The Fresh Loaf

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Earth Oven Pics

shimpiphany's picture
shimpiphany

Earth Oven Pics

up to the thermal layer on a new earth oven, and i hope to be baking bread by the end of july.

 

I built the base out of reclaimed concrete (a former backyard patio) and scavenged concrete blocks. with the sand, firebrick and tools i'm in this about $120 bucks. and, of course, about 2 grand in labor - but hey, that doesn't count, right?

 

this took about 3 months from the initial conception to this point, with about 5 good days of work. most of the time was spent collecting the materials.

 

send me good vibes that this thing doesn't collapse or explode or otherwise crush my now fragile hope.

 

the girl and the concrete:


the core:

half finished:

the finished base:

creatively focused image of the insulation layer, wine bottles and a mud/perlite mixture:

the mud subfloor. a layer of sand goes over this, and then the firebrick hearth:

 

my dad and the firebrick hearth:

 

the first thermal layer and the brick arch:

 

and a final close-up of my rather rough first layer:

 

if the thing survives the removal of the sand, i'll post more pictures. wish me luck!

Comments

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Looking foward to the finishing.

May the "forces" and a box of sturdy rubber gloves be with you!

Mini O

trudy's picture
trudy

The piccies are fab, I would love one of these! as it is we will be getting some dry stone soon for a wall, maybe we will over order a little bit and I can hint heavily to him, good luck with the finishing and I can't wait to see the finished products of this creation, T xx

gavinc's picture
gavinc

Thanks for sharing your pics.  I await the progress reports with interest.  It's good to see enthusiasts having a go at building backyard ovens of different designs and approaches. It's rather exciting when you are completion and firing it up for the first time.  The rewards are many happy hours with family and friends.  Good work.

Gavin. 

 

JMonkey's picture
JMonkey

Looking forward to seeing the final product, and the products that come out of the final product ....

susanfnp's picture
susanfnp

Looking good, thanks for posting these photos! I'm starting serious work on mine this week and it's reassuring to see that your pics look exactly like what I have in mind to do (following Kiko Denzer's instructions).

 I'm sending you lots of good mud vibes and looking forward to more of your progress.

Susanfnp

http://www.wildyeastblog.com/

shimpiphany's picture
shimpiphany

if you would like to benefit from some of my mistakes...kiko's book can be maddeningly imprecise in some critical places. also, i decided to do this all myself (except for the oven floor, with my dad), which is something i would NOT recommend to anyone else. it's hard work!

 

good luck on your oven! hopefully your SO is as supportive as mine as you disappear into the mud...