Your Basic Dome to Barrel Shape Conversion.

I read about and looked at hundreds of completed wood fired ovens (old and new) before I started this project. I was extremely satisfied with the oven design I’d used but somewhere deep inside me, I thought it would look better with a half-barrel exterior facade. Seemed simple enough in my mind–after a beer or two–to create such a facade for our oven (note to self...check alcohol % of adult beverages when things look to be pretty simple).

So with beer and trowel nearby, I laid out some bricks I’d cut in half lengthwise parallel to the side of the oven and about ½ brick away. I stood a piece of cement board up in the gap and thought this would work well to create the side of the barrel facade. Mortared in place vertically, the board kept my half bricks aligned perfectly (at least to my eye). I used some fiberglass insulation at the top of the board to keep it from pressing inward as I added bricks.

Once I got to the curving top, I laid fiberglass insulation over the perlcrete to create the “top of the barrel”. I then wedged in pieces of aluminum lath between the cement board sides to give me a mortar substrate for the top of the barrel brickwork. I cut one series of bricks (for each side) with an angle to start the run over the top and then simply continued to brick up from each side to meet at the top/mid-line.




I had added several L-screws halfway up the vertical wall so I could lay my peel or blowpipe along the oven side when not in use. I also put at couple “tall” mortar joint lumps along the top third of the oven so I could lay a tool or two on the curved surface without having it fall down. The little stair shelves built into the sides of the chimney structure have proved useful for keeping my IR-Gun and other little baking items nearby...but out of the way.

The curve over the top went pretty well, although since I was laying a row of bricks on alternating sides, the top several rows had a lot of bounce to them. If I'd made the lath a tighter fit, it probably would not have "pouched" up at the top. But, as with all my projects, if something out of the ordinary or not expected didn't happen...I'd be very concerned. And if you wondered about how difficult it was to work on the top of the facade with the minimal space to the roof trusses...it was definitely "a head thumping and clear out your pores with gallons of sweat" experience!

Another one of my “wish I would have thought about that” moments, was when I began putting finishing sheets of plywood on the back corner wall. Before the facade was in place, I could get behind the oven to work...now it was no longer possible (and it wasn’t because I’d been eating too many corn chips). Funny how just a few inches can make a whole lot of difference in construction...good thing I was never involved in any public construction projects like a dam or bridge. So, although I did get plywood around the back walls...it isn’t all securely attached to the framing. I had to simply wedge sections of 2x4s between the base of the oven stand and the plywood sheets to hold them in place. Couple screws along the top and I know they aren’t going to move, but wow, what a bonehead situation I created.

I’d like to think I learned something from this little exercise, but I’m not really sure I did... (Incidentally, there are only pictures here before the inside plywood sheets had been installed. I was pretty sure that during the traumatic install process I might have “accidentally” used the camera to pound in the friction fit 2x4s into place...therefore, I wisely left the camera in the house.)

Out With The Old or Unwrapping Your Inner Oven

Now that the oven is safely wrapped by its new enclosure, it’s time to remove the old temporary oven cover. As has been said for many generations, I wish I would have done this differently. I initially thought that by waiting to remove the temporary cover until the permanent structure was in place was a good idea. I don’t think so anymore! I neglected to realize how difficult it would be to remove the higher parts when I now had a low ceiling to work under. I also was unable to envision that getting behind the oven with the added plywood walls would have worked better if I was the size of a six year old kid...oh well, as Swoosh Logo Shoe slogan says,  I’d have to “just do it”. After a week of bonking my head and back and elbows, I’m really glad that bruises heal, skin repairs itself, minor cuts stop bleeding pretty quickly when it’s cold...and I’m especially thankful that I inherited an exceptionally hard head from my parents.

It’s also now confirmed (at least to me) that simply putting more nails and screws into a temporary structure because you are only using scraps of wood while cobbling things together because you are too cheap to do it right for a temporary structure...is a really poor building strategy in both the long and short run. (Yes, I acknowledge you have just experienced a single, extremely long sentence–composed poorly–of 57 words. I further absolve both my third grade teacher, Mrs. Parch, and my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Balzer, of any responsibility for this breech in grammatical etiquette.)

It was good to finally get the oven exposed again. I was actually amazed how much junk wood and materials came out of the den during this phase. You’ll be happy to know that I only saved the pieces of metal roofing from the temporary structure...I just don’t know where I’m going to use them yet.

One last fix was for a gap, jag, and exposed piece of angle iron on one side wing edge (you can see the issue if you look closely at the first picture in this post) of the supporting slab. Following my normal pattern and extraordinary lack of common sense, I used every scrap piece of wood I could find with multiple clamps to hold wood together at impossible angles. (So I guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks...)

I took the picture of my clamp and wood frame just because nobody would believe it otherwise. The scrap form didn’t have to hold much weight in any direction (and there were no pending inspections) so I got the top left wing “squared away” without any further issues and Voilà!

Now there is no evidence of my really shoddy top slab work– other than this blog of course...but then how many people will read it anyway?

We've Been Framed!

Time to start giving the set posts a real supporting role in this structure!

Double top plates were leveled and nailed to the posts. We started building roof trusses in the garage where we could lay them out flat and then bringing them out to set on the plates. Trusses were set at 16" centers on the top plate and 3/8" plywood sheeting was secured on top. One truss had to be “custom fitted” to go around the oven chimney stack.










The finished structure was not absolutely solid, so we added chunks of 4x4 at each post truss junction for bracing. That worked great and now we couldn’t budge the frame at all. Door frames were built and placed for the two entry door openings (front–French Doors set and back–wood cart access).

Horizontal boards and base plates were set between posts for attaching plywood skirting around the outside of the den. I borrowed a friend’s pickup and got some exterior plywood from the local Home Depot. Putting four full sheets of plywood on the outside corner of the den behind the oven, making it seem more like an enclosure for an entertaining place (instead of a car port for extremely small vehicles).

Next, we cut and placed pieces of plywood along the bottom and top of the den framing. Our intent was to have screened windows all around, so we could enjoy the great out of doors without the great out of doors residents (mosquitoes, yellow jackets, flies, etc.) enjoying us and our meals. 

Roofing felt and metal roofing sheets were put in place. Of course, a storm was predicted before I got the metal roof, so it was "throw all the scrap wood you can find up onto the roofing felt" so it doesn't blow off. Cutting and positioning the roofing metal around the chimney was a real adventure...I just don’t have the words to describe it...let me just say that the word kludge is now something with deep, personal relevance.

Kludge - A kludge or kluge (/klʌdʒ, kluːdʒ/) is a workaround or quick-and-dirty solution that is clumsy, inelegant, inefficient, difficult to extend and hard to maintain. This term is used in diverse fields such as computer science, aerospace engineering, Internet slang, evolutionary neuroscience, and government.
(Source: Wikipedia - not because I trust Wikipedia, far from it, but because it fits my definition of the word at this moment.)

With the roof on, the next job was addition of the window and door screening. Bob, our neighbor, is a fabulous wood worker and had some extra cedar molding pieces from their house build. We talked about the screen framing I envisioned and then we ripped the pieces needed for the job. Susan and I cut the metal window screening to length for each section. I wanted each section to be easy to replace (since I’d had a lot of experience going through screened doors as a kid). Each screen section was stretched tight and stapled in place.

Next, we put the cedar molding around each section to give it a finished look and to provide extra support for the staples (since I’d had extensive experience with staples pulling out when you least expected it). We did the same for the French Doors and back door. At last we had refuge from the elements and established for the critters in the area a "no flying or feeding zone".

Gimme (a Real) Shelter!

Over the winter, Susan convinced her brother Jerry and his wife Barb to come out and stay with us for a couple of weeks in the spring of 2010. She casually mentioned that if he could help me build a little enclosure over the oven it would really be great. Little did he know that the “little enclosure” would involve building a 16' x 16' roofed structure with French Doors, directing and supervising a total novice at building (me), no pickup to transport material, and needing a few tools that were pertinent to the task (note that purchasing a few tools would eventually mean helping the Roseburg Home Depot turn an unexpected and tidy profit for the month).

Fortunately, with the prompting and promise of good beer and great food, Jerry agreed to the task Susan had set before him. (Historical Note: If you have limited experience with the skills needed to construct a wood fired oven entertainment area, make sure you have access to a wide variety of adult beverages and a fabulous relationship with someone who is wonderful cook with brothers skilled in masonry and construction work who will travel across country to visit!)

After getting over the stunning revelation that the oven enclosure was going to be quite large, Jerry settled in to figuring out what we’d need to build it. First we had to buy a table saw and a large variety of various sized tools needed to accomplish the construction. Next I borrowed a 10" chop saw from my friend Dean. Adding up the basic structure’s wood requirements, we rented a truck and headed to Home Depot. Posts, 2x6 boards, and sheets of plywood were piled in the truck and brought home. Next came the staking out and locating where the posts would be set for the den. Digging, cursing, placing/bracing, and finally using post hole "RapidSet" cement got us to the point where it looked like we’d actually accomplished something other than spending money and drinking beer...not that those are bad things...

Seeking Shelter From the Storm

As normal for late fall in southern Oregon, the serious rain was literally on the horizon. I figured I’d better get started on building some sort of sturdier, short term shelter for the oven as soon as possible. It was fairly obvious that the blue tarp, rope, bucket, and bags were really not the ticket for long term protection from the weather. Once again, my inexperience and lack of spatial concepts made for an interesting construction process of the temporary cover.

During the next break in the weather, I took the tarp off and started to build a frame for my temporary enclosure. Looking back on it now, I probably should have had a plan or at least asked somebody with some building experience for help...

I figured if I just put up four corner 2x4's and tied them together with sheet metal roofing on a top frame, and threw on some fiberglass insulation I had laying around, it would be “good enough”...apparently not...

After adding more side supports braced with angle brackets tacked into the hearth and plywood siding to stop the sway, it looked like my oven would be dry for the winter...again...apparently not...even half sheet trays diverting rain away from the gaps around the chimney brick and roofing.

It turned out that water would condense on the underside of the metal roofing at night and early morning. In fact it wasn't “just a few drops” it was almost like it rained underneath the roof onto the fiberglass insulation which just greedily soaked up the water. In less than a week, the fiberglass was literally dripping wet when I removed it to create temporary roof structure 2.0

Off came the roofing sheets and down went some plywood as a roof base. I covered the plywood top with Tyvek, and added flashing around the edges. I realized that I’d want something to keep water from dripping down the side of the chimney, so I incorporated flashing into the chimney as I built it up further. I also stepped the chimney bricks in to allow me to firmly set my chimney cap in place (instead of keeping it in place with the BBQ grill and nylon line...ouch!).

Next, I reattached the metal sheets and set them so the flashing embedded in the chimney would drip out onto the sheets and not down into the landing area. That system stopped the very successful internal drip system I had unintentionally created with version 1.0 and made for a reasonable oven shelter that lasted through the wet winter months.






So, here's my Hillbilly shelter for the oven going into the winter of 2009-2010. The empty cart bays in the oven's support base turned out to be a pretty good place to keep some of my stuff dry through the winter as well.