Mark Horst Posted May 19, 2011 Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 I've got a bunch of leftover hard brick from an old kiln that I tore down and want to build a pizza oven in my backyard. I'm planning on using brick for the floor and the door, but want to use castable for the dome. Does anyone have experience with this? I've found this formula for kiln castable, but was wondering if there are any specifics that I need to keep in mind when thinking about pizza as opposed to pots. 2 Fireclay 2 Grog 2 Sawdust 1/2 Alumina Hydrate 1/2 Portland Cement Thanks in advance, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 I used that recipe or one very similar for casting soda kiln arches. Should work for a pizza oven. Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Warrior Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 I've got a bunch of leftover hard brick from an old kiln that I tore down and want to build a pizza oven in my backyard. I'm planning on using brick for the floor and the door, but want to use castable for the dome. Does anyone have experience with this? I've found this formula for kiln castable, but was wondering if there are any specifics that I need to keep in mind when thinking about pizza as opposed to pots. 2 Fireclay 2 Grog 2 Sawdust 1/2 Alumina Hydrate 1/2 Portland Cement Thanks in advance, Mark I am in the process of building a wood-fired oven and pizza is of particular interest. I spent quite a bit of time traipsing through the Yucatan. In the Yucatan I visited a while with a baker's family and witnessed the construction of a commercial wood-fired oven which was very interesting. They are so efficient that a hand full of sticks can actually keep the oven hot for hours and then they plan their baking based on the heat need as the heat decays through the day. The one thing I am going to use in my oven based on that visit however is rock salt for the floor. That is the same thing they use in the Yucatan. The salt floors are glass smooth and retain heat for an exceptionally long time. Regards, Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Horst Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 I've built the pizza oven... Hopefully I'll soon get pictures off my camera and post them with some more details about my wood fired pizza oven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Horst Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2011 So, I've finally got around to posting the results of my pizza oven project... From what I've heard the ratio of the dome height to the door height is pretty important for getting a natural draft going so I went with the dimensions of a commercial oven maker. The interior height of the dome is 16 inches and the height of the door is 10.5 inches. It just so happens that a five gallon bucket has a diameter of about 10.5 inches... so that's what I used for an arch form. I used sand as the form for the dome and covered it in wet newspaper before slapping on the castable. I used the recipe listed above for the castable. Once it was dry I dug out the sand and let it dry for a few days. Then started with a very SMALL fire in the doorway to dry and cure the castable. I used the lid from an old electric kiln for the base and then a layer of firebrick to hold heat. I used firebrick for the arch and the first two layers of the dome just to save on the amount of castable that I had to mix. The arch was a little tricky because I didn't have any arch brick, but it's held up pretty well. The idea for a face on the front came from a pizza oven that I have used in PA at the Union Project wood kiln near Pittsburgh. If you have any questions let me know. You can also see more pictures on my facebook page www.facebook.com/markhorstpottery It makes pretty good pizza... and only cost me about $100 Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsuth Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I've got a bunch of leftover hard brick from an old kiln that I tore down and want to build a pizza oven in my backyard. I'm planning on using brick for the floor and the door, but want to use castable for the dome. Does anyone have experience with this? I've found this formula for kiln castable, but was wondering if there are any specifics that I need to keep in mind when thinking about pizza as opposed to pots. 2 Fireclay 2 Grog 2 Sawdust 1/2 Alumina Hydrate 1/2 Portland Cement Thanks in advance, Mark I am in the process of building a wood-fired oven and pizza is of particular interest. I spent quite a bit of time traipsing through the Yucatan. In the Yucatan I visited a while with a baker's family and witnessed the construction of a commercial wood-fired oven which was very interesting. They are so efficient that a hand full of sticks can actually keep the oven hot for hours and then they plan their baking based on the heat need as the heat decays through the day. The one thing I am going to use in my oven based on that visit however is rock salt for the floor. That is the same thing they use in the Yucatan. The salt floors are glass smooth and retain heat for an exceptionally long time. Regards, Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsuth Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I've got a bunch of leftover hard brick from an old kiln that I tore down and want to build a pizza oven in my backyard. I'm planning on using brick for the floor and the door, but want to use castable for the dome. Does anyone have experience with this? I've found this formula for kiln castable, but was wondering if there are any specifics that I need to keep in mind when thinking about pizza as opposed to pots. 2 Fireclay 2 Grog 2 Sawdust 1/2 Alumina Hydrate 1/2 Portland Cement Thanks in advance, Mark I am in the process of building a wood-fired oven and pizza is of particular interest. I spent quite a bit of time traipsing through the Yucatan. In the Yucatan I visited a while with a baker's family and witnessed the construction of a commercial wood-fired oven which was very interesting. They are so efficient that a hand full of sticks can actually keep the oven hot for hours and then they plan their baking based on the heat need as the heat decays through the day. The one thing I am going to use in my oven based on that visit however is rock salt for the floor. That is the same thing they use in the Yucatan. The salt floors are glass smooth and retain heat for an exceptionally long time. Regards, Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsuth Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Where do you get the rock salt? Is it a slab or in pieces? Can rock salt withstand the high temps for pizza? 800 900 degrees? Have you finished your oven? Would like to see pictures if you have. Thanks for any information you can offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Warrior Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Where do you get the rock salt? Is it a slab or in pieces? Can rock salt withstand the high temps for pizza? 800 900 degrees? Have you finished your oven? Would like to see pictures if you have. Thanks for any information you can offer. Rock salt is the same stuff that they use for water softeners and you can get it in hardware or building supply places. You should have no problems with the temperatures and rock salt (sodium chloride) has a melting point of 808 degrees Centigrade (1486 deg F). I think it would stand up to most baked goods Regards, Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 You folks need some pizza testers? you can fed X some sample ones for critique. Just a thought Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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