Granny smith apple in full bloom, with a spring moon right at the top.
we began the pursuit of building an adobe oven in the spring. After gathering three soil samples we added equal parts water to each and let sit for a few days.
mixed thoroughly the solids are suspended and will begin to settle.
Rocks and sand first with then finer silt then clay at the top with any other organic material floating.
This is a frame to make our test bricks
The light top layer is the clay. This test give us an idea of the type of soil we have on the property to work with. The right most jar is nearly all clay so we can use that soil and add to out various mixes during the build . The middle jar became our primary mixing soil. not to much clay plenty of sand and very little debris to sift out.
Test batch finding the right mixes for strength and integrity
We found our mix
made 40 bricks 7x9x14 ish
Beginning demolition.
More demo and prep.
Bloody Mary...!
Now we're prepped and beginning the wall portion of the project
Making the foundation for the hearth floor
Insulation layer for hearth floor
The floor
Standard fire bricks
the hearth
Piled sand form
Smoothed sand form
covered with newspaper and cover with our mix of clay and sand.
After drying a few days we dug the sand form out and lit a drying fire. On front is a make shift fire door to help the flow of air while firing
Now the second layer Mostly clay and sawdust 4-6 inches thick as the insulation layer
More drying fires
Ok its dry enough, time to cook
The first pizza with the oven.!
Its is now Saturday November 19th and there is snow on the ground
