First steps to the oven...

When I first started thinking of building a wood fire oven ---which was basically all the time once I decided to build it. And because it was just going to be just me building it,   I needed to do build it in a way I could handle and efficiently. First, I read  Kiko Denzer's book,  "Build Your Own Earth Oven" I also downloaded  "Building A Traditional Clay Oven."   Then signed up for a newsletter sent out by Forno Bravo. There's lots of good information online... and pictures too so it is a good idea to look at those before deciding on what kind of oven would work for you.  I decided to do the Earth Oven with a combination of bricks around the bottom half of the oven and the opening.


After determining where to put the oven, the first thing I needed to build was the cement slab, in which the plinth would rest.  If you don't know this, be warned, cement work is HARD work and the thought of possibly mixing at least seven 40 pounds bags of cement seem very daunting. So...as with each step I do when I am building things, I spent weeks thinking it out.  I decided while I building the frame to lay used bricks taking up as much area as possible so not as much cement would be needed.  I only had to mixed three bags to get my slab done!  But it was still hard work.  


Next:  The plinth!