WFO not getting hot enough

[graziefood]

Hey there-
We recently built a WFO and are having problems with getting the firebrick cooking base hot enough.  Barrel construction out of firebrick.  Cooking base was a solid piece of bluestone.  First firing, bluestone began to splinter and shatter.  Installed firebrick on top of it.  We are letting the oven heat for 90 minutes with a steel door on the front to retain heat.  Dough not cooking thoroughly before the top gets overdone.   Think that the firebrick isn't getting hot enough- maybe heat not transfering well through the mortar.  Any thoughts?
 

[Bill/SFNM]

Hey there-
We recently built a WFO and are having problems with getting the firebrick cooking base hot enough.  Barrel construction out of firebrick.  Cooking base was a solid piece of bluestone.  First firing, bluestone began to splinter and shatter.  Installed firebrick on top of it.  We are letting the oven heat for 90 minutes with a steel door on the front to retain heat.  Dough not cooking thoroughly before the top gets overdone.   Think that the firebrick isn't getting hot enough- maybe heat not transfering well through the mortar.  Any thoughts?
 

How sound is the wood you are using? What kind of wood? The size of the opening? The location of the chimney? The amount of heat being put out by the fire and how much of it can be trapped in the mass of the oven will have a big impact. I would guess you need to pile in more wood for more time. My oven, very different from yours takes ~3-4 hours to get up to baking temps from a cold start depending on ambient temps and quality of the firewood.

[weemis]

yeah, i'd heat it longer and make sure your wood is high on BTUs. i burn wood for 3-7 hrs, moving the coals to the side an hr before cooking.

if you've got a IR thermometer, you can tell exactly how hot it is. i got one for $20 and it was well worth the investment in helping with figuring it all out and gaining some consistency.

[pizzaneer]

Some pics would help us visualize your setup. 

[breadstoneovens]

Hey there-
We recently built a WFO and are having problems with getting the firebrick cooking base hot enough.  Barrel construction out of firebrick.  Cooking base was a solid piece of bluestone.  First firing, bluestone began to splinter and shatter.  Installed firebrick on top of it.  We are letting the oven heat for 90 minutes with a steel door on the front to retain heat.  Dough not cooking thoroughly before the top gets overdone.   Think that the firebrick isn't getting hot enough- maybe heat not transfering well through the mortar.  Any thoughts?
 

Hi There,

Let's cover the basics, how much insulation and white type under the floor of the oven.
For what I understand you left the blue stone and put the bricks over it. How thick is the blue stone? How much mortar did you use when installing the bricks? What type of fire bricks did you use?

Antoine

[Tscarborough]

Remove the firebrick and bluestone floor.  Insulate with ceramic board, replace firebrick.  Cook pizza.

A pic, please.

[Ev]

Remove the firebrick and bluestone floor.  Insulate with ceramic board, replace firebrick.  Cook pizza.

A pic, please.

That's what I was thinking.