Pizza oven dome template

As time evolved, newer and stronger substances, such as cob and adobe, came to be used alongside bricks. There are generally three methods adapted to build a brick pizza oven dome:. See the below table for some suggested pizza oven dimensions. Upon the hearth construct a supporting frame for the bricks to lay against.

This may be made as with the cob dome out of wet sand and newspaper. Alternatively you can use scrap wood to make the shape. After constructing the internal brick wall you will need to cover the brick with an insulation layer to further improve the heat retaining properties of the oven.

When building the dome of your oven, keep in mind to concentrate on the first two courses. If done correctly, these two will shape the subsequent courses on their own. In the first step, you should decide the direction in which you will lay your bricks, thus deciding the shape, diameter and the inward curve of your dome.

It should be a ring of bricks cut in half and set upright. Depending on whether you want the dome to be high or low, you can make the corresponding part of the brick face inwards. For example, letting the two and a half inch part face inwards will give you a low dome, whereas letting the brick stand upright, with the nine inch part facing the inside will result in a higher dome shape.

Do not worry about your diameter right now: it can be adjusted as the ring takes formation. The mortar used to construct the dome may be either standard building mortar or high heat resistant fire clay mortar.

If it is predicted that the oven structural integrity may be compromised if the mortar cracks then it is suggested that fire clay mortar be used in the construction. For small ovens the minor cracking of standard mortar due to the high heats will generally only be a cosmetic issue from within the oven. Since the use of the mortar depends on the heat retention capacity of the oven, a calcium aluminate based mortar with no traces of Portland cement will not crack in high heat environments.

This, however, will be expensive. A more economical option will be to use an altered Portland cement mortar with fire clay, sand, and lime.

It will not be as durable as the calcium aluminate mortar, but will provide improved heat retention when compared to the standard mortar because of the constituent Fireclay. Do not use a mortar that contains a water soluble binder. This type is not waterproof, and is thus the wrong product for pizza ovens. The bricks used for the second layer should also be cut in half, but lay on the wide edge as opposed to the thinner one.

You can use a wooden shim and determine the angle of the inward curve by cutting it according to your needs. The best way to do it is to first try it out on a dummy layout: this will remove any scope for error. In case you are using firebricks, remember to soak them in a bucket of water before you mortar them. The main reason behind doing this is that firebricks are more porous than clay, and will thus dry out the mortar quickly if not moist. The curing process for cement creates heat: thus, if the immediate moisture content is too low, it may reduce the effectiveness of important properties like strength, and compromise the integrity of the dome.

You want to begin laying your bricks with high heat mortar. Place two bricks with a wooden shim between them. Once you have them cemented into place, remove the shim and fill the empty space with more mortar. Thus, you will get your desired shape as you keep laying the bricks according to the wood shim. The most important thing to remember while laying all your subsequent layers is the position of the keystone. Styrofoam itself is easy to find Home Depot or Lowes , easy to work with, inexpensive and it easily breaks out of the oven when you are finished with the dome — unlike the complicated, hinged wooden forms that some professional builders use.

See photo. To discuss the pros and cons of the two methods further, before you start you oven, join the Forno Bravo Forum, and see what other builders have done, and what they think. These sizes provide you with enough oven space to cook multiple pizzas at a time, or to cook a roast with multiple side dishes, without being too large or difficult to build, or too slow to fire.

The trade-offs between the two oven styles is described below, and will help you decide which oven to build. Oven Style There are two basic styles of Italian wood-fired pizza oven: the Neapolitan oven, which has a more aggressive curve and a lower dome height, and the Tuscan oven, which has less aggressive curve and a higher dome. While both oven styles perform well with all types of cooking, it is said that the Naples-style oven is more tuned to pizza, where the lower dome heats up a little faster and gets hotter for cooking pizza.

The higher dome of the Tuscan-style oven is more efficient at holding heat, and uses less wood, has a larger door opening for larger roasts and pans, and is better for cooking bread and roasting. It is also true that the higher dome is somewhat easier to build, as the inward curve is less pronounced, and the risk of a chain of bricks falling in before they are locked in place with a keystone in less.

It is our view that the differences between the two oven styles has be exaggerated by some vocal folks, and that you will be extremely happy with either of the outdoor brick oven plans, or your own hybrid between the two. Regardless of which style you choose, the parabolic oven vault shape serves to evenly reflect heat down on the cooking surface. Build a model on a flat space to get your exact measurement for the bricks you are using.

Do not allow space for a mortar joint, as you will be setting the edges of the bricks facing inside the oven flush with each other. The Oven Opening Dimensions The basic trade-off a builder faces when selecting the oven opening size is balancing the ease-of-use for getting food in and out of the oven and the size of pans, oven tools and roasts you want to use vs.

The larger the opening, the easier it is to work with the oven, and more your oven will lose heat. A small opening will enable your oven to hold its heat well, but can limit you from using your favorite terra cotta pan, or a nice large pizza peel. The opening height and width we recommend here should work well for a majority of builders. The dome itself a series of self-supporting circular brick chains that curve inward, until they meet at the keystone at the oven top.

You can adjust the exact diameter of your oven to match the size circle that your bricks form, so that you do not have to cut a brick in your first chain. The angle of the inward curve is set using a standard wooden shim. Begin laying your bricks using High Heat Mortar. The bricks will follow the angle and curvature set by the wood shim. After the angle is held in place with mortar, remove the shim; fill the open space created by the shim with mortar, and move on. Start each chain either next to, or over the oven opening.

This will allow you to set you keystone where it cannot be seen when you look inside the oven. The keystone is a specially cut brick that locks each chain into place. When you reach the end of each chain, where you cannot fit the last full-size brick, make a paper template of the piece that is required to finish the chain.

Measure twice Cut once Fit in position with largest hammer. Re: Newbie to build better homes pizza oven. Originally posted by nissanneill View Post. I was always lead to believe that the weather up there in Queeensland was"beautiful one day, perfect the next"!

Last edited by scottz ; , PM. Reason: spelling. Re: Newbie to build better homes pizza oven Hi all, I have been working away so this is the first chance i have had in a few days to check out the forum. So i get the the idea from all of the comments that the clay oven is not the way to go and to look into the other types. I guess the only reason i shyed away from the pompeii oven was the amount of firebricks i would need and cutting and of course the cost of the bricks so now i will have to work out whether to build from scratch or go with a kit.

I think because i am not in a capital city it may be easier for me to go down the kit route as just trying to find the basics in Bundaberg has been proving tad difficult.

Oh well time to have can of rum and cola and ponder what to do. Johnny the oven man. Your best shot would be using castable for your dome instead of clay. Re: Newbie to build better homes pizza oven Johnny, Thanks for the info on total refractory management in Brisbane. I checked them out the other day and all seemed ok. They had a link to a wfo maker which made a decent sized kit oven which i could land in Bundy for a lot cheaper than the ones in WA.

It doesnt have the pizza peels and soforth but i can really pick them up anywhere when i need them. I just hav to convince the minister for finance but when i told her she seemed interested so heres hoping. Re: Newbie to build better homes pizza oven Dear Mark Most of the replies you have got including my own have tried to stear you towards a brick oven.

If you check out" New guy in brisbane wants to build an wfo "he has a reply in there. His tag is backyardpermaculture and that rely has a link to his blog which shows his build. Using castable to build your dome now that is interesting. I checked out a few things did you realize that the premade forno ovens are made of castable? They have a section in the forum on" other types' and theres a bit in there on casting domes. Keep posting you progress I'm interested to see how you go Regards Dave.

Re: Newbie to build better homes pizza oven Dear Mark interested to find out hows things are going go well dave. Remember Wingmen? Re: Newbie to build better homes pizza oven Mark, I'm in exactly the same boat! An expert I saw locally said sourcing the right clay was VERY difficult and that it wasn't worth the effort and risk to go that route.