By far, the most visited posts on this blog have been on building brick ovens. Occasionally I get calls or emails from viewer who are building an oven and want some guidance. Great! Happy to help.
Each time I build an oven (and situations are rarely identical), I use my acquired experience to improve either my efficiency or my precision or a design feature, often all three. I encourage first-timers not to be stopped by the apparent complexity of building a dome from rectangular bricks. The project may be slow and meticulous but the results are unparalleled.
The photos here show an indoor oven now in progress in a large loft space. The old industrial building had floor framing built for multi-ton fork lifts and the existing chimney offered a simple solution to exhaust (after lining the chimney with stainless steel liner.)
When building arches, I raise the front one about a half-brick higher than the one that exits the dome. With correct draft no smoke escapes and the view to the interior is clear from the top and sides. Oven floor height is determined by the height of the baker's bent elbow from the floor. This usually falls within 40-44" from the floor.
These last photos are from a man who met me a couple of years ago and got inspired. With over 30K visits, there might be more ovens out there. If you have built an oven using some of the information from this blog, I'd be glad to see the results. Thanks.
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