Insulation and outer layer

Now comes the task of building the outer brick layer – we used 200 new engineering bricks that I got cheaply on gumtree.com. A normal 5:1 mortar mix of sand and cement with a splash of fairy liquid was used. As each layer went up we shoveled in some moist vermicrete mix to insulate the oven and hold the heat in.

Antonio and I mixing mortarDSCF3959 Building and insulating


Pete, our fab brickieAndy, Pete & AntonioReady to make the flue




Antonio’s wife Juliana knows the importance of feeding the workers with proper Lasagne!

JulianaJanet & JulianaStarving!

After lunch we set about cutting bricks to go round the arch and build a flue. We used a drilled out upside down flower pot to help…

Cutting to go round the archBackfilled with vermicreteNearly done


Right consistencyFlower pot flueFront wall higher than sides



Notice how we built the front wall higher than the side – roughly 4″ to allow for the roof behind.
Next the Roof