Kim has been working diligently on the oven to make it all beautiful. All of the tiles have been stuck on and the grout has been applied. The grout colour is terracotta.
I think that the finish is wonderful and it really is an outdoor feature, as well as a practical oven.
A close up of the tile work. I am very proud of Kim’s artistic work.
Here is the other side with the grout still wet. We still have a little bit more grouting to do on the back, but we ran out of grout, and the hardware store ran out of this colour. We have to wait a week until more stock arrives. So be it.
Anyway, I still have to apply a coat of render to the besser brick base, which I did not get around to on the weekend due to other priorities (painting the gazebo), so only a few more hours work and it will be totally finished!
I have kept all the receipts for the oven so far, and here is the shock. It has cost me $916.45 in materials and installation (including all the remaining materials required next weekend). Even though the clay was free, the tools, stainless steel flue, flue installation costs, bricks, cement, render, mosaics, grout and other sundries were not free. However, if I had managed to get a second hand flue kit (free), and installed it myself, I would have been able to cut $320 off of that price. Before we made it, we did search on-line for a pizza oven kit to compare prices, and the cheapest one available was $1600 and was half the size. I now consider my oven a bargain, and at least if it breaks in any way, shape or form, I can repair it myself and I have all the tools and materials to do it for free! It will last as long as I will.
So a bit of advice if you are thinking of building one on the cheap. See if you can source your building materials for free and can befriending a bricklayer, you will save yourself a small fortune. However, if you don’t build it yourself, you could miss out on learning some very valuable skills for the future. I can confidently put my hand to basic brick laying tasks around the home.
Well done guys! It looks absolutely beautiful, and I think you got off cheaply for such a functional, permanent feature in your home. Shows it pays to DIY.
One day I hope to come back to these blog posts for inspiration to make my own oven…
it looks very nice, now you have to get your moneys worth by using it.
It looks fabulous. Well done. I was surprised by the cost, but that happens. My outdoor kitchen…made mostly from scrounged material still cost a fair bit by the time I bought cyprus pine for the uprights that had to go in the ground, nails and stuff. I also lashed out on a new circular saw and electric drill…for the ODK but they will pay themselves off in the long run…I hope. When are you inviting us around for a pizza.
The mosaics look great! Kim has done a fabulous job.
It is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for posting the pics.
Looks great, I have made tiles to decorate our own oven, can you tell me what tile glue you used please, as its a mystery to me. They all seem to be waterproof or heat resistant, but not both!
Very cool! I am helping to mosaic a clay oven, and we’re wondering what kind of grout/mortar to use. What did you use to affix the tiles?
Hi anon. We just pressed the tiles into the render, then when it dried too quickly we used normal tile cement. The outer layer does not get very hot.
Gav
Several years later…. would you do anything differently?
I’ve been planning (okay, dreaming) of putting in a pizza/outdoor oven in for a while – mostly for the kids. We have 2 boys. 7 and 9 years and the pizza oven features highly in my plans to keep them socialising at home for as long as possible in those teenage years, by providing endless amounts of dough and toppings and a place for them and their friends a safe place to hang out/crash at.
Anywhooo
would you change anything in construction with regard to insulation (wool or perlite layer), or even doen to cosmetically (using a clay to take the mosaic rather than concrete? maybe the addition of some table/ shelf like structure on either side for holding pizzas, drinks or supplies.
regards
Kerryn.
Hi Kerryn, I noticed that you just purchased my eBook. Thank you.
As for anything that I would change, I did write a bit about what I would do differently within the book. Also, you can find a video that I made about how the clay oven is holding up a few months ago. You can watch it here;
http://youtu.be/2ULHg2C-47I
Gav x