The last layer before the firebrick

It was another great Saturday morning with a crew of church folks, friends, and neighborhood folks who gathered together to mix and pour the final layer of high temperature concrete before we lay the firebrick and start building the oven chamber.

Just to recap, we mixed and poured a layer of vermiculite and high temperature concrete (calcium aluminate). It needed a few days to set and harden, and now it was time to do a smooth layer of level high temp concrete to finish the base.

In order to prepare the form, we put down some good old fashioned aluminum foil and rebar.

Then the crew started mixing, and we had a solid crew on hand working two big wheelbarrows and one mini.

Then it was all about hustling those wheelbarrows up to the oven site and shoveling it into the form.

Look at that nice smooth top! We're ready for the next phase.

Almost done with the base

Today we were lucky enough to have another sunny beautiful day. I'd say 90% of the base is completed.  Our dedicated volunteers finished the dry stack (four high), core fill, and then prepped the area over the ash chamber.  We also hauled a ton of cinder-block up to the worksite.  On a side note, Mike's cement mixer died.  It had served us and about five other brick ovens well, in addition to its prior life mixing cement for something that we are not at liberty to know.

The next step will be making a high-temperature cement pad (made with calcium luminate) on top of our base and regular concrete covering the rest. Then, we transport and unload our high temperature firebrick and start building the cooking chamber.

Here are some shots from this afternoon and this evening.  First, we have the hauling of narrow cinder-block.

Then we finished the top of the base. Specifically the area above the ash chamber was done with wet cement rather than the patio pavers.

Finally it was time for a victory pic.

Note: All volunteers are not pictured. This was the end of the evening, so there were many who were doing the hard stuff all day who went home to eat with their families.

Preparing the slab

What is that old verse about a house built on sand....well, we're working on creating a rock here, so no worries. We had a great turn-out on a sunny day. Finally, after much planning, we broke ground on the community brick oven and this project was becoming very real, very fast.

The day was filled with activity and a lot of laughter.  While part of the hearty volunteers dug out the grass and dirt, the more skilled amongst us built the wooden form for the concrete pour.  Once we got to the right depth, we added and compacted Class 5 gravel.  Finally we added rebar to offer some structural integrity to our base. I was also glad that when Gopher One came out to the property (pre-dig) there were no gas, water or electrical lines that were found.

The next step is calling in the Saint Paul inspector, and, hopefully, getting the go ahead to pour the concrete this Friday. Stay tuned.