Day 14

This morning Tom and I wake up with a great sense of accomplishment. Tom confessed that he'd been concerned all week about pouring the hearth bed foundation since he'd changed two major elements in the construction, the support system and then the insulation. In the end, he's very, very pleased with the outcome.

Our week started out with getting all the re bar tied into place.

 Next Tom built the hearth bed form. Then he had to cut a slot for each piece of re bar to go through. There was a lot of detail work to this form which you can see in the following photos.

A slot was cut out for each piece of re bar to allow for
the re bar to pass through the form walls.

Several layers of duct tape were added to the sides of each
cut out so that they would stay in place during the pour.

The cut outs were put back in place. Now when the concrete is poured it
 will not flow through to the outside of the form.

Here you can see the space that needs to be left open
and clear of concrete. This will allow for the expansion and
contraction that will occur each time the oven is fired.

Tom then built a protective box around the ash dump so that it too would stay clean when the concrete was poured.

Bradley giving Tom moral support as Tom checks
the support structure.  Petie on the other hand
prefers to be a sunbather.

Now we were ready to start mixing cement and pouring. 

While Tom was mixing cement, I dumped mixture into the frame.

We'd screed each section as we went across

In the end, my hands proved to be the best tool to work the cement
around and under the re bar making sure there were no air pockets.

With the pour complete, now it was time for Tom to start troweling. It was fascinating to watch the  surface of the cement become smooth as Tom  worked the trowel over the surface.

As Tom ran the trowel over the surface the last few times he added just a hint of water to keep the surface moist. At the day's end we covered the whole oven base since the weather forecast had the evening temperatures dipping down to freezing.

I did take the tarp and covers off the oven today as well as wet the cement. The covers and tarp were put back on the base this evening since the temps were again going to dip down to freezing.

And this morning I was able to go to the Mason Supply Yard and pick up the Red Brick that Tom will use for the chimney and the face of the oven!

Tom did take the form off the oven base this evening. He did it in the dark with a headlamp on! I'll be sure to post some pictures tomorrow so that you can see how it all turned out. Thanks again for stopping by. Thoughtfully Kath

The pour is done!

We're starting to pour the hearth bed - a little breezy but otherwise a perfect day!

Day 13 1/2

With the dwindling daylight, Tom inserted the last of the Foamglass into the oven base. I had the hard job of walking over the top of the Foamglass to even out all the panels. This whole experience with this insulating product has been very interesting.

This also marks a very exciting time in the oven's construction. The next phase will now be to pour the cement/luminte mixture over the Foamglass with re bar embedded for strength. And then . . . Tom starts laying the firebrick!

I also met with the electrical contractor yesterday to go over the work we need done for the project. My spiral arm mixer is 3 Phase. A buck booster is used to bring our standard electrical service up to 3 Phase in the prep room. We also went over the specs to have electric run out to the BakeHouse oven building and Tom's workshop. So there it is, with the increasing daylight in to the evening, it enables us to work during the week which is very exciting.

I've also taken my 3 cultures out of dormancy. They are very cranky, but with scheduled TLC they come around quickly. I've promised them that this is it - no more cold storage. My plan now is to start making small batches of bread a few times a week, baking them in my Cloches. I'm looking forward to the the schedule - I've missed it very much. The quietness of the morning, the familiar sounds of each task and the satisfaction of watching the dough come to life.

Thanks again for stopping by and we'll catch up with you all this weekend! Thoughtfully Kath

Day 13

Day 13 turned out to be more productive than we initially thought. Tom was able to get the final frame bracket in place, and the beginning stages of preparing for the hearth base have begun.

These pictures show that there is only one layer of Cement Board. In the end, two layers were actually used. Using two layers will make up some distance that will be needed when cement is poured for the hearth base.

FOAMGLASS!
Finally, the day arrived for this funky product to be put in place. It has an odd smell, like sulfur. It's rigid, yet soft. Strong but fragile. It reminds us of pumice stone but not as hard. And when you put it in place, and it rubs together, it reminds me of finger nails on a chalk board!

The Foamglass was very easy to cut.

We still have one more shipment of Foamglass coming. It will be place directly on top of the first layer. We're hoping that the shipment will arrive early this week so that Tom can start to work on the forms for the hearth base cement pour next weekend.

We want to take this time to welcome all our new followers. We really are encouraged by all the inquiries we've received and we enjoy keeping you up to date on the progress of the BakeHouse.

So until next time - be well - Kath

Day 12 1/2

Paper Work!

Day 13 looks like it might be a challenge in coming together. Only 1/2 of the Foamglass order arrived yesterday and we're not sure if the rest of the order will come in time for Tom to get the base in place. The forms actually have to sit on top of the Foamglass, so he's planning on doing what he can if the second shipment doesn't make it from California.

In the meantime . . . I decided that it was time to go through all the BakeHouse order forms & flyer's that we used in New Jersey and get them all updated with our new information. In doing so, it was like taking a trip back in time. As I updated the Wholesale order forms for the NJ Shops that carried our bread, I did get a little bit of a lump in my throat. The bread forged so many precious friendships. I'm grateful for the age of Social Network that enables us to keep in touch so easily! So a shout out to Michelle at Nature's Harvest in Blairstown, NJ; Brant and crew at The Health Shoppes in Morristown and Chester, NJ and Reid and crew at the Sussex County Food Coop in Newton, NJ. And to all the customers that enjoyed our bread, you are all in my heart as we're rebuilding the BakeHouse here in New Mexico. Thoughtfully - Kath

Day 12

A change in the plan . . . . .
All week long Tom had a plan in his head on how he was going to create the support for the hearth bed. With the Foamglass arriving this Tuesday he wanted to get the support base welded and the forms cut and inserted so that next weekend we could pour the cement base and insert the re bar for the hearth bed. Well, Friday night came and Tom realized that although his idea of a steel support base was what he wanted to do, working with a rigid welded frame would not give him any flexibility to work with the little inconsistencies of the block foundation. And in the end not allow for him to get the support base level.

Our 2006 Oven Base

This is what Tom did with our original oven in 2006. After the base of
cement mixed with vermiculite was poured and the hearth bed set, the wooden
base was then removed from the bottom.

Now that it was Saturday, and all of the contractor supply houses closed for the weekend, we found ourselves at the Big Box stores getting the SuperStrut product that Tom decided would be a better choice for base. We ended up buying out the product at both Home Depot and Lowe's!

Tom cuts the channels to length

Each channel is bolted to the side of the foundation wall

The channels are all bolted together

The frame taking shape

Securing all the channels

An almost completed frame. Just a few more channels will need to be added.

In the end, we're pleased with the change in plan. With just a little more work to finish the support frame, Tom will be able to build the forms this coming weekend and then we'll plan on pouring the hearth bed on the weekend of 2/4.

Thanks for stopping by and we look forward to getting you next weeks update.
Kath