Sunday, July 1, 2012

Outdoor Pizza Oven - Phase 3,

Although our temperatures neared 100 with the heat index this past Saturday, the cast of characters from last weekend made another guest appearance at The Compound to help us with phase 3 of the outdoor pizza oven construction.  My Mom, Padre', and Daughter Number 1. Trust me 5 sets of hands and brains became necessary.

This 1200 lb special delivery from Fire Rock arrived, after a snafoo by the freight carrier earlier in the week (damaged product was refused and sent back).  We were starting to bite our nails as the week progressed, since we really needed the unit delivered so we could get to this phase.  We have people depending on us for pizza next weekend. 

We were ready, and had the base finished last weekend.  Again, someone with greater power than our own, was looking out for us.  You see, the drawings of the unit show it at 48x48", which technically should be the min. base size.  We made ours 48x60, hoping for a landing area.  The landing area, became the area used by the entrance to the oven.  Can you even imagine if we didn't go with a larger piece, showed up yesterday and realized our oven base was too small?  After reviewing the drawing again, not one but three of us missed the entrance information, and it is not called out as an overall length anywhere on the drawings.  It's shown, but not included on an overall. 

Now the fun stuff!  Not!  Not only were the pieces heavy, so the boys had some fun lifting each one, but they were not really finished.  There was left over, I'll call it residue, on each piece.  It wouldn't allow for the pieces to fit together like a puzzle.  So we had to spend time rubbing the sides flat.

We put the unit together a couple of times minus the cap, to see how things would line up.  It still wasn't a great fit, but we had mortar to shore up the pieces.  The actual base is closer to 50", not the 48" as shown, since the pieces didn't fit together quite right.





 8 hours later, finished oven!

We still have to fire it up to cure, of course make some pizza, and apply the exterior finish. 


The small details, if addressed by the mfg would have made for an easier installation.  I know it sounds like complaining, not my intent, but I want anyone considering this oven to understand some of the pitfalls, so they are prepared ahead of time. Each issue is easily overcome.

Overall, we are very happy with the oven, happy with how it turned out, at a cost of around $1,200.00, it was at the top end of what we wanted to spend.  We are looking forward to pizza next weekend, and of completing the exterior finish.

We're now recipe hunting!

17 comments:

  1. Very nice. Can't wait to hear how the first pizza tastes!

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    1. We should have an update this Saturday as to how the first one tastes. The family is getting together and we're having a pizza cook off!

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  2. Beautiful. Wish I had a pizza oven...enjoy.

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    1. Maybe an option for the Boars Nest! Although we'll be making lots of pizza, it's main intent was a controlled environment, heated by a resource we have plenty of at at The Compound, for when we need to bug out.

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  3. Great looking oven. I can send you my recipe for pizza dough if you like. Everyone has their favorite pizza. I usually make the dough and let my family choose how they want to "dress" it. One likes vegi only and one likes lots of meat. I prefer thin crust with pesto tomatoes and various vegis but sometimes a Canadian bacon and pineapple is the only thing that fills the bill.

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    1. I would love to try your pizza dough recipe. We're having a pizza cook off this next Saturday. I'll look forward to giving it a try!

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  4. Exited hospital today. They however stated that pizza especially good pizza would be good for recovery lol

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    1. Awesome, glad you're out! I'll let you know how the pizza oven works. If it goes alright, we'll invite you out. I don't want to embarrass myself in front of new friends...

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    2. It looks like you've done an excellent job ! However building a car does not make one an excellent driver...
      I"m sure that you are a very good cook though.

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  5. Does it hold temperature well?

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    1. Yes, once it's up and burning. You will have to keep adding logs as you go, depending on how much cooking you want to do. The more logs, the higher the temperature. We love it !

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  6. I'm just finishing mine right now and experienced the same thing with respect to off measurements and needing to grind some stone to make it fit better.
    Any other tips before veneering to make the heat hold well?
    any tips on using the oven?
    How long does it hold the heat after?
    Whats your top temp?

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    1. sorry for the delay in responding. No other advice at this point. It still works like a charm even after 3 years. We're hoping to heat it up again soon (it's finally cool enough to really enjoy working around a hot oven). It maintains heat very well, but like any wood burning stove or oven you have to keep feeding it to maintain temperatures. I think our highest temperature was around 600 degrees. Could we have gotten hotter maybe with more wood, but we really don't need it that hot. It cooks pizza in minutes!

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  7. Hi, you mentioned the oven was $1,200. Was that just the kit price? Or did you add on stuff that made it that much? Thanks!

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  8. Thanks Izzy. Can I ask what company you bought it from, and where they're located?

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  9. Izzy,
    do you have final pics of the oven. Curious on how you finished it.

    Thanks
    Dan

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