DIY Pizza Oven - Part 2

Wow, it's been a minute since we last talked about our DIY Pizza Oven progress. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we have started up our work again, but as I began writing this post I realized you guys aren't 100% caught up on the progress we had made before we took our winter hiatus. Let me catch you up... last time we talked (back in October) we had just finished forming the dome and were in the process of sanding the facade. It looked something like this....

After that we built-up the smokestack aka chimney, 28" high and it looked like this:

It was at this point that we retired our efforts for the year but during the winter months we tried out our pizza oven multiple times. The verdict? The pizzas were good and they were considerably better than the pizzas we were able to make in our 1st pizza oven, but they could be better.

The issue(s):

1. It was difficult to to get fires to light which we figured out was because the smokestack was not drawing enough smoke because it was too short.
2. The bottom of the pizza was not cooking as quickly as the top of the pizza. We think the reason is because the heat was being absorbed into the concrete instead of pushing out from it. 
3. The heat from the fire caused some minor cracking and heat was escaping through the cracks.  

Brent did a lot of research, mostly on-line and a little bit by eating/observing local pizza joints with wood burning pizza ovens (I was especially helpful during this part of the research process)  and came up with a game plan. A few weekends ago while I was touring southern mansions in Eufala, Alabama and Croix was playing with his aunt and uncle, Brent got to work ironing out some of the kinks. To start he added more bricks to the chimney taking it from 28" to 48" high.

To address the cracking and heat escape, Brent filled the cracks with fire mortar and then rolled on a ceramic fiber blanket. 

This particular material had great reviews and is specifically intended for wood stoves, pizza ovens, kilns, etc. The Internet suggested 3" or 3 layers of the insulation, but he felt like 2" or 2 layers was sufficient. As a point of reference, our pizza oven is just under 5 feet wide and it took us just under 3 boxes to cover the whole thing twice.

After the two layers of the insulation Brent wrapped the dome with chicken wire in preparation of the mortar application. 

Once the insulation and chicken wire was installed he spread cast able, insulating refractory mortar around the entire shell.

This step/material is great for a few reasons: 

A.) It helps the dome hold it's shape (i.e. cast able). 

B.) It helps keep the heat in (i.e. insulating)  

C.) Refractory means it won't crack or break under high heat. 

So basically, this little jewel solves a lot of our problems in one foul swoop!

At the end of this stage we will be ready to pull the trigger on the finish work for the facade of the pizza oven. We are moving right along and I just know I will be writing the title " DIY Pizza Oven REVEAL" soon!

All photos are my own. 

DIY Pizza Oven - Part 1

Well, our outdoor patio project is dragging rolling along.

Let me start by saying I realize we have been talking about this project for a long, long time, but guys WE HAVE A PIZZA OVEN!!!!!!!! And a gigantic pizza oven at that. Let's dig into the process...

To get things started we drew out a 54" diameter right on the concrete countertop with a pencil to be sure the scale felt right. Then, we started lining our pencil marks with bricks. 

We stacked a few levels up and then created the forms for the entry. We wanted the arch of the entry to mimic the arch of the fireplace below.

Once our entry form was in place we began setting the bricks around it. 

We continued adding layers and layers of brick to create the walls of the oven. As we got higher we had to use shims to create the pitch. 

The steeper the pitch the slower the process, because we could only do so many layers before we had to pause and let the mortar dry.

Eventually the pitch got so steep that we had to reinforce the arch with flexible trim. 

After that we continued adding brick until the entire dome was filled in. Once all of the brick was installed we filled all of the holes with mortar so the smoke would be forced to exit through the chimney. 

With all of the mortar dry we began sanding down the exterior as well as the interior of the pizza oven. This meant smoothing down all of the mortar drips and uneven spots. At one point Brent was more than half way in the oven working on the inside and Croix was REALLY loving the sight! Ha! We often talk about how much things have changed now that Croix has joined our crew. While we may move slower than we used to, it's a lot of fun having this little guy buzzing around our projects with us. He's distracting and needy, but he's cute! :)

We are still in the sanding phase and then we have to figure out what material to use on the outside facade. We have considered brick. tile and stucco but we are still undecided. The good news? Once we get a chimney on there the pizza oven will be usable even if the facade is still TBD for a few more weeks. My stomach is growling just thinking about it!!

All photos are my own. 

Patio Project - LIGHTS!

I'm back with a little Patio Project Update....LIGHTS! 

Once the outdoor kitchen portion of the project was finished up we turned our attention to the lighting and electrical before starting the pizza oven. Lucky for us the fence goes around the entire Outdoor Kitchen area so we decided to utilize it as a wall and hang sconce lights + electrical outlets and switches from it. As we were deciding which lights, how many, where they should go, etc...we also discussed where the conduit should run. We knew there would be a fair amount of conduit going from the electrical box we had put in a few months ago, to each light, switch and outlet. We tossed around the idea of installing the conduit on the front of the fence and using metal tubing to give the whole space a more industrial vibe but ultimately decided to go with a cleaner look and install the conduit on the back of the fence for a sleeker aesthetic.

Here are the supplies, all from Home Depot. 

We started by placing each light, switch and outlet visually, by measuring and marking things out with a pencil. Next, we traced the  junction boxes and then Brent cut them out with his jigsaw.

We did this for the outlets and switches as well as for the sconce lights. 

Next, Brent ran the conduit along the back-side of the fence and snaked the wire through. This ended up being a beast of a task because some of the runs were so long, things started getting tangled inside the conduit. 

Next, we pulled the whips through each junction box and then got to hooking all of the wires up. 

We went round and round about which outdoor sconce light to go with but finally decided on these from Wayfair. Not only is the price really good, but we liked the simple lines and scale of these lights. 

And here they are in all of their glory:

There are 3 more lights on the other side, plus 2 more, one on each side of the doors leading back into the house. I would show you, butttt by the time we got all of the lights installed we had already started the pizza oven, so to show you the lights would mean you would also get a sneak peek of the pizza oven and I just can't let the pizza oven steal the new light's thunder like that. I know you understand. :) 

All photos are my own. 

Patio Project - Part 4

I'm back with a big ol' update on our Patio Project. July has been a busy month for us, so we haven't had a lot of full weekends to dedicate to the beast that is this little DIY of ours, instead we have worked on it here and there, which somehow turned into some pretty big progress.  

::::INSERT 10,000 HIGH FIVES:::::

Let's dig in...

With the tops in place we were ready to finish up the cabinetry. We had used cedar wood for our last outdoor kitchen and we were happy with the way it held up to the elements, so we decided to go that route again. As for the stain we wanted to go with a warm brown tone this time around so we settled on Varathane's Early American. 

I stained all of the planks and Brent focused on cutting them to fit and then installing them on the face of the framing. 

 While Brent was busy measuring, cutting and installing the planks I finished up painting that dang fence. The two-toned, half brown, half taupe scenario was literally hurting my eyes. 

Once the planking on the grill wall was complete, it was time to add our doors. If you followed along with our last outdoor kitchen, you know we made the one door in that kitchen ourselves. Like the rest of the kitchen that door was made of cedar wood. We liked the look, but over time that door had issues staying square within the hole. In general wood is not the best option when it comes to the outdoors. Cedar and Cypress are the best woods to use if you go the wood route, but even they will swell, crack and ultimately fail over time. So, this time we decided to go with metal doors. We found these doors on Amazon and are really happy with the fit and aesthetic.

We picked out the doors way back when we were working on the framing, so Brent was able to plan the framing accordingly. Once the planking was up we unboxed the doors and put them in place. 

Next, we got started installing brick on the face of the fireplace. We started with the opening...

And then layered on the pavers piece by piece along the entire front. 

Once the brick was all up we let the mortar dry for a week and then I went to town painting the brick. 

With the fireplace front painted Brent could install the planking on the wings to the left and right of the brick. He also framed in and planked the opening on the far right which will hold the firewood. 

And with that I think we can say the outdoor kitchen   portion of this patio project is COMPLETE! Next up...lights and the pizza oven.. Eeek! 

All photos are my own.