The Pizza Has Landed!

 One small step for mankind ….one giant leap for one man.

Yes we cooked pizza on Friday. The oven was mostly finished and needed to be used. So Friday was the day.

My in-laws were here and were to leave the next day. So we decided to get some good friends together and give it a run. I wanted friends who would honestly tell me if it was good or not… and would not be offended if we ended up ordering pizza from the store in case all went crazy and the whole thing crashed.

I started with a simple pizza crust recipe at about 3 pm. Mixed it and left it to rise. Then I kneaded it again and set it aside in balls to rest until the zero hour.

I started the fire 2 hours before cooking time and had a great 75 degree day to watch it burn. This was sent from God because Wednesday had checked in at 105 degrees. It was interesting because I had read about placing logs on the edge of the oven interior (separated from the fire) and watching them burst into flame as if on their own when the fire was hot enough. It was amazing to see a log just start on fire without any contact with the rest of the fire. (OK, I know how and why it happened but it was still fun to watch).

Note to self: in our southern climate I can see that the pizza oven will be a winter sport more than a summer one. Huddling around a 700 degree oven will be really fun when the temps are in the 40s. but don’t think for a minute that the summer will require less pizza!

The friends started arriving and the toppings were out and ready. The dough rolled out pretty well and the pizzas started coming outside for their time in the oven. (now I do have to say I had already made a trial run on my own pizza just so I could look like I knew what I was doing. And that one turned out great.)  The oven performed superbly and the pizzas were rolling out at a nice clip. Everyone was happy and ate their fill.

When someone new came later in the night, I just added some smaller pieces to get the fire burning and we were off again.

 had seen a simple hook type tool which was used to turn the pizzas as they are cooking. That one was just a piece of wire bent in a hook.  Mine will have to be more elaborate of course but I think that will be easier to use than the turning peel. And I need a brass brush to clean the floor of the burned flour falling from the peel and the pizza bottoms.

We did learn that more is not better when it comes to toppings. The lighter more assorted pizzas were better than the heavier saucy ones. But in the end, all were great.

I was excited to have a good first run and the good times with friends.

The oven was certainly worth all the efforts, money, and time.

It is an interesting conversation piece, and a great addition to the yard.

The Tile is Going Up on the Outside

 This week was a fun one at the pizza oven. 

I got to put the tile on the outside and an almost finished with the whole thing.

I had the tile waiting in a pile for just the right project and this was it.

I had applied the stucco so that the sides were relatively flat, and smooth.  OK, I was not exactly flat and smooth but I thought I could make it work. 

The mastic went on well and the tile stuck just fine.  I know there are some thick joints here and there, but I could notbelieve how hard it was to get the cuts just right where you want them.  I have cut

close up of the front detail

the whole thing with an angle grinder.  It would be nicer with a tile saw…but no tile saw and I needed to move on.

So I cut them and applied them without any problems.  The front decorative pieces went on easier than ever expected.  They are on sale pieces from Lowe’s, so they were half price.  Nice!

 

Well I am moving on to the roof now. The vintage slate will finish the look and give it a nice old world feel.  As always, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Building the Forms and Pouring the Hearth

The slave labor continues…

 The day had arrived to build the forms for the hearth floor.  This would involve forming up a table of 3.5 inch concrete for support and a 3.5 inch layer of perlite cement mixture for insulation.  The insulation is to keep the heat from the floor of the oven hearth.  Without insulation the heat would be sucked into all the structure and mass of the hearth and stand, thus cooling off the oven to quickly.

 Now, if you remember the stand is made of 8 inch cinder block, filled with concrete.  I cut a sheet of concrete backer board to overlap the inside edge of the block about 3 inches.  This will allow the concrete to fill any remaining voids in the block and then flow over the open area and create the table. The backer board is not strong enough to support itself so I made a form of legs and 2×6 top pieces to hold the backer board up to the level of the sides.

 The sides of the hearth form were made of 2×8 for strength and screwed together for ease of construction and strength.  I cut a ash drop into the area where the door would be and framed it up with pieces of backer board.  this will allow ma to rake the ashes out of the oven without having to take them out the front door.

 I designed the top to be about 2 inches wider than the base … mostly for looks, but the extra size will also be a big help.  In order to keep the concrete from running out this 2 inch gap, I simply added a piece of 1x 4 to the bottom of the side form and it was in contact with the outside of the stand blocks.  If there were any gaps anywhere I just placed a piece of paper over the gap and that was enough to keep the concrete from running through.

I also did not put the insulating layer all the way to the front.  The front area was a work surface and was poured fully with concrete.

 I then realized that the lintel I had made with so much care was going to be supporting a block of 7.5 inches of concrete.  Not a very pretty topper to the carved lintel piece.  Knowing that there was no way to make any major change now…. I had to figure out some way to make the upper piece more interesting.   So I cut the 2×8 down the center and added a curved piece of ¼ inch plywood to the upper half to make it curve out and therefore producing a little protrusion of the upper deck.  It turned out pretty well and I think will help the design. 

The next step was to pour the insulating layer.

Per the recipe, I mixed 5 parts perlite and 1 part Portland cement in a trough until the perlite was covered.  I then added enough water to make a mush.  This was then poured into the center of the upper layer.  It took 9- 8 quart bags of perlite.  I was not confident in the strength of the perlite layer, so I made it so I could come back and pour a 3 inch border of concrete around the edges. 

 Then I had to wait for the concrete to cure…again!

 I was finally able to take the forms off and see my creation. I am pleased with the outcome and more pleased that I have no more grunt work to do. 

 Time to start making the oven!

Block Laying: Building the Stand

The labor portion of the oven build is now at the mid point.  I have moved on to build the foundation and pour the hearth floor.

Then I get to do the interesting part…make the oven.

So I started the process of laying the block for the foundation stand.  This should have been a pretty simple process.  As you probably know, if I say that it is going to be harder to do than I ever expected.  I was hoping I hadn’t jinxed it.

The slab was done and has cured for a while.  I laid out where the blocks would sit thus determining the size of the stand, which would also determine the size of the oven itself.  I want a 36 inch inside dimension dome for my oven.  But I did not want the footprint to be too large for the area. 

I went with 3 ½  blocks wide and long.  That should be 56 inches square.  I know that is going to push the limits of the front landing but I thought it was right at the time. 

Now I wish I had gone just one more block deeper to give me a better table in front of the oven.  Oh well,  I am still positive about the project.  

The first row of blocks need to be placed in mortar.  So I mixed some, and put down a row of it in the area where the blocks would be set.  I started in the corner, took my time and made sure they were level and square.  That sounds easy, and for a bricklayer it is, but for me and my friend K. it took a while to get it right.  I kept thinking…it’s only one layer of blocks, how can this be so complicated?   Anyway we got it together and even were able to compensate for the drop I had made in the deck slab. (to make the drainage work right)  But in the end we had a relatively level and square first row of block.  Now let it sit for a couple of days to cure that extra mortar in the front.

Stacking the other three courses was not hard …nor complicated.  I stacked them up and they either fit perfectly or they don’t.  Make the most of it. That is the price you pay for not having to do the mortar between the blocks.  The blocks are not perfectly sized but are pretty close and they stack reasonably well.  I left a notch out of the front top so the lentil could be placed there when we were ready for the next phase.

I decided to go a little shorter in height than normal.  We wanted the oven to present a lower profile in the garden so the height needed to be as low as comfort would allow.  I did not think bending down a little would be such an inconvenience unless I was making a lot of bread at one time.  So I went with the shorter height.

A couple days later K. called me and said the Lowe’s store had a number of bags of cement mix on sale for about $1.50.  That price was down from $3.89.  He said we should get them now before anyone else does.  So we rushed off to the store.  I found they were discounted because they had been torn open in the shipping and handling process.  Well, a little extra hassle was worth the effort because I got 15 bags (most were 80 lb bags) for about $14.  Great deal.  Thanks K. for the idea.

When we got home he said “we need to go ahead and fill these blocks before it starts raining.   The last idea he had worked out good so I thought maybe we were on a roll.  So we did.  Mixing and shoveling for about an hour and they were filled. And sure enough it started raining….how did he know that?

I think it turned out pretty good.

We put a board over it, and again…let it sit and cure.  (My patience level really needs some instant concrete. But that is another story altogether) 

 So then I just sat, watched the rain and planned the forms for the hearth platform.

Getting Creative and Carving Concrete.

I knew I wanted to do something different on this project.  I thought adding some carving to the construction would be interesting.

 I was going to make a concrete lintel for the front of the stand and that was a great place to do some carving.  So I sat down and started planning the design.  I drew it out on paper life size and was ready to go for the real thing.  

 The blocks were 8×8 and so I made a mold 8x8x60 inches.  I placed a piece of 2”x 3”x1/4” angle iron in the back lower corner for extra support.  (probably overkill on my part)  there was also two pieces of steel welded to the angle so it would be anchored to the block below when I filled it with concrete.   

close up section

I purchased 4 bags of sand/ topping mix and filled the form with it.   

the mold, before carving

Then again I had to wait for concrete to cure.  In this case 4 hours was when I could start to work. Concrete is like clay at that time in its curing and can be carved with any type of metal tool. 

I had already drawn the design and started transferring it to the real thing.  Of course I started late and ended up working in the dark yard under the lights.

The carving took me about one and a half hours.  I let it set some more and did some of the refining.   The thing weighed about 250 pounds so it was not going anywhere for a while. So it sat in the back yard for about I week while it cured. 

Moving it was another deal.  I had some 5 inch pipe and decided I could move it like the Egyptians.  Sure enough I was able to set it on the rollers and move it to the back of the yard to wait for its time of service.  It should be a nice addition to the oven.

 I am laying the blocks next.

The Quest for Brick and Block

Now that all the planning was done I needed to get started. 

I have been saving my money for awhile and want to have most of the materials bought before I start.  That just helps with getting the project done.  (It’s easy to quit in the middle when you run out of money). 

 I started asking around and looking for the firebricks and building blocks.  Craig’s List landed me about 30 miles from home loading building blocks with the help of a good friend.  (I don’t think he knew how much work it would be.  But K. is always up for a fun project and is willing to help at the drop of a hat.)  We bought the block for $.75 each instead of $1.39 at Lowe’s. These were leftover from someone’s unfinished shed.  I got as many as I could carry on the trailer, I think it was 86 total.  (Turned out to be many more than I needed.  More on that later.) 

I wanted to have a platform to stand on while cooking so I started designing and excavating the patio area.  I had to enlarge to opening and move some retaining wall.  I then formed up the shape of the patio with 1x4s and made a rebar grid for the concrete.  The foundation under the oven is about 8 inches thick and the landing is 4 inches thick.  Those of you who are now saying it needs to be deeper, must live in colder areas.  We don’t be having no frost heave here in da south.  I have included a photo of my shoes at the door of the house just to show my wife that I did take them off before coming inside with all that dirt on them.

 

My mind then shifted to firebricks.  I decided to use real firebricks in all the hot locations.  A little more expense up front but they would last through anything I could do to them.  Had a friend hook me up with a contractor price and bought 200 for $1.10 each.  (down from $1.40)  But don’t think 200 bricks is a light weight undertaking.  They were heavy.  But the savings were worth the 40 mile drive to get them.

 Should be pouring concrete soon…

                                                                Check back and see how it went.