Poseidon's Oven – – Part three. Non-fiction.

In part one we selected the site and laid down the slab and in part two the base section of the oven was built.

Poseidon’s  Oven Part 3

With the boxing in place for the floor of the oven, Pete commenced to lay steel reinforcing and concrete to create a strong slab. The reinforcing was inserted in layers as the thickness of the slab grew to 6 inches. On completion, all that could be seen was a smooth slab and we waited another five days for the concrete to dry completely, before continuing with the firebox.

Because fires were going to be built on this floor in the future, Pete had to use fire bricks, manufactured to withstand higher temperatures. More importantly, they retain heat. Consequently, the second step was to lay a firm layer of fire bricks atop the slab. Approximately 96 of these were laid side-by-side to form a solid floor. Then more fire bricks were stacked two bricks high at the sides and the full height of the firebox at the back. The side and back fire bricks were mortared into position, before boxing was constructed around the outside, leaving a 4 inch space to be filled with concrete. These thick concrete sides were necessary to support the oven dome.

To prevent the sides from collapsing in on themselves when the thick concrete was built up to support the dome, wooden reinforcing boards were inserted from side to side beforehand. When the sides were finally completed, another week was then set aside for the new concrete to cure.

To build the dome it was necessary for Pete to make a curved wooden template. Starting at the back, in front of the back wall, he laid one row of fire bricks at a time over the template. As the mortar in each row dried, he removed the template and moved it one row forward. Gradually, the shape of the dome became obvious, and at last the whole inside lining of the firebox was completed.

The next step required lots of concrete to complete the thick dome roof. I was amazed at the thickness of the emerging oven.

Unfortunately, we were plagued by showery weather at this time. After the concrete part of the dome was completed, it took several weeks before we were granted enough consecutive days of dry weather to begin lighting small drying fires inside. Once alight these fires were extinguished after 3 to 5 minutes. They were simply to help the concrete dry out and to help cure the concrete in preparation for bigger fires later. Due to all the wet weather the fires caused a crack in the top of the dome where steam issued out after lighting the first fire.

I was devastated. “Not a crack!” I exclaimed.

But Pete wasn’t too disheartened. “I think it’ll be fine,” he said, and it was.

The last job he had for the dome was to build the front archway. That required another template, somewhat smaller, and when completed, it formed the inside entranceway or doorway to the oven.

My education was expanding. I hadn’t realised that ‘wood-fired’ meant exactly that, and that the fire was in the firebox with the food.

“Oh, you light the fire in there!”

Please note: the space  you can see between the archways was later sealed up with cut fire bricks cemented in with mortar..