pizza oven

[bazza65]

I am about to start building an outdoor pizza oven, has any got any tips or advice on the construction.
I have read two books for advice but they both give different directions
I suppose there are different types of ovens but which one is best for a handyman to make. :-?

bazza

[Bremic]

This is on my to do list. Will watch your progress.

Food Safari - Fire, episode 4, if you can catch it, had an episode on pizza ovens including a bit on building one. Not comprehensive, but a few good tips.

[craig308]

Bazza65 check out this site has a lot of good info http://www.fornobravo.com/community/ I bought at steel one at bbq alright but a real one is on my list

[bazza65]

Thanks for the replies, I bought the book that was featured on food safari written by Russel Jeavons.
Also got one written by Alan Watt. They write about different builds of ovens. You have to make sure you can assemble all the parts before you begin.
I am undecided which way to go. I have collected the bricks, besser blocks, reo, pavers and picked up a cement mixer for $ 20.
Will be digging the grass out today and prepare to lay the small slab.

[Crunchy]

Be keen to see a build thread if you can be bothered.

[bazza65]

I will post photos as I go. Picked up a chimney, a top for it and base for it today. Also heat proof material to go over dome at Mr Stoves.
They are not into "do it yourself" but will help you out.

[bazza65]

I thought I was going to build oven for minimum dollars. That is not going to happen.

[craig308]

This site has fully assembled oven's that look the good's and are well priced http://www.my-woodfiredoven.com.au

[bazza65]

They look ok Craig but most people would have to build a base to sit the oven on.
I have a gas operated oven but it takes a long time to cook a pizza.

[craig308]

That right bazza you need a base. Once you have cooked a pizza in a wood fired oven there is no looking back. In our steel oven once up too temp it take about 5 mins for a pizza to cook.

[bazza65]

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Progress update. Ready for concreting now!

::)

[bazza65]

100mm thick slab to be laid - pending weather

:o ::)

[vinvaite]

you must really love pizza

[bazza65]

you must really love pizza

I also love mudcrab, snapper, prawns and other seafood cooked in the pizza oven. Love stews and roasts and curries cooked in them.
Rake the coals near the door throw a small grill on them and you can cook a nice steak, sausages and chops etc. When you are finished cooking that you can empty the coals out of the oven and you can cook bread, buns, pies, pastries strudels . I think It can also be used as a smoker.
In the middle ages during winter when they were finished cooking for the day and oven had cooled to warm they would throw the kids in them to keep them warm at night.

[Chimo]

Bazza

We make our own bread and when the oven died I did it in the BBQ

With a suitable marble slab I suspect it would do a reasonable pizza etc too

Cheers
Chimo

PS I take it you dont like cutting lawn either!!!

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[Jakers 69]

Make sure your bricks can handle the fire.

[bazza65]

Bread looks great Chimo and I bet it tastes a million dollars. I thought if I was going to make an oven I may as well make a decent one. The base will be 1.6 mtr square.
We have no experience in building something like this, just a project the whole family can join in..The teenage grandkids have a few parties here so it will get plenty of use.
At the moment we are working off two books trying to pick the best bits out of the two.
I pray to God this oven turns out to be a ripper otherwise I may end up having to live in it.
bazza

[bazza65]

Yes Jakers from what I have read the clay bricks are fired at 1100 degrees and the oven should not go over 600 degrees C. I will put a temp gauge either in the shell or in the door. One book I am following is by Russell Jeavons who has commercial brick oven restraunts in Adelaide and he has only used clay fired house bricks in his.
Also he only uses clay fired pavers on the floor of the oven. He does use perlite to insulate the dome but I cannot find out where you can a decent size bag of it.
bazza

[bazza65]

I have found where to get the Perlite. Bunnings sell it for $ 8.00 for a bag as big as a football then found out Hydroponic shops sell jumbo bags for $35.

[bazza65]

112714 Slab finally laid :P

[bazza65]

112717 Warming up for the teenagers party :P

[bazza65]

112719 :p ::) ;d

[bazza65]

112746 started on the base block wall. :o

[bazza65]

112754 Block walls finished and ready to be core filled ;D will only core fill to within 10cm from top of blocks in order to set reo in for top slab

[bazza65]

112798 112799 finished core filling the blocks. Now to start on the top half ::)

[dnej]

Chimo, how about posting your recipe.
David

[bazza65]

112841 Reo completed and ready to pour top slab ::)

[bazza65]

112881 top slab done ;D will give it a week or so to fully dry out and then start on next stage

[bazza65]

112942112943 Just finished putting 4 inches of perlite and cement as a heat bank which should stop the top concrete slab from cracking and will reflect heat back into the oven ;D

[bazza65]

113004 Made the arch for the oven and laid the floor pavers

[bazza65]

113006 Front arch is chimney arch and back one is oven arch

[Crunchy]

Really starting to take shape now hey

[bazza65]

Yes mate I put a few rods through the arch bricks to hold them together. They are not perfect but with some wood smoke on them they will look alright.
Now I have to work out how to put the chimney together. Try and put a brick box on top of the arch then marry it into a round steel base.

bazza

[lethal]

looking good Bazza

[bazza65]

Thanks Lee I think the worst part is behind us. Hopefully the dome will not give us too much trouble. You place the half bricks with a tool called a "trammel" it is screwed to the centre of the floor and half bricks are placed in it and put into position. As the dome gets higher the trammel brings the rows into the centre of the dome.
The "trammel" can be seen in one of the photos I made this one from scrap .


bazza

[bazza65]

113058 Sweet Jesus we are starting the dome!

[bazza65]

113059 Got the bottom row done today

[dnej]

Bazza, if ever you are making arches again, get some styrene cut in the shape of your arch, and lay the bricks on the styrene as form work. When finished, and all is dry, slide out the styrene. You can use it over and over again. works great.
david

[bazza65]

Thanks David at the time I could not find any thing to draw the right shape so I layed the bricks down with rods through the holes and put the mortar in them.
That way they are safe to move around. I did not think of styrene it would have worked well.

bazza

[dnej]

Bazza,
I have made many many arches this way. I used to get the styrene cut at a place in Springwood. You can do the pointing as well while the arch support is in place.
Still have one under the house.
David

[bannana]

Bazza your doing a great job and my hat goes of to you for starting from scratch. I built mine last year but I cheated and bought a pre made kit from Melbourne fire brick company.. Still have to go through the processes but had everything delivered and easy to follow plans.. Good luck your looks great and I'm sure that's first pizza will be delicious and well earned..

[bazza65]

113076 Got a few more rows done today. Will have to put a sand cap underneath to finish the dome.

[bazza65]

113077 Got Wifey in to oven but wasn't quick enough to light it ;D

[bazza65]

Bazza your doing a great job and my hat goes of to you for starting from scratch. I built mine last year but I cheated and bought a pre made kit from Melbourne fire brick company.. Still have to go through the processes but had everything delivered and easy to follow plans.. Good luck your looks great and I'm sure that's first pizza will be delicious and well earned..

Thanks mate, this is a family project and over the last few days we have had people with bleeding finger tips from pushing mortar into back of bricks. It would be a very big job for one person to take on. I did not consider a kit project as I have the time to tackle it myself. I know if I had work commitments and little kids I would not have taken it on.

[dnej]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWWiyiohRBw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWWiyiohRBw)
Bazza. That is a link on how to cure your oven before use.
It takes a couple of days. Hope that helps , as they can cause issues if not cured properly.
David.

[bazza65]

Thanks for that David I knew you had to light a little fire in them to dry them out and to stop the shell from cracking.
I did not know you had to fire it about seven times.
One of the books I have says to start cooking when you have finished building.
I will heed your advice and fire it seven times. Thanks again.

bazza

[bazza65]

113174 113173 I had no idea how to install the chimney so I made this bracket up and it also locks the arches together and into the dome.

[bazza65]

113175 The "keystone" finally going in. That is the last of the bricks for the dome and locks all the bricks in place

[bazza65]

113177 Applying the mortar cap over the dome. Just ran short of mortar on this side.
113176 Mortar cap complete on other side.

Next up will be bricks around the sides to form insulation cavity.

[bazza65]

113290113291 Went overboard on the insulation. I was going to brick up the dome and fill it with perlite but I found a business that sold the fire blanket at a reasonable price so went that way instead. Packed the perlite into the corner cavities of the walls.

[bazza65]

113292 2 layers of black plastic on top of the fire blanket to stop any moisture that enters reaching the dome.

[bazza65]

Next step will be final layer over the dome !!

[Crunchy]

Thought it was going to be a pizza oven, now I realise you are building a monument! LOL

[bazza65]

The 747's have been told to keep out of the region.

[Mad Fish]

I did mine with a large beach ball and cement rendered over the top. You can use as much reo as you like but it will still crack unless you use pearlite in the render. You will need fire bricks in the bottom i used normal 2" clay pavers and it got so hot that the heat cracked the 4" reinforced concrete slab table top i made to build it on.
The Pizza is great that smokey flavour carn't be beaten.

[bazza65]

113318 Got the final cap on the dome. Still plenty of tiling and rendering to do. Next stage is lighting the fire to completely dry out the bricks and mortar.

[bazza65]

113384 starting the first fire

[bazza65]

113385 fire in the hole ::)

[Chimo]

What does the front closer look like? Is it fitted with an adjustable vent and a sight glass?

The project looks great by the way, well done.

[bazza65]

I am waiting for a temperature gauge to arrive by post to be fitted to door. Will post photo when it is finished.

bazza

[bazza65]

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Some of the pizzas we have cooked and the pizza bases we have made

[bazza65]

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Some more pizzas

[bazza65]

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Some other meals we have cooked .... chooks, veg, sausages and roasts

[bazza65]

113597

Temperature gauge added to door. Still got to make a door for wood pile and some more tiling to do.

[Gon Fishun]

[QUOTE=bazza65;1618703]113589 113590 113591 113592 113593 113594 113595 113596

Some other meals we have cooked .... chooks, veg, sausages and roasts[/


That would be driving the neighbours round the twist. Yuuuuuummmm. Can smell it from here.

[Crunchy]

Good to see you enjoying the fruits of your Labour!

Bit concerned about what's cooking in the pic with the Pepsi can though

[dnej]

Crunchy, well they at least look like they are happy to see someone

[bazza65]

Good to see you enjoying the fruits of your Labour!

Bit concerned about what's cooking in the pic with the Pepsi can though

HaHaHaHa Yes it does make your eyes water.

[dnej]

Bazza, now long does it take to heat up to temp.
David

[bazza65]

David,
I have read that some people quote different times to bring the oven up to temperature but this is my theory. I believe it depends on your firewood, if you have good dry timber it would be half an hour the to one hour. The timber I have is small gum tree limbs not quite dry also timber I got from Enrights sawmill which is still a bit green. When you have a good heap of coals and some flame you are ready to cook. Some books say the inside of the oven bricks should turn black with soot then turn white, I have had my oven roaring but it has never turned completely white and I do not think it is necessary. Different size ovens will also determine heat up time. When you throw a pizza in the oven and it starts rippling from the heat I think it is hot enough.

[scrotty]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161122/b021a43d46142129e8d09b8c23ac07e6.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161122/349401bb45bf243fd337dee23304a095.jpghttps://vimeo.com/192586130

Core filled and rendered block base. Hebel cooking surface with
Heat proof base tiles and refractory bricks.
Mixture of crusher dust, ball clay, cement, vermiculite, bondcrete.
Mixture covered with bird mesh, roof insulation and recovered with mixture and thick coat of coloured oxide.

Works amazing for pizzas, roasts, chooks and whatever!

[bazza65]

PIZZA OVEN RAGE .....

This is what happens when you don't share your home made and home cooked pizzas with your crazy neighbour. This went on for almost 1 hour until police arrived. The crazy lady is aged in her early 70's. The more she hosed, the more smoke she created ;D

[bluefin59]

So what did the cops say ? I like the oven , great talking piece for a few beers ..... Matt

[Moejoes]

Looks like you might be putting an extension on that smoke stack Bazza

[bazza65]

This is second time police have been called. She could have been charged with assault ( x2 as two of us out there) and property damage. Another incident and she will be charged.

[Chimo]

Looks like its time to share some chook and as suggested add to the smoke stack!

[Crunchy]

Give her a sausage mate, thats all she wants.

[Bremic]

What was her problem? Not able to get a share of the tasty tucker, or the smoke getting into her intimates hanging on the line?

Glad you have got it working well for you. The oven that is, not your garden watering service.

[bazza65]

She was going off about the smoke. There is a little smoke when you start up but once you get going there is no smoke.
I do not fire it up if any neighbours have washing on the clothes line.

[rayken1938]

Lengthen the flue so the smoke goes above her roof line and oly use seasoned wood should alleviate the smoke problem.
Being an asthmatic I can understand the problem that the smoke would cause.
The smoke smell would remain in the house for days.
I do a fair bit of smoking and always warn the neighbors a couple of days before hand so that they can plan when to do their washing etc. Also slip them a smoked chook.
Cheers
Ray

[bazza65]

Anything over 3 metres needs certification mine is 2.9 metres high.

[Chimo]

Is that measured from the new ground level / natural surface adjacent to the pizza oven?

[bazza65]

We measured from top of chimney to ground in front of oven.
Funny the BCC did not tell me this when I inquired about building an oven.