Digging To Find Drywell For Backyard Wood-Fired Oven - January 2024

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A few weeks ago, I posted a couple of items related to my 2024 goal of building a wood-fired pizza oven in our backyard including a look at a couple of locations, some brickwork inspiration and how I could build the stand out of cinder blocks - including corners.   With the snow melting away this week, I went out to look at one of the locations and remembered...that ahead of the snow, I was digging around trying to find the 'edges' of the drywell.  

Below is a photo showing a number of locations that I dug down to see 'how deep' the drywell is located and how I was probing to find the 'edge' of the well.  

Footings dug for heavy, wood-fired pizza oven in backyard

The drop from grade to drywell is variable across this six-foot-by-six-foot section.  Surprisingly so.  I also found (I think) two of the 'edges' of the drywell.  Which...if I sited the oven where I *wanted* to, would have a small portion of the foundation OVERHANGING the drywell.  That would mean that I'd have to bring in some gravel - which isn't a deal-killer. 

What's next is creating a life-size template of the foundation and (I think) one of the 'faces' of the oven to really reveal how impactful - from a sight lines perspective - the oven really WILL be on either site.  I could use small pvc pipe to make a frame and drape something like my frost cover over to convey the mass of this oven.    

Based on this, I'm back to leaning towards the further-away location.  That PVC frame test might just confirm my leaning.

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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