Excellent video. I found it as I am planning my own pizza oven, but also I see you took a tandem around the hebrides. We also did this, but back in the 80's on our Jack Taylor, which I have since restored. I have seen many videos ranging from the extreme 'purist' to the 'have a go' oven builder, and yours is nicely/pragmatically in the middle. Well done. Happy tandeming !
Ha ha! That’s amazing - someone else who has a tandem and is also about to build a pizza oven. I hope that when lockdown ends we will all have a bit more scope to go off on our bikes. Enjoy your build and all the best...Kind Regards
Hi thats great advice , you have answered many questions about the curing etc ,I was worried that the fondu cement would have the same properties as when it is used as an accelerator with portland cement ie sets within 30 minutes . Many thanks I will keep you posted
Hi once again thanks , I live in motherwell so not far from your neck of the woods , I havnt laid my foundation yet as I thought the oven would take the longest ,due to the curing , I get the picture with the mix and im using perlte instead of vermiculite . Hopefully I can keep it shaded in this great weather thanks for the advice. I will send you an update as soon as 👍
Hi andrew , thanks for the encouragement , thinking on it we did have a problem securing our rain cover , a block of wood we were using fell and landed on the support. i did not check the cast as it was fully covered and the wood I am sure did not hit the dome , but perhaps it flexed the support enough to disturb the dome . Pretty sure I had the right mix and consistency , now just have to wait on more fondu .I used exactly 100 ltrs perlite and have some fondu left over . When I removed broken dome the perlite had set and was pretty hard . Im not sure if that is right . My wall thickness was around 50 mm
Hi - your wall thickness at 50mm sounds good. Obviously any knocks or movement while the dome is setting are best avoided, but I’m sure you know that. My only thought ( and I’m no expert!) - is there a difference between vermiculite and perlite when building these things. I got a bag of vermiculite from a builders merchant - it’s used for chimney linings etc. I found it mixed well with the fondu ciment. Maybe absolutely no difference between them but just something to consider particularly if you’re waiting for a new bag of cement? Cheers for now...
Looks great. I think I saw on another design that the floor tiles/bricks are laid diagonally in order to avoid the peel catching on the edges. Maybe getting a round turner/peel for removing/turning pizzas will help with this issue.
Hi Grant - yes I think you’re right about laying the bricks herring bone style. Since building and using the oven over time any little irregularities have have gradually diminished. But it is important to spend some time making sure the floor is as level as you can make it. Thanks for commenting and watching - Regards
Dear sir. Many thanks for tips. Looks like you did an amazing job. Also many thanks for your efforts making this video and uploading on here... This is exactly what I want to achieve and hopefully I will manage.
Hi Mehmet - thanks for your comment. The oven is still working very well, when you start your build take your time, use heat proof materials, plenty of insulation, and you should be ok with your build. Very best wishes and thanks for watching....
Hello again , just tought I would give you an update , yesterday I managed to form the oven and following tips etc gleened finshed around 16.00 covered with damp cloth etc. First thing this morning I had a sneek peek but unfortunately it has had a catastrophic failure. Not sure if it was water content but anyway its back to the drawing board. Many thanks for your help and advice ,keep safe
Hi - Oh no, what went wrong! I think lots of people seem to have large cracks appearing and have to start again particularly when moving the dome. Suggest you ensure your mix is around 3 or 4:1, only enough water to keep the mix quite stiff and the thickness of the dome sufficient (3-4cm?) to maintain some integrity as it’s being built up. Start at the base and go up in layers...keep positive! It’s an opportunity to have another go..all the best Andrew
Andrew , I did wonder about that , I decided to go wth perlit after watching ( food related's ) vidoes on the difference between perlit and vermiculite . The perlite seems to be a harder product when cured ,however he uses only portland cement
Congratulations on a great build and well done for taking the time and effort to make the video, it's been a fantastic source of information for myself and many more. I've gone all out with my build, 85cm ball, 40mm calcium silicate board and 65mm fire brick. The 85cm ball has come at a cost though as I needed to buy another bag of fondu and vermiculite having said that the Initial cast was about 10cm thick! I'm at the stage where I have fitted the fire blanket and will put another layer of vermiculite on, I have half a bag of fondu so probably not enough to use for this second layer. Would you say Portland cement will be ok for this and also did you do two coats of your final render? How thick did you apply it and did you use cement dye if so was one pack of dye enough? ( I have 1.25kg of dye which is ok for p e bag of cement). Got 4 years cooking pizza out of a cob/earth oven before the cracks were too big, I will have about £300 I this when its finished but i. hoping to slow cook overnight with the residue heat.
Hi Mark - sorry not to reply sooner. I think its a good idea to build a bigger oven as sometimes my oven can be a bit smallish when a good fire is in there - although I always manage to get my pizza in ok. I guess the further away from a direct heat source, the less need there may be for the fondue cement. My outer coat was a bag of coloured cement render eg KRend. Quite easy to mix and apply and looks ok. I had family around this Bank holiday weekent and fired the oven up - there were no signs of any cracks or wear inside the dome, so Im happy so far. ATB
Great video! I’m about to start building my own this weekend. One question: does the outside of the structure get hot to the touch? If so, how hot? Because I would like to mount my oven on some wood pillars. Thanks!
Hi Claudio - I’ve seen other ovens on YT mounted on timber so guess all will be ok. Suggest you invest more in the depth of insulation and fire bricks on the base of the oven. Mine is on concrete so barely gets warm. The dome is just warm but ok to keep your hand on so never too hot to touch. Of course, the chimney is always hot. Good luck with your build. Thanks for watching
Hello- Great Video- I've been doing a fair bit of research in to this construction of pizza ovens myself recently, with a view to construct before the summer- your video has helped put it all together. I too am in Sunny Cumbria, south of Carlisle. I was wondering where you sourced your fire bricks from?
Hi - I sourced my fire bricks from my local builders merchant (Cumbria Building Supplies, Burgh Road, Carlisle) I’m sure the one in Penrith would have them - Atkinson’s?. Good luck with the build. I fired up my oven for the first time yesterday- still works!
I've watched a few of these "dome" video's and in the process of making the base out of natural stone blocks. Couple questions please. 1) how high is your base. If you made it again, would you go higher or lower. I'm 6ft 2" so probably would err on the side of a taller base. 2) The chimney - none of the videos I have seen explain how the chimney is created. Is it a case of simply cutting a hole in the arched entrance at the point where it joins the dome and then rendering around it. Thanks in advance. Great video.
Hi - the measurements I have are 98cm from ground level to the top of the base, then a further 6.5cm up to the floor of the oven, giving a total height of 104.5 cm or thereabouts. I am also 6'2" and manage the height ok though I do stoop down a little though not too much to make it uncomfortable. My more petite wife uses the oven as well so its a good compromise for height. Regarding the chimney, I built it in by resting the chimney on top of the arched former for the front door of the oven, then as I covered the gym ball and the door arch with the vermiculite mix, the chimney was effectively cemented in place. I thought this might be a problem when I eventually removed the former, but it stayed in place ok. I subsequently added more cement render and fixed a galvanised metal strip to the metal chimney and set this band into the cement to reinforce its position. I hope that helps...let me know if you need more info etc. Regards
63% Door to dome is the best setting / door have to be lower if u wander u can have the chimney as high as u want its the size that need to be depending the oven 6 to 7 inch should do 4 ur size.
Nice job ,just followed your video and completed my dome.is there any hard and fast rule about the position of the flue mines a tad more forward than yours. Also how did you get your vermiculite render so smooth Thanks for the vids
martin h Hi Martin - sorry for the delay in replying. I think the key dimension is height of the flue relative to the height of the dome. That said, once the combustion gases rise up over the dome, they need to escape via the flue at the entrance. I have noticed some smoke comes out of the front door of my oven at least until it gets going, then the chimney seems to manage ok. As far as the smooth render goes, I used a plasterers float and some trowels after forming the dome, careful not to push too hard anywhere to cause material to collapse or pile up. Good luck with your build!
Hi great video , im just about to build my own , but reading about the fondu ciment ,im a bit confused about drying time , when you were building the dome did the vermiculite set rapidly ,ie < 30 mins as when working with a mix of portland or did you have time to mould it . Your advice would be really helpful
Hi - there’s no problem making the ciment fondu and vermiculite mix. Just add enough water to make it mould-able as you build up the dome. I recall having tennis ball size lumps and keep going till you finish. The most important thing from what I’ve picked up is to slow the curing once the dome is complete by covering the dome with dampened towels or the like. I think if it dries too quick it may be prone to cracking. Good luck...it’s not too difficult, just take your time.
Thanks for your quick reply , I have to make my oven outside so I will need to wait until no threat of rain , if im to do it in all at once , my form is ready and waiting ,but its bigger at 80 cms so I hope I have enough fondu ,was your mix 3 - 1 really accurate , can I ask what size of batch did you make . Thanks for your info and encouragement
Hi - I wasn’t overly accurate with my measurements and used a big shovel to lift 3 parts vermiculite and 1 part ciment fondue into a wheel barrow. I made a good batch eg 6 shovels of vermiculite to 2 of ciment fondue. Used a builders wheelbarrow. Just keep mixing till the dome and entrance were complete, ensuring I had a stove pipe in place at this stage. Keep it shaded and cover with wrung put towels and don’t touch it until it’s fully set eg the following weekend. Once you get to putting on the ceramic fibre blanket with chicken wire you’ll need to put a plastic sheet over as this will suck up any moisture....all good fun. If you look at my ‘update’ you’ll see I eventually built a little shelter over my dome as I live in a wet place. All the best - let me know if I can help further....
if someone hasn't already given you the tip......sprinkle polenta on the peel and the pizza slides on and of perfect, also a diamond grinding cup run over the high spots works great if you get a lip that's annoying......good stuff mate...
Drew - Thanks for the tip. Ive found some Polenta and it works a treat. My pizza doesn't stick to the peel, so great advice. Cheers and all the best...
Good effort, looks like a very nice build. Post some more vids of pizza's being cooked. I know you have only just built it but have you had any issues with cracks in the render or on the internal vermiculite dome. Do you think the refractory Fondu stuff is worth the extra cost over just using Portland Cement with some Lime/Fire Clay added.
Hi and thanks for the comment. There are no cracks yet so far as I can see but it is still ‘early days’. I read somewhere that Portland cement could crack and spall in high temperatures, whereas ciment fondue is used in high temperature applications. Given all the effort and cost in getting this far I thought it was a better bet than Portland cement - a bit like ‘for a ha’peth of tar the ship was lost’ type scenario! I used Portland cement for the vermiculite mix which went on top of the ceramic blanket as it’s cooler there. Then finished off with a water resistant render mix. Hope this helps. Cheers
Just 1 bag to form the dome and entrance to the oven ie the inner surface that gets hot. I put another mix of vermiculite over the ceramic blanket but used cheaper Portland cement for that
I like that he talk and explain even small things. And why with the dislikes ?? Hahahaha . Anyway im from 🇲🇾 Malaysia and start a food truck business and this video give me idea and help me with how to make the dome . Thanks 🙏🏼
Hi Solway17carlisle I Have followed your steps and i have just finished the vermiculite fondu cement render, over the fiber blanket and chicken wire, how long did you let this layer dry for, before you did a small fire? to help the curing process, how long where the fires you did and how many ? before the final render was applied? Thank you in advance Grate video Cheers Michael
Hi - I don't think there's any hard and fast rules - I waited until I felt that the ciment fondue/vermiculite mix had set, Maybe a week or so, then set a series of small fires in the centre of the oven, gradually increasing the size of the fire. Perhaps after a couple of weeks I was ready to heat the dome up to 450/500 celcius
hi, looking great. Just about to build one based on yours. Can you please let me know how much Ciment Fondue you used? The full 25kg bag, or will I get away with 12.5kg? Thanks
Hi Paul You need to make sure the dome is robust and get a decent thickness as you build up the dome shell. I used about 2/3 of a 25kg bag, so a little bit of ‘waste’. But remember the old saying: ‘for a ha’peth of tar the ship was lost’. In other words, don’t skimp on this. Good luck with the bold and all the best....
What's the reason behind adding vermiculite to the Ciment Fondu first dome? Would it be better pure, then add the vermiculite to a cement insulation later? Thanks
Nathan Pollard hi Nathan - the vermiculite is the heat proof aggregate which is held together by the cement (cement fondue). The cement and vermiculite mix is the material used to make a heat proof dome. As far as I know you always add cement to some other material/ aggregate to make a suitable mix.
M Belkadi Thanks for your advice, I will try to cook with more of a flame and see how it goes. The oven floor gets pretty hot so it should be ok for cooking on. Regards....
Thank you for sharing and bravo for your achievement. Can you tell me if you can cook bread inside your oven ? If yes, was it successful ? In order to cook bread, I think you need about 300°C. Here you have more than 400°C. So if you leave it rest for a while, the temperature will go down gradually. Once it'll be at 300°C, will it keep the temperature between 300°C and 250°C for 30 to 45 minuts ? I think it is what you need to bake bread.
Hi Bogdan - I'm sure it would be possible as there is sufficient heat, however, I would find it difficult to judge when the bread would be ready as the temperature isn't easily controlled. Good luck if you try....
Well I made a second attempt in mu vermiculute oven. I made it very big. This time, I put fire bricks on the floor, and yes it helped to keep the temperature. But it is still not enough. Anyway I don't need such a big oven. Next one I am going to build will be very cheap : a barril covered by earth. @@solway17carlisle
Made my first dome...but sadly used the wrong mix, using 5 / 1 vermiculite / cement. Damn thing cracked as soon as I moved it and was un recoverable so must start again. I will use a 3 / 1 mix as you recommend. Can you tell me, when you made the 1st dome, how the vermiculaite mix onto the ball. I'm guessing about 2-3 centimetres but would be grateful if you could clarify this please.
Hi - oh sorry to hear about the collapse, I remember moving mine form the board onto the plinth and needing to be very careful. You do need tennis ball size lumps when you build up the dome - a decent bit of mass without going over the top, more like 4-5 cm. I read somewhere to put damp towels over the finished dome to let it cure out more gradually. I think moving the dome is the most tricky part of the build. See if you can lift it using the board it was built on as near as possible to the final plinth location? Better luck next time- hope all goes well 👍
Hi, I’m not really sure as it’s a while since I built the oven now. I remember looking at the sizes of fire bricks then ‘guesstimating’ how many I needed. I then cut them with an angle grinder so that my oven fitted over the top. Of course I underestimated the number I needed so went back to the supplier and bought a few more to finish the job. I got them from a builders merchant in my nearest town so it wasn’t too problematic to go back there to get some more. Sorry I can’t be more helpful - suggest you estimate first then go back for more should you need them. Good luck with your build. Regards...
Hi, I’m not really sure as it’s a while since I built the oven now. I remember looking at the sizes of fire bricks then ‘guesstimating’ how many I needed. I then cut them with an angle grinder so that my oven fitted over the top. Of course I underestimated the number I needed so went back to the supplier and bought a few more to finish the job. I got them from a builders merchant in my nearest town so it wasn’t too problematic to go back there to get some more. Sorry I can’t be more helpful - suggest you estimate first then go back for more should you need them. Good luck with your build. Regards...
Hi, I’m not really sure as it’s a while since I built the oven now. I remember looking at the sizes of fire bricks then ‘guesstimating’ how many I needed. I then cut them with an angle grinder so that my oven fitted over the top. Of course I underestimated the number I needed so went back to the supplier and bought a few more to finish the job. I got them from a builders merchant in my nearest town so it wasn’t too problematic to go back there to get some more. Sorry I can’t be more helpful - suggest you estimate first then go back for more should you need them. Good luck with your build. Regards...
Hi, I’m not really sure as it’s a while since I built the oven now. I remember looking at the sizes of fire bricks then ‘guesstimating’ how many I needed. I then cut them with an angle grinder so that my oven fitted over the top. Of course I underestimated the number I needed so went back to the supplier and bought a few more to finish the job. I got them from a builders merchant in my nearest town so it wasn’t too problematic to go back there to get some more. Sorry I can’t be more helpful - suggest you estimate first then go back for more should you need them. Good luck with your build. Regards...
Beautifull oven you got there, Can you give me an idea on how thick the wakls of your dome are in total? I have a base om 120x120cm and i'm wondering if a 90cm diameter dome on the inside would fit. Thanks in advance!
Hi Milan - I'm sure you will be ok. The vermiculite dome needs to be fairly substantial. I built mine up in courses with tennis ball lumps working around the base then going up in circles from there making sure the mix didnt slump. I would estimate the vermiculite wall thickness to be approx 50mm minimum, ceramic fibre blanket about the same (held in place with chicken wire mesh) then a cement render on top, say 30mm thick. So total wall thickness 130mm. (x2 for the other side of the dome) I just measured the width of my concrete base as 130cm wide and deep. My oven has 10 - 15cm to the edge of the base. You also need to allow for the entrance for the oven. If you add 90 + say 30 = 120cm, so I guess you may just do it. Just make sure you dont skimp on the dome wall construction + insulation as you need the oven to get up to very high cooking temperatures (350-400 C) and it needs to maintain as much of that heat as possible. Milan, I hope that helps, give it a go...best wishes and enjoy your pizzas
@@solway17carlisleYour information helps a lot! I'll take 85cm to make sure my walls will be thick enough. Thank you for the quick response and best wishes! :)
@@milanvelle6292 Milan - no problem. I realise watching my video just now that there is a 2nd layer of vermiculite mix on top of the fibre blanket, then a thinner mix of cement render to finish off. Sorry i didn't mention this earlier its a while since I built it. Best wishes...
@@solway17carlisle Hi Sir, i'm busy building the dome and i was wondering if you also used fire resistent cement for the outer layer (without vermiculite) because it is a pretty expensive product i was wondering if it was possible with normaal cement. Greets, Milan!
Hi Milan - the only Portland cement I used was on the final outer render layer Both the inner layer of the dome and the layer over the heat proof blanket were made with vermiculite and refractory cement. I used 1 bag of ‘Ciment Fondue’ sources from EBay here in the U.K. when the oven fires up it’s warm on the outside so I personally think it’s worth using refractory cement to reduce the risk of cracking. We have a saying here “for a half- penny of tar, the ship was lost”. I hope that helps - best regards and hope you and your family are ok in these times
Hi do you have an idea of the amounts of Vermiculite/Concrete required? trying to get the materials together to get this made, but cant find any materials info thanks
Hi David - I bought 1 bag of Ciment Fondu (25kg) and also 1 bag of 25kg vermiculite from a builders merchant. Any other materials I bought by the bag as needed, eg for the concrete top and brickwork for the base, and the fire bricks I just estimated given the area needed to cover. I hope this helps - for this dome build I had abit of ciment fondu and vermiculite left over at the end. Best wishes...
Hello Ive got my materials for the pizza oven. I am a builder and wandered why you dont put sand in the concrete mix ? After all comcrete is made up of cement, sand and aggregate. Just wandering. Thanks
Lee Pilkington Hi Lee - sorry for the delayed reply. It's a good question. I just followed a recipe I found on the internet. Some people use crushed 'grog' (crushed refractory bricks) which I thought about using but didn't in the end as I couldn't get it locally and didn't want the expense of heavy materials being delivered to me. I think you need to use refractory Sands/materials to avoid the risk of cracking when the oven reaches high temperatures
Hi your pizza oven looks amazing . Can you please tell me what's the inside dimension of the dome (hight) . So is your pizza oven still going strong ? Any cracks yet ? Thank you for your reply
Tanya Saramandif Hi Tanya the inside dome is 32 cm high, internal width about 64cm. I can manage a 12" pizza in there once the fire is lit. So far the oven is working well - no major cracks or other problems. Since making the oven I have cooked a good few pizzas over the Summer and it's working well and good fun when other folk visit. As I live in northern England where the weather is mixed I have built a little roof and shelter over the dome to keep out the worst of the wet weather. Best wishes - have a go...
Solway17 Carlisle thank you so much for your response , I built mine a week ago using refractory cement its taking ages to dry , I guess it will take longer to dry because of the weather her cold and wet winter adelaide Australia. Anyway I'll keep you posted . Thanks again
Hi, great job with your oven! Could you tell what size flue you used? I can’t find any info on this. I was thinking to use a 6” flue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Phil - I used 5” glue pipe for my smallish oven. I wouldn’t want to go any smaller than this as some smoke comes out the front so I would say 6” would be fine. Good luck with your build....
Hi - yes, if I had the space. The base would be a bit bigger etc. On the other hand I can only manage to do 1 pizza at a time As they cook quickly, and my pizza sizes average about 10”. A bigger dome would allow you to place your wood more easily I guess. Decisions decisions! Cheers...
I keep looking but nothing so far. I did build a little waterproof shelter over the oven to ensure it stays dry year round. So far so good. I guess fir bricks would be a more guaranteed option but I couldn’t face cutting and shaping loads of bricks. I made sure the dome was quite thick and cured it slowly covering it with damp towels etc and lit small fires to begin with. Hope that helps...
Jo - very sorry to hear that your oven is crumbling. I did leave my oven several weeks before attempting to move it - partly because I had other things to do, e.g. Building the base etc. Either way the oven needs to be firm and solid before very carefully, with 2 or more helpers, lifting it into place. The walls also need to be adequately thick, and ensure you use a ratio of 3:1 (vermiculite:ciment fondue). I have heard others repair the dome by filling in the cracks with fire cement, but it depends on how badly damaged the oven is. Again, sorry to hear of your difficulties- perhaps have another go as the vermiculite and cement are relatively inexpensive compared to the other components? All the best - hoping you succeed
@@Jo-xg6rk - I built mine a week ago and was going to ask the same question about removal of the ball. I was going to leave it a week but perhaps I'll give it another few days. How was your oven once you removed the ball ?
Hi Darren - I would go with what you suggest there. It's now a while since I built the oven and my ebay purchase history only goes back to 2019. It's ceramic fibre blanket you need and it needs to cover the dome then hold it in place with chicken wire and some nails around the base. If you have too much, put a bit extra on - won't do any harm. All the best...
Hi again sorry to bother you again ,one last question , can you remember off hand how long it took you to mould the dome . Liked your chimney video , but rather you than me . Many thanks
Hi Andrew - You might notice that I didn’t show construction of the dome as I completed this in the Autumn before I thought about filming the process for RUclips. Having got the gym all in place and the form work for the entrance and all covered in cling film, I did a few good mixes and completed the dome in one go. Not sure of how many hours but I’m pretty sure I did it in one go. The only scenario I can think of where you might pause is if the material begins to slip under its weight as you build upwards. Then I would leave off and restart the following day when the material below is solid enough. It’s definitely a job you can do within a day. I hope that’s ok. The material need to be mouldable but not too watery that it slumps. All the best - happy to answer any other queries
Hi, looking to build my own soon, for all the layers, was a 100 ltr bag of vermiculite enough? and do you need to add the insulation later, or can you just use the vermiculite? Thanks and enjoyed watching
Darren Wiles Hi Darren - yes, one big bag of vermiculite was enough for my build. I would advise adding the extra insulation as the oven needs to maintain a high temperature (400 centigrade +) so all the layers of ceramic fibre blanket and vermiculite help with this. You only build it once so my advice: don't skimp. Good luck with your build...
@@solway17carlisle great, thanks for replying so quickly, and just one more question if that’s ok, it’s only a family project and might not be used that much, can I get away with using standard Portland cement rather then refractory? Thanks again
Hi Darren - I understand that Portland cement can crack under high temperatures so I bought ‘ciment fondue’ off eBay. There’s no guarantee that even this won’t crack ( have read at some of the comments below). Again, at the end of the day you’ll end up with quite a big structure and it would be a shame if the internal wall started to crack and collapse...that’s my ‘take’ on it. Hope that helps...take care
Hi again, I now have my vermiculite and ciment fondu that arrived today, could I ask one more question, what was the mix of your render, it looks great! 🙂
Hi - it’s a 5” diameter vitreous flue pipe for wood burning stoves. Then linked to twin wall flue as it goes out through the roof of the shelter I built over the oven 👍
Hi Simon - after casting over the gym ball mould I let it slowly dry out and cure for at least a week until I was confident that it would lift into place without breaking. Then another few days until the mixture sticking the dome to the fire bricks properly set. Then a small fire every few days while I continued the build. Hope that makes sense - it needs to set long enough to handle and then start small fires. Atb Andrew
Hi David - someone else enquirer about the same thing..,at the time of building I just used vermiculite and refractory cement ( ciment fondue). It all appears to be holding up, now over a year old. Also, sand would have made the dome quite heavy to lift, particularly for those needing a more portable pizza oven. Hope that helps - Regards
thank you for the great video, for the 3 to 1 vermiculite - refractory ratio do you also add Portland cement for strength ? pls advise im about to make my dome
Mansoor Syed Hi Mansoor, no, I didn't add Portland cement in my build as I was concerned that in the heat of the oven it may have cracked. I think when I built my dome I made sure that I had a reasonable thickness of material as I built it up over the gym ball. I was also very careful in moving it, once fully set, onto my oven base. If you look at some of the other comments, some have reported difficulties...all I can say is that mine worked ok and is still working ok today. Best wishes, and good luck with the build - Andrew
thank you that was helpful i will follow you ratio of 3:1 i also made two small bricks by using 4:1 and 3:1 both seem ok but the 3:1 is denser and seems stronger now i will try the dome :) thank you again
Hi , how did you have to put a wet cloth on top of the vermiculite dome to slow down the curing? And how long does it take to set (vermiculite and cement fondu) I have build my first dome over the gym ball with refractory cement and it's taking forever to dry . Thank you for your response .
The cement fondue and vermiculite/Perlite mix should dry reasonably quick. I mixed 1 part fondue, 1 part fire brick grog and 4 parts perlite. It does create a lot of heat when it cures. I left mine over night in the garage to set and in the morning the garage was very warm from the curing process but I had removed the dome within a day or so to let it cure all the way through. This is why you put a wet/damp blanket over the top.
Tanya Saramandif Hi Tanya - as mentioned above a damp cloth over the vermiculite dome slows the curing/drying process and helps avoid weaknesses and cracks forming. I seem to remember leaving mine for a good week before I was confident the structure was solid. Then I let the air out of the gym ball and carefully lifted it onto the platform. I can't see any reason why your won't dry out eventually - good luck with it!
Hi - once the oven is in place light some small fires - they will help cure out the dome even more. Gradually build up the temperature over a few days/weeks until you eventually reach pizza cooking temperature. Regards...
Solway17 Carlisle thank you , I'll try that . I will cure the dome first and make sure everything's ok then I'll cover the dome with the fire blanket +render. Nearly there , fingers crossed. Regards
Hi thank you for all the infos. Can I ask if you put mortar in between the calcium silicate board and the fire bricks ? I was thinking putting a little bit of dry sand on the calcium silicate board and the lay the firebricks on top , as my fire bricks is 300 mm square and 70 mm thick . What do you reckon ? Thank you . Regards
Well done. I am a bricklayer and intend building my own oven. You talked about the critical meaurment of the chimney base/outlet, is there any more helpfull info a rank amature oven builder like myself should know ? Thank you.
Hi Lee - I got all the information from the Internet. I’m away from home at the moment, but I believe the proportions are in the area of 64 to 36. In other words if your total dome height is 100cm, your chimney outlet would start at 64cm. Please do check this as I am working from memory. Fornobravo has a goo webpage and there are others
There are two books you can reference. Kiki Denzer has one I forget the title but it's about cob oven building. The other is Allen Scotts Bread builders.
Lee Pilkington Years ago I made a Cob oven using Kiko Denzer's book "Build your own earth oven. I sent him a few emails during that time and he answered them all. If you go to his site handprintpress.com you can probably ask any question you like. I just looked and there's some Q&A data very recent.
@@solway17carlisle I've just done the calculation using Google. If your dome height is 32.5 cm ( from a rubber ball with a diameter of 65 cm ) then the chimney should start at a height of 20.8 cm. Hope that helps ( and is correct..!!!)
Hi - certainly nothing serious. Still using the oven several years later…I guess where there are extremes of heat you will tend to get cracks but so far nothing serious. I have covered the dome to keep the rain out (little roofed structure) - I think this has helped maintain the oven. Thanks for your comment - Regards
Hi Vadim - it’s looking good as far as I can see. I built a roof over it to keep off the rain which we get a lot of here. Now that we are getting towards Spring I’ll fire it up again - the inside of the dome looks good. Best wishes to you...
That was just about to small for my use! I want to be able to less cook a turkey in one> with out the wood burning it up. So i back out of it. WAS LOOKING ON MY PATIO. There she set! A Weber Kettle! All i did was turn the grate over made my pizza in a 18" pizza pans WHAL LAA Perfect cook pizza top to bottom in 10 min.
@@solway17carlisle ITS THE BITE OF THE PIZZA BUG OVEN! Makes people go crazy! They just can't get enough ovens or grills! I'am bit to! but i have control ! I keep telling myself > I DON'T NEED IT! And i don't need More! I got the best there is. he hee my kettle grill, and smoker. I can put 7 >18" pizza pans in my offset smoker
Hi - I’m away from home at the moment, but you need the width of the opening wide enough to allow a pizza piel/shovel to get in. Then form a nice arch to suit the width. I googled pizza piel and checked the dimensions of them off the Internet. So if the usual width was say 12” I would have made the width of my door 14”. Hope this helps till I get home again
Hi - the dimensions for the outer brick arch opening are: 18.5" x 10.5" The inner opening is 15" x 9" and gives clearance for the pizza pile which in my case is 12" wide
Thanks! I like the size of your oven, I can't see building a 36 to 42 inch oven & making a couple 13 inch pizzas. I think 25 is big enough if you're only making 3-4 pizzas a night. Plus the roof is lower, I think that's better as long as toppings aren't burning. Did you find any problems with its size?
Just looked now - there are some fine cracks but Im not overly worried by them at this point. I guess if you wanted to avoid any risk of cracking etc, you may have to make the dome out of fire bricks as demo'd elsewhere on RUclips..
Sniper9Factory Hi sorry for the delay in replying. It seems to be coarse stuff - a standard bag bought from a local builders merchant. That said I didn't have any opportunity to compare - I just used what I bought. Cheers
Ha ha! I would say I’m a competent DIY’er and often resort to RUclips etc for help. I did build the base with concrete blocks which weren’t too bad to put in place. Once I did that I used joist hangers and thick plywood inside the blockwork and strips of timber on the outside to form a mould over the blocks then filled with concrete to make the concrete ‘table’. Making the dome wasn’t too bad either....I did it one step at a time, and found it good fun, learning as I went along. Best wishes...
Hi - my top coat was a render mix. I got hold of a bag from a builders merchant eg KRend. Then I built a little roofed shelter over the dome. You can see this in my update vids. All the best...
For the dome: Sterling board with hole cut out (same diameter as gym ball) Gym ball - mine was 60cm from memory but you could go bigger eg 75cm Cling film - to cover gym ball Stiff cardboard or sheet plastic to form an arch/entrance & timber to form the arch Vermiculite Ciment Fondue (EBay) Ceramic fibre blanket Chicken wire Calcium silicate insulation board for the base Fire bricks also for the base - deeper the better for insulation
Hi - yes, it seems to be doing ok. If you look at Part 2 I have built a small protective cover to keep it dry over Winter. I think if water gets in to any extent it would be a problem particularly for the ceramic fibre blanket insulation. Anyway, so far so good
@@solway17carlisle thanks for the speedy reply. Many people making these. I'd like to get it right the first time. Another question sir: can your build be transitioned easily to a smoker? Thanks so much
Hi Marty - I’ve never thought of using it for a smoker - I think the dome ad I built mine would be too small and air control not that easy to achieve. As it is, once a fire is lit it seems to burn quick and build up temperature- ideal for pizzas but not so for smoking. All the best, sorry not to be more informative on this
Hi - I think with any cement based construction you have to give enough time to cure out and dry, but once it feels dry to the touch and can be lifted without collapsing, you should be able to use it. Just start with some small fires at first - these will also help with the drying process and ensure you don’t ‘shock’ the oven with too high temperatures. Beyond that, if there are no cracks you can use the oven normally. Hope that helps - best wishes
Joe HADFIELD I put in a short section of flue pipe and mounded the vermiculite around it. Then when I added the brick opening I attached some galvanised metal straps to the flue and bedded the unattached ends into subsequent layers of vermiculite and cement used in the brickwork. I then attached the heavy twinwall flue but ensured its weight was supported by the roofing timber above to stop it bearing down on the fragile dome structure. Realise this is a long winded answer but it's a case of finding a way to support your chimney as you build it. Hope this helps, don't overthink it...
@@solway17carlisle thanks for such a quick reply. I loved your video by the way. I've made the vermiculite dome shell, and I left a 10cm odd hole in a similar position that you have yours in. Tomorrow I plan to insulate the dome with ceramic fibre blanket and chicken wire, before adding screed and then render. Will do the brick arch as well. Any tips on what I should do for the flue? I have a twin wall stainless steel pipe 5inch across. Which I realise is bigger than the hole. Wish I had done it your way now, but saw this too late
Joe HADFIELD Hi Joe - hmmm, I think you need to get hold of the shortest section of same diameter single wall vitreous pipe and secure this into your chimney aperture. This can be cut very short, then you need a twin wall to single wall connector. From there you can build up a chimney using your twin wall pipe. You could just use single wall throughout - just long enough to form a chimney with an effective 'draft' - some people just use a clay chimney pot instead. Not sure if this helps but please get back to me if I can help. Cheers...
@@solway17carlisle thanks for your help. I managed to get am adapter single to twin, and then have a twin wall flue attached. Looks good. Will do the screed tomorrow before allowing that to slowly dry out and then will render it. What did you use for the render?
@@joehadfield7480 Make sure you put a layer of vermiculite render on top of the ceramic fibre blanket (also using this to further support around the chimney area..). The final top render coat could be a standard portland cement/sharp sand mix OR a coloured render mix eg K-Rend - a bit more expensive but nice to use and gives a good coloured finish. Hope it goes well for you...
Hi - Hmm - I’ve had this a few years now and it’s not got any major cracks - I used vermiculite and refactory cement so it’s reasonably ‘heat’ proof. Thanks for watching and commenting. All the best..
@@solway17carlisle Good to hear you do not confirm what others say, that as the fire bricks tend to extend due to temperature changes, the dome itself doesn't move and this would cause cracks. One "vermiculite pizza oven builder" reported about this issue...
ruclips.net/video/HIeOjXM4ST4/видео.html here's my attempt in the making (now waiting for it to fully cure before firing up at full temperature) p.s. how hot is the outside surface of yours - can it be touched with hands?
Hi Thomasz - the vermiculite stays foolish on the outside but on top of that is the ceramic fibre blanket. So there is very little heat on the outside. Also I finished it with a cement render, so 3 layers in total. The only area of high heat is around the chimney and I may need to patch this area with fire cement in the future. Hope this helps. Cheers
Solway17 Carlisle thanks, I still have not decide if I will add this fireproof rockwool and top concrete layer or maybe just a really thick layer of keramsit/perlite concrete, as it is now, just burning a piece of cardboard inside and after a few minutes I could feel the heat on the surface, therefore if it was wood at full fire, the surface would likely be scorching hot.
Хобби
Excellent video. I found it as I am planning my own pizza oven, but also I see you took a tandem around the hebrides. We also did this, but back in the 80's on our Jack Taylor, which I have since restored. I have seen many videos ranging from the extreme 'purist' to the 'have a go' oven builder, and yours is nicely/pragmatically in the middle. Well done. Happy tandeming !
Ha ha! That’s amazing - someone else who has a tandem and is also about to build a pizza oven. I hope that when lockdown ends we will all have a bit more scope to go off on our bikes. Enjoy your build and all the best...Kind Regards
Hi thats great advice , you have answered many questions about the curing etc ,I was worried that the fondu cement would have the same properties as when it is used as an accelerator with portland cement ie sets within 30 minutes . Many thanks I will keep you posted
Looks like you got a winner. Post more about cooking and if there's any cracking.
Hi once again thanks , I live in motherwell so not far from your neck of the woods , I havnt laid my foundation yet as I thought the oven would take the longest ,due to the curing , I get the picture with the mix and im using perlte instead of vermiculite . Hopefully I can keep it shaded in this great weather thanks for the advice. I will send you an update as soon as 👍
DESDE ARGENTINA SALUDOS GRACIAS POR COMPARTIR ME GUSTO MUCHO EL HORNO FELICITACIONES .
Hi andrew , thanks for the encouragement , thinking on it we did have a problem securing our rain cover , a block of wood we were using fell and landed on the support. i did not check the cast as it was fully covered and the wood I am sure did not hit the dome , but perhaps it flexed the support enough to disturb the dome . Pretty sure I had the right mix and consistency , now just have to wait on more fondu .I used exactly 100 ltrs perlite and have some fondu left over . When I removed broken dome the perlite had set and was pretty hard . Im not sure if that is right . My wall thickness was around 50 mm
Hi - your wall thickness at 50mm sounds good. Obviously any knocks or movement while the dome is setting are best avoided, but I’m sure you know that. My only thought ( and I’m no expert!) - is there a difference between vermiculite and perlite when building these things. I got a bag of vermiculite from a builders merchant - it’s used for chimney linings etc. I found it mixed well with the fondu ciment. Maybe absolutely no difference between them but just something to consider particularly if you’re waiting for a new bag of cement? Cheers for now...
Looks good mate, finally made my decision on Dome attempt.
Great stuff Matt - read some of the comments below which might help as well. All the best with it
Great job
Excellent job well done.
Thanks for watching and the comment - it’s a couple of years old now but still working ok 👍
Looks great. I think I saw on another design that the floor tiles/bricks are laid diagonally in order to avoid the peel catching on the edges. Maybe getting a round turner/peel for removing/turning pizzas will help with this issue.
Hi Grant - yes I think you’re right about laying the bricks herring bone style. Since building and using the oven over time any little irregularities have have gradually diminished. But it is important to spend some time making sure the floor is as level as you can make it. Thanks for commenting and watching - Regards
This is so cool!
Thanks Tris - not had much use recently but when warmer weather comes it’ll get fired up 👍
Dear sir. Many thanks for tips. Looks like you did an amazing job. Also many thanks for your efforts making this video and uploading on here... This is exactly what I want to achieve and hopefully I will manage.
Hi Mehmet - thanks for your comment. The oven is still working very well, when you start your build take your time, use heat proof materials, plenty of insulation, and you should be ok with your build. Very best wishes and thanks for watching....
My vermiculite is still working. I used 5 to one regular portland. Every one including me make the height too low and you end up bending too much.
LOOK AROUND 1st. A smoker or a kettle grill> will make a very very good pizza oven 👌
Hello again , just tought I would give you an update , yesterday I managed to form the oven and following tips etc gleened finshed around 16.00 covered with damp cloth etc. First thing this morning I had a sneek peek but unfortunately it has had a catastrophic failure. Not sure if it was water content but anyway its back to the drawing board.
Many thanks for your help and advice ,keep safe
Hi - Oh no, what went wrong! I think lots of people seem to have large cracks appearing and have to start again particularly when moving the dome. Suggest you ensure your mix is around 3 or 4:1, only enough water to keep the mix quite stiff and the thickness of the dome sufficient (3-4cm?) to maintain some integrity as it’s being built up. Start at the base and go up in layers...keep positive! It’s an opportunity to have another go..all the best Andrew
Very nice build🌸
Thankyou Denise - give it a try for yourself when the Spring comes round...
Andrew , I did wonder about that , I decided to go wth perlit after watching ( food related's ) vidoes on the difference between perlit and vermiculite . The perlite seems to be a harder product when cured ,however he uses only portland cement
Congratulations on a great build and well done for taking the time and effort to make the video, it's been a fantastic source of information for myself and many more. I've gone all out with my build, 85cm ball, 40mm calcium silicate board and 65mm fire brick. The 85cm ball has come at a cost though as I needed to buy another bag of fondu and vermiculite having said that the Initial cast was about 10cm thick!
I'm at the stage where I have fitted the fire blanket and will put another layer of vermiculite on, I have half a bag of fondu so probably not enough to use for this second layer. Would you say Portland cement will be ok for this and also did you do two coats of your final render? How thick did you apply it and did you use cement dye if so was one pack of dye enough? ( I have 1.25kg of dye which is ok for p e bag of cement). Got 4 years cooking pizza out of a cob/earth oven before the cracks were too big, I will have about £300 I this when its finished but i. hoping to slow cook overnight with the residue heat.
Hi Mark - sorry not to reply sooner. I think its a good idea to build a bigger oven as sometimes my oven can be a bit smallish when a good fire is in there - although I always manage to get my pizza in ok. I guess the further away from a direct heat source, the less need there may be for the fondue cement. My outer coat was a bag of coloured cement render eg KRend. Quite easy to mix and apply and looks ok.
I had family around this Bank holiday weekent and fired the oven up - there were no signs of any cracks or wear inside the dome, so Im happy so far. ATB
Great video! I’m about to start building my own this weekend. One question: does the outside of the structure get hot to the touch? If so, how hot? Because I would like to mount my oven on some wood pillars. Thanks!
Hi Claudio - I’ve seen other ovens on YT mounted on timber so guess all will be ok. Suggest you invest more in the depth of insulation and fire bricks on the base of the oven. Mine is on concrete so barely gets warm. The dome is just warm but ok to keep your hand on so never too hot to touch. Of course, the chimney is always hot. Good luck with your build. Thanks for watching
Hello- Great Video- I've been doing a fair bit of research in to this construction of pizza ovens myself recently, with a view to construct before the summer- your video has helped put it all together. I too am in Sunny Cumbria, south of Carlisle. I was wondering where you sourced your fire bricks from?
Hi - I sourced my fire bricks from my local builders merchant (Cumbria Building Supplies, Burgh Road, Carlisle) I’m sure the one in Penrith would have them - Atkinson’s?. Good luck with the build. I fired up my oven for the first time yesterday- still works!
I've watched a few of these "dome" video's and in the process of making the base out of natural stone blocks. Couple questions please. 1) how high is your base. If you made it again, would you go higher or lower. I'm 6ft 2" so probably would err on the side of a taller base. 2) The chimney - none of the videos I have seen explain how the chimney is created. Is it a case of simply cutting a hole in the arched entrance at the point where it joins the dome and then rendering around it. Thanks in advance. Great video.
Hi - the measurements I have are 98cm from ground level to the top of the base, then a further 6.5cm up to the floor of the oven, giving a total height of 104.5 cm or thereabouts. I am also 6'2" and manage the height ok though I do stoop down a little though not too much to make it uncomfortable. My more petite wife uses the oven as well so its a good compromise for height.
Regarding the chimney, I built it in by resting the chimney on top of the arched former for the front door of the oven, then as I covered the gym ball and the door arch with the vermiculite mix, the chimney was effectively cemented in place. I thought this might be a problem when I eventually removed the former, but it stayed in place ok. I subsequently added more cement render and fixed a galvanised metal strip to the metal chimney and set this band into the cement to reinforce its position. I hope that helps...let me know if you need more info etc. Regards
63% Door to dome is the best setting / door have to be lower if u wander u can have the chimney as high as u want its the size that need to be depending the oven 6 to 7 inch should do 4 ur size.
Nice job ,just followed your video and completed my dome.is there any hard and fast rule about the position of the flue mines a tad more forward than yours.
Also how did you get your vermiculite render so smooth
Thanks for the vids
martin h Hi Martin - sorry for the delay in replying. I think the key dimension is height of the flue relative to the height of the dome. That said, once the combustion gases rise up over the dome, they need to escape via the flue at the entrance. I have noticed some smoke comes out of the front door of my oven at least until it gets going, then the chimney seems to manage ok. As far as the smooth render goes, I used a plasterers float and some trowels after forming the dome, careful not to push too hard anywhere to cause material to collapse or pile up. Good luck with your build!
Hi great video , im just about to build my own , but reading about the fondu ciment ,im a bit confused about drying time , when you were building the dome did the vermiculite set rapidly ,ie < 30 mins as when working with a mix of portland or did you have time to mould it . Your advice would be really helpful
Hi - there’s no problem making the ciment fondu and vermiculite mix. Just add enough water to make it mould-able as you build up the dome. I recall having tennis ball size lumps and keep going till you finish. The most important thing from what I’ve picked up is to slow the curing once the dome is complete by covering the dome with dampened towels or the like. I think if it dries too quick it may be prone to cracking. Good luck...it’s not too difficult, just take your time.
Thanks for your quick reply , I have to make my oven outside so I will need to wait until no threat of rain , if im to do it in all at once , my form is ready and waiting ,but its bigger at 80 cms so I hope I have enough fondu ,was your mix 3 - 1 really accurate , can I ask what size of batch did you make . Thanks for your info and encouragement
Hi - I wasn’t overly accurate with my measurements and used a big shovel to lift 3 parts vermiculite and 1 part ciment fondue into a wheel barrow. I made a good batch eg 6 shovels of vermiculite to 2 of ciment fondue. Used a builders wheelbarrow. Just keep mixing till the dome and entrance were complete, ensuring I had a stove pipe in place at this stage. Keep it shaded and cover with wrung put towels and don’t touch it until it’s fully set eg the following weekend. Once you get to putting on the ceramic fibre blanket with chicken wire you’ll need to put a plastic sheet over as this will suck up any moisture....all good fun. If you look at my ‘update’ you’ll see I eventually built a little shelter over my dome as I live in a wet place. All the best - let me know if I can help further....
if someone hasn't already given you the tip......sprinkle polenta on the peel and the pizza slides on and of perfect, also a diamond grinding cup run over the high spots works great if you get a lip that's annoying......good stuff mate...
Drew - Thanks for the tip. Ive found some Polenta and it works a treat. My pizza doesn't stick to the peel, so great advice. Cheers and all the best...
Vou fazer um assim
Good effort, looks like a very nice build. Post some more vids of pizza's being cooked. I know you have only just built it but have you had any issues with cracks in the render or on the internal vermiculite dome. Do you think the refractory Fondu stuff is worth the extra cost over just using Portland Cement with some Lime/Fire Clay added.
Hi and thanks for the comment. There are no cracks yet so far as I can see but it is still ‘early days’. I read somewhere that Portland cement could crack and spall in high temperatures, whereas ciment fondue is used in high temperature applications. Given all the effort and cost in getting this far I thought it was a better bet than Portland cement - a bit like ‘for a ha’peth of tar the ship was lost’ type scenario! I used Portland cement for the vermiculite mix which went on top of the ceramic blanket as it’s cooler there. Then finished off with a water resistant render mix. Hope this helps. Cheers
How many bags of the Fondu stuff did you use.
Just 1 bag to form the dome and entrance to the oven ie the inner surface that gets hot. I put another mix of vermiculite over the ceramic blanket but used cheaper Portland cement for that
I like that he talk and explain even small things. And why with the dislikes ?? Hahahaha . Anyway im from 🇲🇾 Malaysia and start a food truck business and this video give me idea and help me with how to make the dome . Thanks 🙏🏼
Thanks for your comment and watching - good luck with your business 👍
Hi Solway17carlisle
I Have followed your steps and i have just finished the vermiculite fondu cement render, over the fiber blanket and chicken wire, how long did you let this layer dry for, before you did a small fire? to help the curing process, how long where the fires you did and how many ? before the final render was applied?
Thank you in advance Grate video
Cheers
Michael
Hi - I don't think there's any hard and fast rules - I waited until I felt that the ciment fondue/vermiculite mix had set, Maybe a week or so, then set a series of small fires in the centre of the oven, gradually increasing the size of the fire. Perhaps after a couple of weeks I was ready to heat the dome up to 450/500 celcius
hi, looking great. Just about to build one based on yours. Can you please let me know how much Ciment Fondue you used? The full 25kg bag, or will I get away with 12.5kg? Thanks
Hi Paul
You need to make sure the dome is robust and get a decent thickness as you build up the dome shell. I used about 2/3 of a 25kg bag, so a little bit of ‘waste’. But remember the old saying: ‘for a ha’peth of tar the ship was lost’. In other words, don’t skimp on this. Good luck with the bold and all the best....
What's the reason behind adding vermiculite to the Ciment Fondu first dome? Would it be better pure, then add the vermiculite to a cement insulation later? Thanks
Nathan Pollard hi Nathan - the vermiculite is the heat proof aggregate which is held together by the cement (cement fondue). The cement and vermiculite mix is the material used to make a heat proof dome. As far as I know you always add cement to some other material/ aggregate to make a suitable mix.
Also u need to clan the cooking floor before start putting pizza in oven & always have flame going not only braze,
M Belkadi Thanks for your advice, I will try to cook with more of a flame and see how it goes. The oven floor gets pretty hot so it should be ok for cooking on. Regards....
Thank you for sharing and bravo for your achievement. Can you tell me if you can cook bread inside your oven ? If yes, was it successful ? In order to cook bread, I think you need about 300°C. Here you have more than 400°C. So if you leave it rest for a while, the temperature will go down gradually. Once it'll be at 300°C, will it keep the temperature between 300°C and 250°C for 30 to 45 minuts ? I think it is what you need to bake bread.
Hi Bogdan - I'm sure it would be possible as there is sufficient heat, however, I would find it difficult to judge when the bread would be ready as the temperature isn't easily controlled. Good luck if you try....
Well I made a second attempt in mu vermiculute oven. I made it very big. This time, I put fire bricks on the floor, and yes it helped to keep the temperature. But it is still not enough. Anyway I don't need such a big oven. Next one I am going to build will be very cheap : a barril covered by earth. @@solway17carlisle
@@Bogdan-hs4gg Hi Bogdan - good luck with the oven build and thanks for your comments. Regards...
Made my first dome...but sadly used the wrong mix, using 5 / 1 vermiculite / cement. Damn thing cracked as soon as I moved it and was un recoverable so must start again. I will use a 3 / 1 mix as you recommend. Can you tell me, when you made the 1st dome, how the vermiculaite mix onto the ball. I'm guessing about 2-3 centimetres but would be grateful if you could clarify this please.
Hi - oh sorry to hear about the collapse, I remember moving mine form the board onto the plinth and needing to be very careful. You do need tennis ball size lumps when you build up the dome - a decent bit of mass without going over the top, more like 4-5 cm. I read somewhere to put damp towels over the finished dome to let it cure out more gradually. I think moving the dome is the most tricky part of the build. See if you can lift it using the board it was built on as near as possible to the final plinth location?
Better luck next time- hope all goes well 👍
Great build I would like to make the same size pizza oven as yours just wanted to know how many fire bricks all together did you use.
Hi, I’m not really sure as it’s a while since I built the oven now. I remember looking at the sizes of fire bricks then ‘guesstimating’ how many I needed. I then cut them with an angle grinder so that my oven fitted over the top. Of course I underestimated the number I needed so went back to the supplier and bought a few more to finish the job. I got them from a builders merchant in my nearest town so it wasn’t too problematic to go back there to get some more. Sorry I can’t be more helpful - suggest you estimate first then go back for more should you need them. Good luck with your build. Regards...
Hi, I’m not really sure as it’s a while since I built the oven now. I remember looking at the sizes of fire bricks then ‘guesstimating’ how many I needed. I then cut them with an angle grinder so that my oven fitted over the top. Of course I underestimated the number I needed so went back to the supplier and bought a few more to finish the job. I got them from a builders merchant in my nearest town so it wasn’t too problematic to go back there to get some more. Sorry I can’t be more helpful - suggest you estimate first then go back for more should you need them. Good luck with your build. Regards...
Hi, I’m not really sure as it’s a while since I built the oven now. I remember looking at the sizes of fire bricks then ‘guesstimating’ how many I needed. I then cut them with an angle grinder so that my oven fitted over the top. Of course I underestimated the number I needed so went back to the supplier and bought a few more to finish the job. I got them from a builders merchant in my nearest town so it wasn’t too problematic to go back there to get some more. Sorry I can’t be more helpful - suggest you estimate first then go back for more should you need them. Good luck with your build. Regards...
Hi, I’m not really sure as it’s a while since I built the oven now. I remember looking at the sizes of fire bricks then ‘guesstimating’ how many I needed. I then cut them with an angle grinder so that my oven fitted over the top. Of course I underestimated the number I needed so went back to the supplier and bought a few more to finish the job. I got them from a builders merchant in my nearest town so it wasn’t too problematic to go back there to get some more. Sorry I can’t be more helpful - suggest you estimate first then go back for more should you need them. Good luck with your build. Regards...
Beautifull oven you got there, Can you give me an idea on how thick the wakls of your dome are in total? I have a base om 120x120cm and i'm wondering if a 90cm diameter dome on the inside would fit. Thanks in advance!
Hi Milan - I'm sure you will be ok. The vermiculite dome needs to be fairly substantial. I built mine up in courses with tennis ball lumps working around the base then going up in circles from there making sure the mix didnt slump. I would estimate the vermiculite wall thickness to be approx 50mm minimum, ceramic fibre blanket about the same (held in place with chicken wire mesh) then a cement render on top, say 30mm thick. So total wall thickness 130mm. (x2 for the other side of the dome)
I just measured the width of my concrete base as 130cm wide and deep. My oven has 10 - 15cm to the edge of the base. You also need to allow for the entrance for the oven. If you add 90 + say 30 = 120cm, so I guess you may just do it.
Just make sure you dont skimp on the dome wall construction + insulation as you need the oven to get up to very high cooking temperatures (350-400 C) and it needs to maintain as much of that heat as possible. Milan, I hope that helps, give it a go...best wishes and enjoy your pizzas
@@solway17carlisleYour information helps a lot! I'll take 85cm to make sure my walls will be thick enough. Thank you for the quick response and best wishes! :)
@@milanvelle6292 Milan - no problem. I realise watching my video just now that there is a 2nd layer of vermiculite mix on top of the fibre blanket, then a thinner mix of cement render to finish off. Sorry i didn't mention this earlier its a while since I built it. Best wishes...
@@solway17carlisle Hi Sir, i'm busy building the dome and i was wondering if you also used fire resistent cement for the outer layer (without vermiculite) because it is a pretty expensive product i was wondering if it was possible with normaal cement. Greets, Milan!
Hi Milan - the only Portland cement I used was on the final outer render layer
Both the inner layer of the dome and the layer over the heat proof blanket were made with vermiculite and refractory cement. I used 1 bag of ‘Ciment Fondue’ sources from EBay here in the U.K. when the oven fires up it’s warm on the outside so I personally think it’s worth using refractory cement to reduce the risk of cracking. We have a saying here “for a half- penny of tar, the ship was lost”. I hope that helps - best regards and hope you and your family are ok in these times
Hi do you have an idea of the amounts of Vermiculite/Concrete required? trying to get the materials together to get this made, but cant find any materials info
thanks
Hi David - I bought 1 bag of Ciment Fondu (25kg) and also 1 bag of 25kg vermiculite from a builders merchant. Any other materials I bought by the bag as needed, eg for the concrete top and brickwork for the base, and the fire bricks I just estimated given the area needed to cover. I hope this helps - for this dome build I had abit of ciment fondu and vermiculite left over at the end. Best wishes...
wow that was a good napolitana pizza mann great job ;_
Thanks! Mostly turn out well but some are a disaster - cheese everywhere or charred. All the best👍
@@solway17carlisle why disaster and you mean the cheese is everywhere or charred y english is not so well sorry but thanks for the responsd ?
Hello
Ive got my materials for the pizza oven. I am a builder and wandered why you dont put sand in the concrete mix ? After all comcrete is made up of cement, sand and aggregate. Just wandering. Thanks
Lee Pilkington Hi Lee - sorry for the delayed reply. It's a good question. I just followed a recipe I found on the internet. Some people use crushed 'grog' (crushed refractory bricks) which I thought about using but didn't in the end as I couldn't get it locally and didn't want the expense of heavy materials being delivered to me. I think you need to use refractory Sands/materials to avoid the risk of cracking when the oven reaches high temperatures
Hi your pizza oven looks amazing . Can you please tell me what's the inside dimension of the dome (hight) . So is your pizza oven still going strong ? Any cracks yet ? Thank you for your reply
Tanya Saramandif Hi Tanya the inside dome is 32 cm high, internal width about 64cm. I can manage a 12" pizza in there once the fire is lit. So far the oven is working well - no major cracks or other problems. Since making the oven I have cooked a good few pizzas over the Summer and it's working well and good fun when other folk visit. As I live in northern England where the weather is mixed I have built a little roof and shelter over the dome to keep out the worst of the wet weather. Best wishes - have a go...
Solway17 Carlisle thank you so much for your response , I built mine a week ago using refractory cement its taking ages to dry , I guess it will take longer to dry because of the weather her cold and wet winter adelaide Australia. Anyway I'll keep you posted . Thanks again
Hi, great job with your oven! Could you tell what size flue you used? I can’t find any info on this. I was thinking to use a 6” flue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Phil - I used 5” glue pipe for my smallish oven. I wouldn’t want to go any smaller than this as some smoke comes out the front so I would say 6” would be fine. Good luck with your build....
Thanks for your reply. I was going to use a 65cm ball but worried it might be too small. If you could start again would you go for a bigger dome?
Hi - yes, if I had the space. The base would be a bit bigger etc. On the other hand I can only manage to do 1 pizza at a time As they cook quickly, and my pizza sizes average about 10”. A bigger dome would allow you to place your wood more easily I guess. Decisions decisions! Cheers...
Solway17 Carlisle great thanks again. I might go for 75cm. So many options! 1 last question is your oven still performing well? Any major cracks?
I keep looking but nothing so far. I did build a little waterproof shelter over the oven to ensure it stays dry year round. So far so good. I guess fir bricks would be a more guaranteed option but I couldn’t face cutting and shaping loads of bricks. I made sure the dome was quite thick and cured it slowly covering it with damp towels etc and lit small fires to begin with. Hope that helps...
nice job- how long did u let the oven dry before taking out the gym ball.??? i took mine out after 3 days and the mould is crumbling
Jo - very sorry to hear that your oven is crumbling. I did leave my oven several weeks before attempting to move it - partly because I had other things to do, e.g. Building the base etc. Either way the oven needs to be firm and solid before very carefully, with 2 or more helpers, lifting it into place. The walls also need to be adequately thick, and ensure you use a ratio of 3:1 (vermiculite:ciment fondue). I have heard others repair the dome by filling in the cracks with fire cement, but it depends on how badly damaged the oven is. Again, sorry to hear of your difficulties- perhaps have another go as the vermiculite and cement are relatively inexpensive compared to the other components? All the best - hoping you succeed
@@solway17carlisle thanks for reply... Il have another go and leave it for a fortnight before removing gym ball....
@@solway17carlisle thanks for reply... Il have another go and leave it for a fortnight before removing gym ball....
@@Jo-xg6rk - I built mine a week ago and was going to ask the same question about removal of the ball. I was going to leave it a week but perhaps I'll give it another few days. How was your oven once you removed the ball ?
Hi, sorry to ask another question, what what the size of the fibre insulation you used, I’m guessing it was a 2 metre roll and 25mm? Thanks again
Hi Darren - I would go with what you suggest there. It's now a while since I built the oven and my ebay purchase history only goes back to 2019. It's ceramic fibre blanket you need and it needs to cover the dome then hold it in place with chicken wire and some nails around the base. If you have too much, put a bit extra on - won't do any harm. All the best...
Hi again sorry to bother you again ,one last question , can you remember off hand how long it took you to mould the dome . Liked your chimney video , but rather you than me . Many thanks
Hi Andrew - You might notice that I didn’t show construction of the dome as I completed this in the Autumn before I thought about filming the process for RUclips. Having got the gym all in place and the form work for the entrance and all covered in cling film, I did a few good mixes and completed the dome in one go. Not sure of how many hours but I’m pretty sure I did it in one go. The only scenario I can think of where you might pause is if the material begins to slip under its weight as you build upwards. Then I would leave off and restart the following day when the material below is solid enough. It’s definitely a job you can do within a day. I hope that’s ok. The material need to be mouldable but not too watery that it slumps. All the best - happy to answer any other queries
Hi, looking to build my own soon, for all the layers, was a 100 ltr bag of vermiculite enough? and do you need to add the insulation later, or can you just use the vermiculite? Thanks and enjoyed watching
Darren Wiles Hi Darren - yes, one big bag of vermiculite was enough for my build. I would advise adding the extra insulation as the oven needs to maintain a high temperature (400 centigrade +) so all the layers of ceramic fibre blanket and vermiculite help with this. You only build it once so my advice: don't skimp. Good luck with your build...
@@solway17carlisle great, thanks for replying so quickly, and just one more question if that’s ok, it’s only a family project and might not be used that much, can I get away with using standard Portland cement rather then refractory? Thanks again
Hi Darren - I understand that Portland cement can crack under high temperatures so I bought ‘ciment fondue’ off eBay. There’s no guarantee that even this won’t crack ( have read at some of the comments below). Again, at the end of the day you’ll end up with quite a big structure and it would be a shame if the internal wall started to crack and collapse...that’s my ‘take’ on it. Hope that helps...take care
@@solway17carlisle hi, sorry for the late reply, thanks for all the advice, much appreciated 🙃
Hi again, I now have my vermiculite and ciment fondu that arrived today, could I ask one more question, what was the mix of your render, it looks great! 🙂
What is the width of your chimney. Thank you very much.
Hi - it’s a 5” diameter vitreous flue pipe for wood burning stoves. Then linked to twin wall flue as it goes out through the roof of the shelter I built over the oven 👍
Hi. How many millimeters of perlite did you use in the oven?
Difficult to say - enough depth to give the structure some substance…perhaps 30-50mm
how long did you leve it to dry out before setting small fires in it ?
Hi Simon - after casting over the gym ball mould I let it slowly dry out and cure for at least a week until I was confident that it would lift into place without breaking. Then another few days until the mixture sticking the dome to the fire bricks properly set. Then a small fire every few days while I continued the build. Hope that makes sense - it needs to set long enough to handle and then start small fires. Atb Andrew
@@solway17carlisle thank you very much . i sand moulted mine and the sand has been out for a week now.
No sand and/or small aggregate in the mix?
Hi David - someone else enquirer about the same thing..,at the time of building I just used vermiculite and refractory cement ( ciment fondue). It all appears to be holding up, now over a year old. Also, sand would have made the dome quite heavy to lift, particularly for those needing a more portable pizza oven. Hope that helps - Regards
thank you for the great video, for the 3 to 1 vermiculite - refractory ratio do you also add Portland cement for strength ? pls advise im about to make my dome
Mansoor Syed Hi Mansoor, no, I didn't add Portland cement in my build as I was concerned that in the heat of the oven it may have cracked. I think when I built my dome I made sure that I had a reasonable thickness of material as I built it up over the gym ball. I was also very careful in moving it, once fully set, onto my oven base. If you look at some of the other comments, some have reported difficulties...all I can say is that mine worked ok and is still working ok today. Best wishes, and good luck with the build - Andrew
thank you that was helpful i will follow you ratio of 3:1 i also made two small bricks by using 4:1 and 3:1 both seem ok but the 3:1 is denser and seems stronger now i will try the dome :) thank you again
Good luck with the build. Regards...
Hi , how did you have to put a wet cloth on top of the vermiculite dome to slow down the curing? And how long does it take to set (vermiculite and cement fondu) I have build my first dome over the gym ball with refractory cement and it's taking forever to dry . Thank you for your response .
The cement fondue and vermiculite/Perlite mix should dry reasonably quick. I mixed 1 part fondue, 1 part fire brick grog and 4 parts perlite. It does create a lot of heat when it cures. I left mine over night in the garage to set and in the morning the garage was very warm from the curing process but I had removed the dome within a day or so to let it cure all the way through. This is why you put a wet/damp blanket over the top.
Tanya Saramandif Hi Tanya - as mentioned above a damp cloth over the vermiculite dome slows the curing/drying process and helps avoid weaknesses and cracks forming. I seem to remember leaving mine for a good week before I was confident the structure was solid. Then I let the air out of the gym ball and carefully lifted it onto the platform. I can't see any reason why your won't dry out eventually - good luck with it!
Hi - once the oven is in place light some small fires - they will help cure out the dome even more. Gradually build up the temperature over a few days/weeks until you eventually reach pizza cooking temperature. Regards...
Solway17 Carlisle thank you , I'll try that . I will cure the dome first and make sure everything's ok then I'll cover the dome with the fire blanket +render. Nearly there , fingers crossed.
Regards
Hi thank you for all the infos. Can I ask if you put mortar in between the calcium silicate board and the fire bricks ? I was thinking putting a little bit of dry sand on the calcium silicate board and the lay the firebricks on top , as my fire bricks is 300 mm square and 70 mm thick . What do you reckon ? Thank you .
Regards
Well done. I am a bricklayer and intend building my own oven. You talked about the critical meaurment of the chimney base/outlet, is there any more helpfull info a rank amature oven builder like myself should know ?
Thank you.
Hi Lee - I got all the information from the Internet. I’m away from home at the moment, but I believe the proportions are in the area of 64 to 36. In other words if your total dome height is 100cm, your chimney outlet would start at 64cm. Please do check this as I am working from memory. Fornobravo has a goo webpage and there are others
Solway17 Carlisle
Thanks !
There are two books you can reference.
Kiki Denzer has one I forget the title but it's about cob oven building.
The other is Allen Scotts
Bread builders.
Lee Pilkington Years ago I made a Cob oven using Kiko Denzer's book "Build your own earth oven. I sent him a few emails during that time and he answered them all. If you go to his site handprintpress.com you can probably ask any question you like. I just looked and there's some Q&A data very recent.
@@solway17carlisle I've just done the calculation using Google. If your dome height is 32.5 cm ( from a rubber ball with a diameter of 65 cm ) then the chimney should start at a height of 20.8 cm. Hope that helps ( and is correct..!!!)
İs this really a long time solution? No Cracks?
Hi - certainly nothing serious. Still using the oven several years later…I guess where there are extremes of heat you will tend to get cracks but so far nothing serious. I have covered the dome to keep the rain out (little roofed structure) - I think this has helped maintain the oven. Thanks for your comment - Regards
what is the white insulation material? thanks
fire / heat blanket . i bought mine on Amazon
Ceramic fibre blanket for the dome and ceramic fibre board for the base - from ebay in my case
Hi. How has this held up for you?
Hi Vadim - it’s looking good as far as I can see. I built a roof over it to keep off the rain which we get a lot of here. Now that we are getting towards Spring I’ll fire it up again - the inside of the dome looks good. Best wishes to you...
ordinary cement or fireplace cement ?
I always used heat proof cement inside the oven and for the vermiculite mix
That was just about to small for my use! I want to be able to less cook a turkey in one> with out the wood burning it up. So i back out of it. WAS LOOKING ON MY PATIO. There she set! A Weber Kettle! All i did was turn the grate over made my pizza in a 18" pizza pans WHAL LAA Perfect cook pizza top to bottom in 10 min.
Ha ha - great stuff. There’s always other ways of achieving the same thing 👍
@@solway17carlisle 👍
@@solway17carlisle ITS THE BITE OF THE PIZZA BUG OVEN! Makes people go crazy! They just can't get enough ovens or grills! I'am bit to! but i have control ! I keep telling myself > I DON'T NEED IT! And i don't need More! I got the best there is. he hee my kettle grill, and smoker. I can put 7 >18" pizza pans in my offset smoker
How many inches is the front opening? Thanks.
Hi - I’m away from home at the moment, but you need the width of the opening wide enough to allow a pizza piel/shovel to get in. Then form a nice arch to suit the width. I googled pizza piel and checked the dimensions of them off the Internet. So if the usual width was say 12” I would have made the width of my door 14”. Hope this helps till I get home again
Hi - the dimensions for the outer brick arch opening are: 18.5" x 10.5" The inner opening is 15" x 9" and gives clearance for the pizza pile which in my case is 12" wide
Thanks! I like the size of your oven, I can't see building a 36 to 42 inch oven & making a couple 13 inch pizzas. I think 25 is big enough if you're only making 3-4 pizzas a night. Plus the roof is lower, I think that's better as long as toppings aren't burning. Did you find any problems with its size?
what was the very top white layer made from?
Hi - I mixed a cement render, I used a bag of coloured render mix. In the UK it’s called ‘K Rend’ one coat render. It comes in different colours
@@solway17carlisle thanks! Do you know if this is similar to the blanket you used? www.psh.ca/index.php?item_id=R23BD
What bricks did you use as to cook on?
Hi Paul - I used heat resistant fire bricks.I got mine from a local builders merchant
@@solway17carlisle thanks
Any cracks?
Just looked now - there are some fine cracks but Im not overly worried by them at this point. I guess if you wanted to avoid any risk of cracking etc, you may have to make the dome out of fire bricks as demo'd elsewhere on RUclips..
Was the vermiculite that you used coarse or fine?
Sniper9Factory Hi sorry for the delay in replying. It seems to be coarse stuff - a standard bag bought from a local builders merchant. That said I didn't have any opportunity to compare - I just used what I bought. Cheers
Are you a complete amateur? I'd love to make one but have no building skills what so ever! Did you also build the base?
Ha ha! I would say I’m a competent DIY’er and often resort to RUclips etc for help. I did build the base with concrete blocks which weren’t too bad to put in place. Once I did that I used joist hangers and thick plywood inside the blockwork and strips of timber on the outside to form a mould over the blocks then filled with concrete to make the concrete ‘table’. Making the dome wasn’t too bad either....I did it one step at a time, and found it good fun, learning as I went along. Best wishes...
You mentioned towards the end about making the oven more water tight. How did you do this. What was the final mix please. Thanks in advance.
Hi - my top coat was a render mix. I got hold of a bag from a builders merchant eg KRend. Then I built a little roofed shelter over the dome. You can see this in my update vids. All the best...
materials list please
For the dome:
Sterling board with hole cut out (same diameter as gym ball)
Gym ball - mine was 60cm from memory but you could go bigger eg 75cm
Cling film - to cover gym ball
Stiff cardboard or sheet plastic to form an arch/entrance & timber to form the arch
Vermiculite
Ciment Fondue (EBay)
Ceramic fibre blanket
Chicken wire
Calcium silicate insulation board for the base
Fire bricks also for the base - deeper the better for insulation
Can you let me know what quantity of vermiculite you used?
I got a single 100 litre bag from the builders merchant. Used about 3/4 of it
After a year is your oven still holding well?
Hi - yes, it seems to be doing ok. If you look at Part 2 I have built a small protective cover to keep it dry over Winter. I think if water gets in to any extent it would be a problem particularly for the ceramic fibre blanket insulation. Anyway, so far so good
@@solway17carlisle thanks for the speedy reply. Many people making these. I'd like to get it right the first time.
Another question sir: can your build be transitioned easily to a smoker?
Thanks so much
Hi Marty - I’ve never thought of using it for a smoker - I think the dome ad I built mine would be too small and air control not that easy to achieve. As it is, once a fire is lit it seems to burn quick and build up temperature- ideal for pizzas but not so for smoking. All the best, sorry not to be more informative on this
@@solway17carlisle if i build this, how long before i can use it? Do i need to wait weeks for it to dry?
Hi - I think with any cement based construction you have to give enough time to cure out and dry, but once it feels dry to the touch and can be lifted without collapsing, you should be able to use it. Just start with some small fires at first - these will also help with the drying process and ensure you don’t ‘shock’ the oven with too high temperatures. Beyond that, if there are no cracks you can use the oven normally. Hope that helps - best wishes
How did you attach the flue pipe? What did you use to seal it?
Joe HADFIELD I put in a short section of flue pipe and mounded the vermiculite around it. Then when I added the brick opening I attached some galvanised metal straps to the flue and bedded the unattached ends into subsequent layers of vermiculite and cement used in the brickwork. I then attached the heavy twinwall flue but ensured its weight was supported by the roofing timber above to stop it bearing down on the fragile dome structure. Realise this is a long winded answer but it's a case of finding a way to support your chimney as you build it. Hope this helps, don't overthink it...
@@solway17carlisle thanks for such a quick reply. I loved your video by the way.
I've made the vermiculite dome shell, and I left a 10cm odd hole in a similar position that you have yours in. Tomorrow I plan to insulate the dome with ceramic fibre blanket and chicken wire, before adding screed and then render. Will do the brick arch as well.
Any tips on what I should do for the flue? I have a twin wall stainless steel pipe 5inch across. Which I realise is bigger than the hole. Wish I had done it your way now, but saw this too late
Joe HADFIELD Hi Joe - hmmm, I think you need to get hold of the shortest section of same diameter single wall vitreous pipe and secure this into your chimney aperture. This can be cut very short, then you need a twin wall to single wall connector. From there you can build up a chimney using your twin wall pipe. You could just use single wall throughout - just long enough to form a chimney with an effective 'draft' - some people just use a clay chimney pot instead. Not sure if this helps but please get back to me if I can help. Cheers...
@@solway17carlisle thanks for your help. I managed to get am adapter single to twin, and then have a twin wall flue attached. Looks good.
Will do the screed tomorrow before allowing that to slowly dry out and then will render it. What did you use for the render?
@@joehadfield7480 Make sure you put a layer of vermiculite render on top of the ceramic fibre blanket (also using this to further support around the chimney area..). The final top render coat could be a standard portland cement/sharp sand mix OR a coloured render mix eg K-Rend - a bit more expensive but nice to use and gives a good coloured finish. Hope it goes well for you...
your brick arch goes on last after all rendering has been finished
Not necessarily - you can bring the render up to the back edge of the brick
I guess this is condemed to crack as the dome sits on the fire bricks. It shouldn't. s
Hi - Hmm - I’ve had this a few years now and it’s not got any major cracks - I used vermiculite and refactory cement so it’s reasonably ‘heat’ proof. Thanks for watching and commenting. All the best..
@@solway17carlisle Good to hear you do not confirm what others say, that as the fire bricks tend to extend due to temperature changes, the dome itself doesn't move and this would cause cracks. One "vermiculite pizza oven builder" reported about this issue...
ruclips.net/video/HIeOjXM4ST4/видео.html here's my attempt in the making (now waiting for it to fully cure before firing up at full temperature) p.s. how hot is the outside surface of yours - can it be touched with hands?
Hi Thomasz - the vermiculite stays foolish on the outside but on top of that is the ceramic fibre blanket. So there is very little heat on the outside. Also I finished it with a cement render, so 3 layers in total. The only area of high heat is around the chimney and I may need to patch this area with fire cement in the future. Hope this helps. Cheers
Solway17 Carlisle thanks, I still have not decide if I will add this fireproof rockwool and top concrete layer or maybe just a really thick layer of keramsit/perlite concrete, as it is now, just burning a piece of cardboard inside and after a few minutes I could feel the heat on the surface, therefore if it was wood at full fire, the surface would likely be scorching hot.
hey Clarence! seen Dick Jones about?