at long last

[thebighat]

Ok, kids. Here we go. The hole is almost done, the crushed rock is in the driveway, the cement and blocks are coming tomorrow, and I'm finally starting the brick oven. Wish me luck. I suffer severely from failure-to-finish syndrome. Here's what I'm modeling mine after... Nice size for my backyard. And it's apparently easy to use.

[momoreg]

I hope you give us the blow-by-blow of this project. My husband would LOVE to build an oven in the back yard, and I'm sure he'd profit from your experience. GOOD LUCK!

[Kimmie]

Luckily for you, we are not neighbors...too tempting...too cool!

Let us know how it goes.

[panini]

thebighat,
What a project!!! I'm hoping you will be very sucessful.
After you have finished I wish to contract you to build a project with me. I have been thinking about building a woodburning kiln. I have all the plans but can't build it in the city limits ( told the Mrs. that I could just throw a chix on it if the town came). I'm thinking we could combine the two. When you are finished you should have a handle on the stove side,no? combined with my kiln design, oh ****, might as well make a meat smoking chamber since I'm in the South.
Please keep a diary with pictures to keep us posted. Let me know when your finish date is and I'll send you a care package of local things to cook with.
Very Cool,
jeff

[momoreg]

Jeff, that's what my husband wants too- A kiln/oven.

I'm sure the city would have a problem with the kiln, but like you said...

[thebighat]

I brought The Bread Builders over to the fire station, and they said, go right ahead. just call us when you light it so we know it isn't a burning house. I called the building inspector and he said, go right ahead. as long as it's not tied to the house, no permit. I baked bread and took it around to the neighbors and they said wow, let us know when we can get more. My wife would love a kiln, but don't they need to get to 1200-1500 degrees?
I got two tons of rock in the hole today. Looked like a lot, but I know somewhere at the bottom of that pile is the last shovelful. Took me 2 hours of intermittent work. It's like baking cookies. Yesterday I made 2100 cookies. I know at some point I'll pinch the last cookie. That also took 2 hours. They were for a big tournament today, if I got them done yesterday I got today off and wouldn't you know, the sun shone for the first time in several days. It was a very nice day finally.

[momoreg]

Last year, we built a 500sf patio in the back yard. Between the 2 of us, we shoveled and lifted tons upon tons of gravel, stone dust and brick. I vowed never to attempt that sort of project again! We have The Bread Builders, and there are some great ideas in there as I recall, but I'm still sore from last year's project!

[cape chef]

Momoreg,

I'll help you guy's if I get to use the contraption

TBH...good luck, what a great thing to have in your back yard. Can I send you some of my pottery to fire?

[panini]

ok, now off the topic but how many of us work in clay?
tbh,
yea, the kilns have to get up in temp. I'm basically interested in Raku firing. So we would only have to get up to temp for 15 min or so.1000c. So let's see, chix 350 for 20 min. We should be able to get one cooked in 3or 4 min. Hey! what about raku chix? Glaze it, nuke it, and throw it in a bucket of lemon grass for a while.

[Isa]

WOW! That's a wonderful oven TBH. When do you think it will be finish?


Can I come to the inauguration party?

[thebighat]

You'll notice most of the work gets done on this thing on Mondays.
I just poured 21 bags of concrete mix. I'm a baker, I told people. how hard can it be to mix stuff? Well, stuff as dense as concrete was no picnic. It took three hours from cutting the first bag to rinsing out the wheelbarrow. We leveled it with a 2x4 and I'm just gonna let it sit in the sun. Most of it is going to be covered anyway so what do I care if it doesn't get troweled glass smooth?There's more concrete yet to mix, but that was the biggest job out of the way.

[momoreg]

And of course the temperature today is as hot as an oven! I feel for you, TBH! (there's no smiley for sunburn).

[thebighat]

I don't notice the heat if I take my glasses off. the sweat pouring off my furrowed brow doesn't get all over them. I really fell out of it after doing that today. I lay down and couldn't move for 2 hours and then was generally useless most of the rest of the afternoon. Now I'm looking a cod loin, mesclun salad with tomato and avocado, peach shortcake and some neat looking couscous.

[KyleW]

>>stuff as dense as concrete<<

Sounds like my first breads

Hat, I'm just curious. Do you ever sit still? This is a very cool project. Much more productive the the web stuff. Speaking of the web stuff, how about some pics of your new work in progress.

[thebighat]

Almost a month into this project and the base is done. Two tons of rock, 21 bags of concrete, 45 cement blocks, 4 bags of mortar, all of which was carried by me to the back yard. Tomorrow I will make forms, cut reinforcing bar, mix concrete and vermiculite and pour the insulated slab, then the hearth slab on top of that. Should be a good day's work. At this point I'll take some pictures, up to now it just looked like a big hole, then a jumble of concrete block.