Hi All, After going through the threads I have planned to go for home brew mortar 3:1:1:1 ratio. Regarding the sand part which one is best river sand or the masonry sand(crushed rock) and regarding the lime i am unable to source lime made from limestone, only shell lime is available. Both these lime are same? kindly advice. Thanks ..read more

I've read some of the earlier postings about using a pressure cooker to add steam injection. The principle seems simple: replace the vent with a T, put the vent back on to the top of the T, run a ball valve off to the side into some copper pipe, and then run that into the oven somewhere. But in addition to any wisdom from other people who have tried this, I'd like to know where you can get a 1/4" 28-thread T that is not NPT. Of if you did it with NPT threads, how did you attach the T to the pressure cooker? And how did you connect the steam vent (which is not NPT) to the T? Puzzled in Allegany ..read more

Hi all, Completed constructing 32 inch oven few days back. For dome construction I have used medium grade fire brick and for mortar used 4 part fire clay and 2 part Accoset 50 ( as instructed by sales person from where I bought the material for oven construction). Even after 5 days the mortar is still wet. I am afraid to start the curing process. I have few clarifications before starting the first fire. 1. Is it fine to mix fire clay and accoset 50 for dome construction. 2. ⁠what are all the long/short term implications I may face. 3. ⁠Shall I remove the brick and reconstruct the dome again on ..read more

Any suggestions here? I’m looking to insulate my door with 2” CaSil and have hit a brick wall trying to find a quality 1000* bimetal thermometer with a 6” stem. Preferably flange mounted ..read more

Finally getting ready to begin building my 36" WFO. All I have to go by is the Ver 2.0 Pompeii Oven Inst and this forum. The 2.0 Inst are very basic and consequently a lot of gaps to fill for a first timer. Looking at some of the drawings, I can't seem to reconcile how to start oven floor on top of FB insulation without some form of mortaring of brick to concrete hearth. None of the pictures that I can see show a first course on top of FB and how it adheres to the hearth. Does the FB with brick on top just 'float' on the hearth without any mortar? There is some discussion about an 'underfloor ..read more

Hi all, Been perusing the forum for a while and I am in the process of my 36" WFO build and had a question. For the chimney, would it be wrong to build my chimney completely out of fire brick? I think it will be around 24" tall and roughly 6"x8". Or would this create a weight issue on my arch? I would think the arch could hold approx 150 pounds of brick and mortar but maybe I'm wrong? If it is a weight issue then I could cut the firebrick in half long ways in order to reduce weight ..read more

For mortaring the dome bricks, I have been advised that regular refractory is not as good as castable due to the larger gap at the back (top) of the brick where the wedge goes in. I have got 3 different opinions and all differ so I may as well ask those that have built one and hopefully know. Which is best please ..read more

Hi all, quick query regarding some materials. I’m about to start my 40inch cast oven build using the 3:1:1:1 homebrew method. I am located near Perth in Western Australia and for some reason I am having heaps of trouble finding Brickies Clay… my question is.. is there a something I can substitute/change to allow me to stick close to my original design ? Or alternatively does anyone know where I might track down some Brickies Clay in WA ? Thanks, Sam ..read more

Hello!, my name is Will, I'm from California USA. I've been making homemade pizza for a while now and using a pizza stone to get a good crust. now I'm thinking about a brick kiln in the backyard. The craftsmanship I saw here is amazing ..read more

Hi All, Hoping someone can point me in the direction of a Foamglas insulation source in the Pittsburgh, PA area (or online). Starting the planning process for my WFO and oven dome will not be under cover and I would like to mitigate water issues as much as possible. Thanks, JR ..read more