outside brick oven roof

[artigiano]

If I were to build another oven just using the building brick to round the entire oven rather than clay roof tile.... would water permeate through and dampen the insulation between the firebrick and outside building brick?  Would it matter?  For my insulation I use vermiculite, portland cement, lime with little bit water of course at 14:1:1.  We get a lot of rain here... so I am concerned, but I like this oven style:

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/attachments/21/7485d1213470658-beehive-round-brick-oven-greensboro-nc-mab-wfbo-031.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/21/beehive-round-brick-oven-greensboro-nc-3822-2.html&usg=___Lp-0SDqncGCmYGV2Opz03feuKI=&h=1859&w=1394&sz=432&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=Mk60otAaBJFTZM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dround%2Bbrick%2Boven%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1003%26bih%3D583%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=118&vpy=78&dur=2672&hovh=259&hovw=194&tx=129&ty=146&ei=a1UBTYeYHYuHswbU0o3pBA&oei=a1UBTYeYHYuHswbU0o3pBA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

[jgame]

artigiano,

As a working bricklayer I can give you a few hints. I would use type S mason cement and a fine grade sand. Use a mortar water proofing additive when you mix your batch, (Dry Block, Laticrete). Use a hard fired brick and make sure all mortar joints are completely full ( bed and head joints) keep all mortar joints 3/8" - 1/2" in width. Use a round jointer to seal and finish joint. Seal all masonry with waterproofing agent after mortar has cured. You may have to do this every year.
Hope this helps.

jgame

[artigiano]

thanks jgame.. i definately think its doable and i will leave a fair bit of space between the fire brick and brick roof ... my main concern is thermal expansion and contraction leaving some cracks in the mortar which is quite common with brick ovens.  As u say its something I can always remedy once a year.

thanks for the insight,

Al

[BrickStoneOven]

The roof on my oven is limestone so it definitely can be done. I used a water repellent on the limestone and all over the oven. I used a whole can on the lime stone because it is very porous and I used the second can around the oven. This is the stuff I used http://www.silpro.com/products/silocks_plus.shtml. It worked very well no discoloration at all, it is a little pricey though.

[artigiano]

nice, I will definately seal it with something like this.  I am curious to see the limestone oven.. any pics?

[BrickStoneOven]

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,11034.msg104571.html#msg104571

[dellavecchia]

David - Every time I go back to that thread and see your oven setup I get very envious.

jgame - Thank you very much for sharing the masonry waterproofing tips. Very informative.

John

[artigiano]

very nice!  How does the marble hold up to the heat and weather outside?

[BrickStoneOven]

It is very good. This is the first winter coming up so we'll see what happens when the season comes around. Only thing I would say is don't get the landing as granite or it will crack/break on the first fire. My uncle had a big outdoor grill area made and had the whole counter made of granite and where the charcoal grill is around it cracked because of the heat. My marble landing is good though, I think because of the granite being a lot harder than marble is why it cracked. The only thing that sucks is because of my landing being white it shows stains easy if oil or anything else isn't cleaned right away. Other than the staining the marble is great.

[Matthew]

It is very good. This is the first winter coming up so we'll see what happens when the season comes around. Only thing I would say is don't get the landing as granite or it will crack/break on the first fire. My uncle had a big outdoor grill area made and had the whole counter made of granite and where the charcoal grill is around it cracked because of the heat. My marble landing is good though, I think because of the granite being a lot harder than marble is why it cracked. The only thing that sucks is because of my landing being white it shows stains easy if oil or anything else isn't cleaned right away. Other than the staining the marble is great.

David,
My landing is made from solid 1/2" granite & I have not had any issues at all & you know how hot I run my oven.  The only way that I could see a granite landing crack is it it's not supported properly & is carrying a high weight load.  The granite on my landing is mortared to a solid steel shelf spanning the length & the width of the granite.
As far as marble goes, my kitchen counter top is honed statuario venato which is amongst the whitest of all marbles.  The staining that you're referring to is actually etching which is caused when something acidic comes in contacted with the marble.  The etching is below the surface & the only way to get rid of it is to have it professionally polished or honed.  My countertop is full of etching & to me it adds a natural patina/character to the counter.

Matt