slow day

We picked up all the perlite we could find on Gabriola this morning, but still came up a bit short. We placed a few more insulating bricks on the right side, but couldn't go much further. The slab will sit on a full ring of bricks as set up on the right side of the oven. The wall down the middle will also be covered with insulating bricks, and those will support the slab down the middle.

We peeled a few more logs that will be suitable for posts, but then kind of ran out of bakery things to do. I guess it is the weekend, but it feels strange with nothing to do. I might have to get some work done around the house!

brick laying

Today we mixed our zonolite with cement and water and shoveled it on top of the wonder board. We leveled it and started placing insulating bricks. We finished the bottom layer of bricks on the right side of the oven. There are more layers of bricks to go on, and we need some more zonolite for the left side. The opening you see in the photo is for the chimney ducting. The heated air will flow from the top of the fire box around the semicircle, and out the ducting. The slab and hearth bricks will sit above the insulating bricks to come. They will be supported around the edges and down the middle. More details on the slab when we get to it.

We have lots of sun in the forecast, so it is great to be able to work outside and listen to music and the birds and frogs. Its a wonderful feeling watching our oven grow everyday. Soon the bakery will start growing again as well.

photo albums

If you would like to browse through the photos of either the building of the bakery, or just of the wood oven, feel free to go to my picasa web album. I will try to add a few more photos of the oven construction to the album as time allows.

progress

Today we continued with the oven. We started building the fire box, using both insulating bricks (white), and fire bricks (orange). The fires will be built on a grate which sits on the supporting rows of bricks along the edges of the bottom of the the fire box.

We also cut and installed most of the wonder board in the base of the oven, which will get covered with a mixture of zonolite and portland cement tomorrow. The zonolite mix will be around 10" thick. On top of that will be many more insulating bricks.

We also received more logs to peel today, and maybe we'll get around to some more peeling and milling tomorrow.

today we are masons

Today we felt like starting the oven, so we did. We scooped a friend's cement mixer and got going. The oven was going to be rectangular, but we decided circles are nicer, so we built a round wall for the base. The gap in the front is where the fire box will be built. The cinder blocks sitting in seemingly random places within the walls are to support the wonder board which will in turn support the zonolite insulation layer which will be below the layer of insulating bricks. I think the photo shows it pretty well. Hey! There's a block missing in the top row! Oh, just a second, thats where the heated air goes out and up to the chimney.

As I said before, if that was clear as mud, you'll just have to check back tomorrow to see how it goes. Actually, hopefully tomorrow we will be helping mill the peeled logs. Our construction crew may even be back on Monday to start putting up the posts, purlins (did you remember this word from yesterday?), beams, and roof!

A quick tip for budding masons: Paul discovered that you can get really smooth joints if you lick them.

A tip for all - you can view the photos larger if you click on them. After checking out a large picture, click "back" to come back to the blog.

we have big logs

The logs that will become the posts and purlins for the bakery arrived this morning, and we promptly began peeling off the bark. We will have 16 posts, in four rows of four. Across each row of four posts, will be one 30 foot long purlin (or roof supporting beam). Staggered across the purlins will be thirty-three 6x10 inch fir beams. The roof deck will sit on top of the 6x10s. Confused? You'll just have to keep watching the bakery grow.

Luckily this picture was taken before a wind storm partially dismantled our tarp setup.

another step forward

While Paul and I were in Nanaimo picking up supplies for the oven today, Gordy stopped by and back-filled around the foundation, so that we now have nice level terrain around the building.

A couple of days ago we put up the tarp so we can keep working in case one of those rare west coast rain days comes along. We picked up some of the mortar and concrete mixes we will need to start the oven, as well as 10 of the approximately 60 bags of zonolite we will use as insulation under and above the baking area of the oven. We're planing to start sticking the cinder blocks together tomorrow.