Butera's Oven - Building Schedule

This is our actual building schedule. You might notice our building diary does not match exactly, but that's how things go. Plans used were from Ovencrafters.

Sun. 6/15/97
  • Decide how reinforcing of oven base will be done.
  • Make list of materials needed.
  • Make list of tools needed.

    • Tue. 6/ 17/97

  • Order materials for oven.

    • Sat. 6/21/97

  • Pick oven site and begin ground preparation.

    • Sun. 6/22/97

  • Dig footers.
  • Set up form boards.

    • Tue. 6/24/97

  • Put rebar and mesh in foundation space.

    • Wed. 6/25/97

  • Concrete delivered and poured by truck.

    • Sat. 6/28/97

  • Lay concrete blocks for oven base, reinforcing with rebar and concrete where necessary.
  • Cut rebar and mesh for hearth slab.
  • Bend nails for studding vermiculite layer.
  • Pick up rental concrete mixer at noon.

    • Sun. 6/29/97

  • Construct support and form for hearth slab with plywood and 2"x4"'s.
  • Pour vermiculite/cement mixture for oven slab base and stud with nails.
  • Put re-bar and reinforcing mesh in place.
  • Cut form boards for hearth slab and cut notches in them so that they slide over rebar. Use piece cut from notches to plug up space under rebar.
  • Wet form boards.
  • Put cardboard spacers in place (THIS IS THE ONE WE FORGOT)
  • Pour concrete for hearth slab and level it (does not need to be completely smooth).
  • When slab has set mark center line from front to back.

    • Sat. 7/5/97

  • Pick up mixer at noon.
  • Do a practice run of laying out hearth bricks and setting up wall bricks (We didn't have this in our original schedule. It took a couple of hours of fiddling around and put us behind schedule - but we found it absolutely necessary, for peace of mind if nothing else. However, it was at this point we decided to make the oven one brick deeper, which later caused trouble when doing the brick ceiling of the oven)
  • Mix mortar for bricks using fire clay.
  • Lay hearth bricks
  • Set front row of hearth bricks using fire-clay mortar.
  • Stand first course of bricks in place without mortar to determine oven shape and mark outline on hearth with crayon.
  • Cover hearth with drop cloth to keep it clean and have water and a sponge handy to wipe up any spilled mortar.
  • Wet bricks before applying mortar.
  • Lay bricks (standing on end) starting with door jambs.
  • Lay entrance bricks.
  • Lay bricks for rear wall
  • Mortar angle iron in place on tops of door jamb bricks to make height of opening exactly 10"
  • Lay outer entrance way bricks (see p. 2 #3 of "Throat chimney & facade" plans, and #6, 7, & 8 of photograph paper, and p. 2 of 32" x 36" plans).
  • Make template for arch form. (P. 6 #4)
  • Brace walls of oven.
  • Lay first arch course (furthest back) starting with end bricks which rise off of walls (p. 6 #6)
  • Move template forward and lay second arch course.
  • Move template forward and lay third arch course and leave template in place.
  • Set up boards across bricks at front of oven to support a row of bricks coming directly off of the angle iron on the door jambs. (See p. 3 of 36 loaf oven plans)
  • Shape bricks for final course which joins third course of arch with slanted bricks at front. (I think this is the point where we were ready to jump off a bridge and called Alan for help and moral support. If you can have an actual mason there for only one day of your project - this would be a very good day to do it).
  • Lay shaped bricks and fill all gaps.
  • Remove form from inside.
  • Brick and fill holes and gaps from outside of oven.
  • Mortar up any ledges on inside of oven.
  • Build throat chimney and facade including flue.

    • Sun. 7/6/97

  • Lay 4 layers of heavy foil over brick arches and rear wall of oven.
  • Put 6" x 6" wire mesh over oven sides and top propped 1/2" off bricks with brick chips.
  • Put plywood form in place 2" out from oven.
  • Pour concrete in form and tamp into place (p. 7 #5)
  • Trowel concrete across top of oven.
  • Start very small drying fire of kindling.

    • Mon. 7/7/97 - Fri. 7/18/97

  • Build successively larger fires, or use electric heater. (Mostly we used an electric heater since we were not at home enough to build the required fires).

    • Sat. 7/19/97

  • Build housing for oven with concrete blocks.
  • Fill space between oven and housing with vermiculite.
  • Top oven housing with 3/4" plywood.

    • Sun. 7/20/97

  • Coat entire oven with cement as base coat of stucco.
  • Place heater back in oven. (We kept the heater going until the whole project was finished)

    • Sat. 7/26/97

  • Stucco outside of entire oven, putting decorative tiles in place, setting vent in place in back of oven.
  • Make wooden door for oven. (This was merely a piece of 2"x 12" board cut long enough to cover the oven opening. We prop it in place with a brick. It lasted a year, and we have to replace it only because it got left off and rained on and warped badly).
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