Cob Oven cont'd....

 
First fire, first course...slow warming of the cob 

 

 
Building it up...

 
Beginning another day of mud stomping...

 
Late night cobbing.  We ran out of clay late...so we made a run to the rive for more buckets of clay.  We wanted to finish it the best we could last night.

 
Needing to start cobbing the top with finish coat.

 
It was a cloudy day and with the tarp/roof over the oven the photos are kind of dark.  Although, this one was at night.  I used a flash despite it being daytime.  So...everything is a bit washed out.

 
 

 

 
Trying to keep the fire low and slow...

 

 

  
Early morning checking for cracks in the cob.  There are a few cracks in the front.

 
Cracks that need mending

 
Finish coat

 
Backside of oven

 

  

  
Bricks already blackened by the fire

 
The front needs some more rounding and smoothing out

 

 
The bricks hanging down just inside the opening are going to be trimmed off...

We were concerned about the cob slumping downward from the weight of it.  So, we started a small fire to help with the beginning of drying it out.  It seems to be holding okay so far.  We need to patch up some cracks, round off the front opening section and trim the inside bricks.  We also need to make the door for the oven and get a small piece of pipe with a damper for the thimble to control the burn.  Other things we need to do are finish the roof...we need 5 posts as the posts there now are wearing.  The roof needs covering with shingle and we have that already.  Accessories needed for the oven are a pizza/bread peel, a scraper and a brush would be great.  It's been a process.  We are happy that we decided to use the bricks inside.  It'll make a more efficient and longer lasting oven. 

 

 

Comments

[Robin Marie]

How exciting! You all have been very busy. Thank you so much for documenting this process so clearly. One thing I know for certain in my life is that I will build a cob home. Someday... An oven is definitely the place to begin! How awesome that it was a family project!