workshop at my home. I quickly learned there are several different types of ovens; cob (one made of mud and grass), temporary brick ovens, permanent ovens, etc. I felt as if an Alan Scott style oven is what I needed. Alan was praised on the internet as the oven building expert. I bought his book and started reading. It didn't take me long to realize this project would take some effort, and therefore put my skills to work by recruiting an instructor to teach a brick building workshop at my home. It was to be held the weekend of July 13-15, where attendees would pay me $200 to attend my workshop where the instructor would teach everyone to build an oven while ... he built mine! Seemed perfect. But after the response to the class was slower than I hoped, and Derek came up with a conflict, I cancelled the class. Now what?