Mother's oven is falling apart - How do I fix???

[Elijah Uteri]

Question -

I'm new to PizzaMaking.com and I'm hear to ask a question from professionals.  My mom in Maine had a pizza oven built by Northstar Stoneworks and it's not working.  From what I saw, again (I'm not a mason or bricklayer) the oven mortar was coming off in chunks and the oven smoked excessively out the front and very little out of the chimney.  Is this normal?  I see many ovens that have smoke / soot on the front of the ovens, so I guess this is the norm?!?  But as for the mortar falling out, I'm pretty sure this isn't normal. 

My mom's called the mason, but after telling him the trouble, he refuses to fix the problem or return her calls (thanks Caller ID).  I've left email after email at his website- truebrickovens.com, but no reply.  I'm going to try to fix this oven myself - the exhaust problem is due to a 4" exhaust pipe (too small), so I'm going to put in a 6" .. but what about the mortar.  Can I just use a high-temp refractory mortar to fix the excessive chipping?  Any suggestions on brands?  Do I need to do anything special before reapplying the mortar??


ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

Elijah Uteri

[Tscarborough]

Pictures.  Up close, far back, inside and out.

[Chicago Bob]

Elijah ,
That sounds like a real horror story and I hope you intend to pursue this guy legally.
For now, there are some great people here that I'm sure will shortly come to your assistance. Hang in there friend.
How long has your Mother had this oven and how long a period did this guy work on building it?

Bob

[breadstoneovens]

Hi Elijah Uteri,

Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear about the problems.
Some smoke is normal especially at the beginning of heating up your oven or if your wood is not dry enough. Now 4" is kind of small, I use a 6" pipe on my smallest ovens and you may need bigger than 6". How bid is your oven?
For the mortar falling off it is not normal at all. You could put some refractory mortar to replace it, but it is expensive and you don't want to then see your bricks falling off. So first we need to know how bad the mortar and brick work is.

Would be great if you could provide measurement of the oven, list of the materials used if you have it and pictures.

Good luck,

Antoine

[shuboyje]

I hope the builder steps up and helps with the issues.  He is certainly out spoken about poorly built and designed ovens on his website, and those who live in glass houses....

[Chicago Bob]

I hope the builder steps up and helps with the issues.  He is certainly out spoken about poorly built and designed ovens on his website, and those who live in glass houses....

He also a writer.....

"For twenty years he toured the country as a professional storyteller before cooling his heels in rural New England. His background in story creation enters his work as a landscape designer, "

[Tscarborough]

Reading his website and blog, it looks like he has everything right.  From where did the brick fall out?

[correctbuilder]

Elijah,
Another user of this forum alerted me to the mix-up in identifying me, David Neufeld, and my company, North Star Stoneworks, as the builder of your mother's oven.  My oven building company is True Brick Ovens.  I did not build the oven pictured. I also did not build the other oven mentioned. 
I would appreciate your help in clearing this up as it gives a very bad impression.  My website: truebrickovens.com and my blog: truebrickovens.blogspot.com will confirm that I am not the man (see photo on blog) who did the work.
I use either 8" x 12" clay flues or minimum 8" metalbestos chimneys on all my brick ovens. 
I have a portable oven of my own that is 5 years old and has been down the worst roads in New England without failure and I am available to all my past clients at: 207.650.3978.  Does this match the number you/she called? Not likely.
I would be glad to advise you on repairs as I have done with others who have built or bought faulty ovens.
Please, when you are satisfied that I am not the builder, post a retraction.
David Neufeld
True Brick Ovens

[pizzaneer]

Never saw any pictures of this mystery oven - where are they?

[Pete-zza]

He also a writer.....

"For twenty years he toured the country as a professional storyteller before cooling his heels in rural New England. His background in story creation enters his work as a landscape designer, "

Bob,

I received a Report to Moderator email from correctbuilder (David Neufeld) in respect of your post stating that all the posts regarding the building of Elijah Uteri's mother's oven are incorrect. In fairness to Mr. Neufeld, we should all refrain from criticism of his company pending further response from Elijah.

Peter

[Steve]

This sounds like a case of mistaken identity.

Unless the original poster can prove that his oven was built by North Star Stoneworks, then I'm going to have to delete this topic.

[sajata]

Correct builder,
More importantly is there a builder out there using you web site as a reference, then doing sub standar work using your brand.  Do you meet every customer yourself?  Do you have a picture of yourself  on the web site in a prominent place?   That would be a big deterrent to this kind of fraud.  Also mention on your web site that they will work with you personaly.  That way the neferious person cant say your busy and they are taking your place. 

Being in the security biz I see this kind of stuff all of the time. 

[correctbuilder]

Thank you to all who have helped me correct this event. 
My websites and my blog prominently display photos of me, my work, and my contact info.
We can't entirely prevent the hijacking of our businesses unless the customer does a double-check of who is doing the work.  With brick ovens, I would recommend that anyone anticipating building or buying one should comb the internet for companies/builders they can speak to in person and then check on the projects they have already done.
I personally build all of the ovens that True Brick Ovens makes.  I am on the job myself, and I provide an inservice for the customer so that they fire it and cook in it safely.  It's also a fun celebration at the end of the project.

 'Uteri' doesn't seem to be a surname anywhere.  It turns out that 'Uteri' is plural or Uterus (yep!).  Could be that there is the Mothers?

Now I'll get back to the serious business of being a mason.

[pizzaneer]

This sounds like a case of mistaken identity.

Unless the original poster can prove that his oven was built by North Star Stoneworks, then I'm going to have to delete this topic.

Steve, this topic is certainly enlightening to say the least.  If it could be left as an example of shady practices, that could help other builders out there.  I had no idea that someone could jack a business in this way... if that was the case.

[sajata]

believe it or not most phishing and spear phishing attacks are prosecuted under copyright violations.  This is the easiest thing to prove and can be prosecuted quickly.  then the burden of proof is on the accused to show authorization to use.