new door frame

The look of the oven changed dramatically again yesterday. Chris (the mason we had doing the work), placed the formed pieces in the top of the fire box, and lined it all with ceramic blanket, then began the block work that will hold the doors. I had to step out after the first blocks were laid, and when I came back, I saw the finished product in the lower photo. What a transformation! We'll wait until Thursday to light a small fire, and then it's back to business as usual.

Oven Repairs Under Way

On Sunday we took apart the inside portion of the fire box (top photo). Today we built the form for the new wall of the fire box, poured it, and prepared the two pieces that will sit on top of the wall, and the small slab that will become the new ceiling of the box. The ceiling will have a ceramic blanket placed between it and the underside of the main slab of the oven. Tomorrow we're going to build some block work in front of the fire box to create a more solid attachment point for the fire box door. The blocks and door will also be insulated from the main firebox by a gasket of ceramic fiber blanket.