Why I Oughta...

I've done this sort of 'notebook' posts in the past and it has been helpful in organizing my thoughts when it comes to project planning.  Here's an 'order of operations' post on a big, 'new bed' backyard overhaul from 2021 that - just by writing - helped me get my head wrapped-around what I needed to do.   I've done similar 'notebook' or 'musing' posts on retaining walls and our boardwalk on the side of our house .  I've referenced Paul Graham's post about WRITING previously - but the gist his POV is: Writing doesn't just communicate ideas; it generates them.  The act of writing about something (in this case...the process around my pizza oven project) shows me that I'm in the MIDST of my learning journey on said process.    Hopefully...by the end of this, I'll have a v1 of what I need to do. I've recently updated a few posts with oven construction, but haven't shown the completed project - just yet.  The...

I was at the orange big box store over the weekend and saw this little floor model fridge that was just a couple hundred bucks for a glass-front wine fridge.  See below for the one they're selling - note: I have NO idea if this is (at all!) a decent fridge or not.  Based on the price...I'm guessing it isn't.  But...that's not the point.  What this fridge got me thinking was about the potential for an outdoor kitchen and prep area for the pizza oven.  I haven't thought one second about electricity out there...but....maybe I should be?   For something like this and for...well....lights.  Part of why I'm not using the oven during the Winter is...of course...the cold.  But the other part?  The dark.   Something to add to the (growing larger everyday) 2025 planning considerations.

I've been SUPER neglectful of my pizza oven build project here on my own blog.  By that...I mean...I've neglected to update the blog, but not the actual oven.  Good news, bad news, I guess.  Good news:  the oven is built and closed in.   The bad news:  I last posted about it in late September when I was like seven chains up on the dome . Let's catch up - a little bit.   I was able to keep putting up chains and finally got around to building out the door: And, from there, I kept going around and around.  Thanks to the indispensable tool. 

I've documented a few pizza operation tips over the years here on the blog.  From what a pizza parlor could/would look like to the signage to the uniforms/tabletops to the *actual name* ( Dorianell's ), I've 'dreamed' a lot about the front-of-house.   But, I've also documented tips and tricks for the back-of-house.  Including how Aurelio's pre-pans their dough to the type of tomatoes and more.   This past Spring, Summer and...Fall...I built out my own wood-fired pizza oven.  (Note:  I REALLY need to finish those posts!).  So, I'm turning my attention to building out the rest of the oven setup; including prep tables.   The latest tip comes via world's best pizza guy - Chef Anthony Mangieri, owner of Una Pizza Napoletana in NYC in this YouTube video from Bon Appétit . Here, below, is the full video - but further down, I've taken a few screenshot stills from it that I wanted to call-out. First...he talks about setting up his layou...

Moving on to building the ACTUAL oven - starting with setting the floor.  The last time I checked in, I showed how I used a 50/50 blend of Masons sand and Fireclay to create a bed for the floor to sit-on that allows for a smooth, even floor surface.  And, just a few days ago, I showed how I experimented with the medium-duty refractory mortar to learn how to set the joints and work with the stuff .   As I've talked about, I'm going with an isolated floor and dome.  That means that I've cut the floor bricks to sit *inside* the dome.  It required a few more cuts, but it is the right move, imho.  My first job was setting the oven floor and landing.  You can see that layout below.  I aimed to have the herringbone pattern hit dead center and I tried to keep larger cuts near the entry to avoid having my peel 'catch' on them: This is a BIG MOMENT for me.  20 years ago, I thought about an oven.  Six months ago, I started the project.  ...

While I still need to set the floor, I decided to see if I could figure out how to make Refractory Mortar work by sticking a couple of bricks together.  I've never done ANY masonry work before this project, so I've quickly upgraded my masonry skills over the past few months.  Starting with pouring the concrete slab and then moving on to using (for the first time) Type S mortar to stick the first blocks into place in the stand, I've used different tools and techniques in elementary ways.    For the dome, I'm going to use Akona Medium-Duty Refractory Mortar that comes in 50# bags - because it is available and affordable.  Some folks use a homebrew of fireclay, portland cement and mason sand, but the guy at the brick distributor talked me out of that - by saying that fireclay was out of code around here.  So, he suggested two products - Firestop 50 or this Akona Refractory Mortar .   I mixed up a tiny batch and grabbed a few cut-offs to see if I cou...

The oven project is continuing to move head.  Last time I posted about it was the cutting and installation of the CalSil insulation board that I mounted on top of a pattern of mosiac tile .  That 4" of CalSil insulation is the base for the firebrick floor.  So, laying that insulation was the last big piece towards building the actual oven.    To get the floor in place and level, I opted to lay down a base of mason's sand (which has no rocks) and fireclay (the dried-up dust from cutting the firebricks that comes off the saw) that I combined 50/50 and wet to make a paste.  You can see this process in a few photos below.  I used a notched trowel to smooth out the paste.  Then....I began to lay the brick floor down like tile.   Next up - laying the full floor and the first layer of the dome.  As a reminder, I opted to isolate the floor from the dome with the dome bricks cut separately from the floor . 

The oven construction process has been one focused on:  planning (the foundation), building (the foundation), planning (the stand), building (the stand).  And, then more planning (for the oven).  And...now comes the ACTUAL building of the oven.  That starts with learning how to handle the wetsaw and cut out the floor.  Thanks to my VERY HANDY brother-in-law, we went with an isolated floor.  That means, we cut the floor of the oven to be 40" diameter and *then* cut out the soldier course to lay NEXT to the floor.   We started with cutting the oven entry:  Then, thanks to the jig that my brother-in-law made, we quickly cut out the rest of the floor and the soliders: We began to figure out the oven opening and how to make the transition pieces from opening arch to oven dome: And, cut out the second layer of the dome - these only with side-cuts, no tilt cuts (yet): We also built our indispensable tool (IT) or dome gauge - to help place the bricks...

Yesterday, I shared the details of a template that I cut out of Masonite and a circumference tool that will shape the form of the floor of my wood-fired oven.  In order to get the inner arch opening correct, I opted to create a second drawing jig - one that is 20.25" wide that will set the width of that opening.   The goal was to draw the outline of the oven floor, but it proved harder (for me) than I thought it might be when I started. Before I get into the process of getting the oven floor drawn, a quick mention on firebricks.  The community on FornoBravo spec's "Medium-Duty Firebricks" for the floor and dome.  After poking around online, I've come to discover that Illinois is home to the Alsey Refractory - in Alsey, Illinois.  Somewhere between Springfield and St. Louis is the Alsey Refractory ; where they've been making firebricks in the USA for more than 100 years.  A few towns over, a materials dealer - LaGrange Materials - sells Alsey firebrick...

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...