DIY Pizza Oven Floor Template-Making - July 2024

Last week, I showed the final form of the raised hearth - after I stripped the concrete-pouring forms from the four sides and talked about how I can now move-on to actual oven building.    For me, that started with creating a template out of Masonite.  I bought an 8x4' sheet and created a little circle-drawing jig that I cabbage'd together out of spare parts I had on hand.  The sheet is just 48" wide and after thinking about it, I've decided to make a 40" oven (interior diameter), which means the outside footprint diameter is 49".  That meant that I'm going to be a half-inch shy on either side.  That's ok.  

I also needed to figure out where the dome meets the inner arch.  I started by attaching the circle-drawing-jig to the center of the board and drew out a 40" and 49" circle.  Then, I started to think about my arch sizes and how the inner/outer arch differ.  I chose to go with a 20-1/8th" inner arch width.   That meant that I could figure out WHERE the arch/dome meet.   Once I knew that, I could cut the template.

Here are a couple of photos showing how I started with the template and futz's with the landing floor:

I cut the landing/arches wider than I needed for now.  

Then, I took the template a dry-fit it to the stand - to make sure I had all the various clearances in a good spot.  This 40" oven will fit with enough space on either side for blanket insulation.

And, I have enough wiggle-room front-to-back to play with where (exactly), I want to place the oven:

And, how I want to transition from herringbone to straight bricks at the entry:

Next, I'll layout the full floor and .... start cutting.