Why I Oughta...

A few days ago, I shared an update on our DIY backyard wood-fired pizza oven build that showed the latest progress:  the installation of the final rebar and bracing (wires) for the raised, reinforced concrete hearth.  I'm set to pour that 4.5" thick hearth (plus the filling of the pressed bond beam block cavities (so...around 8" deep around the perimeter and 12" deep across the opening spans), but the forms of the heart sit 42" above grade.   Like I did with the foundation slab, I'm planning on using the MudMixer to help pour the concrete.  The problem that I'm facing is that the Mudmixer's chute stands just 16" from the ground.  That means....that I have to either use buckets to lift the mixed concrete up from the Mudmixer chute or....raise the Mudmixer to allow it to 'POUR' directly into the raised hearth. If you look back at this post where I showed the foundation slab pour, you can see that I made a platform for the Mudmixer to allow...

After bending and installing the rebar, reinforcing grid and vapor barrier , it was now time to pour the foundation slab for our diy backyard wood-fired pizza oven.   As I posted about last week, I shrunk the foundation slab down to be 72" wide and 80" front-to-back.  It is 5.5" thick (2x6's for concrete forms).   This is sitting on top of six inches of 1/2" compacted gravel and a 48" deep of large rock drywell.   I used an online concrete estimating calculator tool and when you put those dimensions in, it says that I needed 42 60# bags.    I have to pour two slabs - this foundation slab and then, once I build the stand, an insulated hearth.  Each approximately the same size.   When adding those two up, I ordered 85 60# bags and had them delivered.  I opted for 4000 PSI concrete - as a little bit of an upgrade over the baseline concrete. Knowing that the labor involved in this pour is in two parts, I opted to split them...

After excavation, the first step of building my backyard pizza oven is framing and pouring a solid foundation for the oven to sit-on.  This foundation is going to be a 5.5" thick, reinforced concrete slab.  I've been probing for the boundaries of the in-ground drywell in our backyard ( post with photos here ) and have to decide on final location in the coming weeks.   Once that location is set, I can begin excavation.  Then, my brain will switch to construction material ordering - starting with bags of concrete/cement and concrete block for the foundation. The first consideration in that process is how I'll go about making/mixing the concrete.  One of the recommendations from the builder community on the Forno Bravo forums is to buy a 3.5 cubic foot cement mixer from Harbor Freight.  I went over to the local HF store this past weekend and sized the machine up.  Here, below is a photo of the cement mixer below: Here's the product page - shows the s...