Timo's Oven...Because I can!

Hello, my name is Tim and I am building a Pompeii brick oven over the 2009 summer (hopefully). A lot of you may be wondering why build a brick oven in the first place? Well, you're not the first to ask, and won't be the last. It has to do with the process and challenge of the task and the sense of making something totally unique.

That's why I ride an orange Stella scooter from Genuine Scooters. How many people do you know that ride Harleys? Now, take it easy, I love Harleys, too, but the point is to  be unique (and cheap) I ride a scooter. That's my father-in-law on my scooter. He had something very similiar to it way back when Sears sold Vespas. I'm the other dude.

Now this Pompeii OvenBlog is to document my journey: The challenges and frustrations, the knowledge gained, and mistakes made for others to hopefully avoid.

The next post will offer some background information about getting started and plans for making a three minute pizza and baking 25 lbs. of bread by the beginning of school this fall!

The plan for the Pompeii oven is simple. Use about 200 halved firebricks and about 2 tons of cement to create a 700 degree inferno for cooking. The type of cooking here is based on ancient methods.

Here are some of the basics layout requirements put out by the Lake County Building Department

1. Said structure must be at least 4' from any other structure and combustables.
2. Property set backs of 7' and 15' must be used. I live on a corner and already talked with my neighbor, Mark. He's cool with the whole idea. I will be sure to share some good food with him.
3. 5" crushed rock and 5 1/2" of concrete wil satisfied the permit inspector for the oven base. If the base uses let's say (40) 80# bags of concret, that's 3200 pounds. I will survive a tornado in this structure. That doesn't even include the concrete block stand that goes on the base.
4. Before building can begin, must call in for set back inspection.

That's about it for now. Here's a picture of

where the oven will go.

I had to take out part of the deck. I hate wood decks, so my plot to slowly replace the deck with concrete has begun.

Here's what it looked like about an hour after working.

Here's what it looked like after three hours. That's all for now.