Building the Cooking Chamber, Part 2

The rain threatened, again, but we were lucky....again.  A mist for a few minutes in the morning, and then it was clear.

Today our theme was concrete.  We laid some rebar in our forms for extra support.  Then hand-mixed via wheelbarrow about a dozen loads of concrete. While one group mixed, another group filled a bucket and poured it between the firebrick wall and the outside form.

The whole project took about two and half hours with five guys.  Next step, on Monday, will be building the arch.

Here are the pictures of today's adventure.

First it was a rebar bending contest between pairs of hulky dudes.

Then we needed to put the rebar in its place to keep the high temperature concrete in place.

Then it was time to mix cement and pour it into the forms.

Mission complete

Preparing for the Cooking Chamber

We are almost to the point where we will begin building the actual cooking chamber where fire will be built and all of our delicious breads and pizzas will transform.  But first, we needed to lay a foundation for the oven.  First we need to put down a layer of calcium aluminate.  Then we will put down a pad of high temperature concrete before laying down the firebrick.

The calcium aluminate comes in fifty pound bags that look like this:

  
This substance is then mixed up into a damp, form-able sandy stuff (but not too wet).  If it didn't likely cause cancer, it'd be a pretty fun thing for kids to play with.

Then shovel it up and put it in the form and pat it down.

I went home for dinner, but they kept doing it. They laid down the metal grid for support in the middle, and then continued to fill until they got to the top of the wooden form. Here is a shot of the finished product without the frame.