Hi

Im looking to build a wood-fired mud oven, to be fired-up a few time a year
to cook bread and pizzas.

I was intending to use fire bricks (refractory bricks) to form the hearth
floor, but at around £2.50 each, a lot more than I was looking to pay.
Alternatively, I was thinking of using some block paviors - any thoughts?

Ted wrote:
Hi

Im looking to build a wood-fired mud oven, to be fired-up a few time
a year to cook bread and pizzas.

I was intending to use fire bricks (refractory bricks) to form the
hearth floor, but at around £2.50 each, a lot more than I was looking
to pay. Alternatively, I was thinking of using some block paviors -
any thoughts?

My neice built one once, I'll ask her what she used.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
Ted wrote:
Hi

Im looking to build a wood-fired mud oven, to be fired-up a few time
a year to cook bread and pizzas.

I was intending to use fire bricks (refractory bricks) to form the
hearth floor, but at around £2.50 each, a lot more than I was looking
to pay. Alternatively, I was thinking of using some block paviors -
any thoughts?

My neice built one once, I'll ask her what she used.

Thanks

"Ted" wrote in message
. uk...
Hi

Im looking to build a wood-fired mud oven, to be fired-up a few time a
year to cook bread and pizzas.

I was intending to use fire bricks (refractory bricks) to form the hearth
floor, but at around £2.50 each, a lot more than I was looking to pay.
Alternatively, I was thinking of using some block paviors - any thoughts?

They'd crack. Heck, why do you want the oven? To bake good bread? Lash out
on the firebricks, you don't need many for a small oven.

Mail me if you'd like to know how we built ours.

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

I was intending to use fire bricks (refractory bricks) to form the hearth
floor, but at around £2.50 each, a lot more than I was looking to pay.
Alternatively, I was thinking of using some block paviors - any thoughts?

They'd crack. Heck, why do you want the oven? To bake good bread? Lash out
on the firebricks, you don't need many for a small oven.

Mail me if you'd like to know how we built ours.

Im using the book "Build your own earth oven" by Kiko Denzer as a guide. For
my first effort I was looking to keep my costs minimal and felt that £50 for
the hearth floor was a bit much.

I would be interested in knowing how you built yours - Ill drop you a line

Ted wrote:
Hi

Im looking to build a wood-fired mud oven, to be fired-up a few time a year
to cook bread and pizzas.

I was intending to use fire bricks (refractory bricks) to form the hearth
floor, but at around £2.50 each, a lot more than I was looking to pay.
Alternatively, I was thinking of using some block paviors - any thoughts?


I bult a BBQ out of blocks removed from unwanted overnight storage rads.
They really are quite heatproof.

Better than concret blocks anyway.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

I bult a BBQ out of blocks removed from unwanted overnight storage
rads. They really are quite heatproof.

Better than concret blocks anyway.

Good idea, Ill look to see if anyone getting rid of old storage heaters
locally on freecycle

On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:51:23 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

I bult a BBQ out of blocks removed from unwanted overnight storage rads.
They really are quite heatproof.

Trouble then is that you need to light the BBQ hours before any heat
comes out :-)

--
Frank Erskine

"Frank Erskine" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:51:23 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

I bult a BBQ out of blocks removed from unwanted overnight storage rads.
They really are quite heatproof.

Trouble then is that you need to light the BBQ hours before any heat
comes out :-)

You have to have a fire in a bread oven for hours before it's hot enough to
bake in - but it's worth it.

Mary

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Frank Erskine" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:51:23 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

I bult a BBQ out of blocks removed from unwanted overnight storage rads.
They really are quite heatproof.

Trouble then is that you need to light the BBQ hours before any heat
comes out :-)

You have to have a fire in a bread oven for hours before it's hot enough to
bake in - but it's worth it.

Mary


For once I agree.

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Frank Erskine" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:51:23 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

I bult a BBQ out of blocks removed from unwanted overnight storage rads.
They really are quite heatproof.

Trouble then is that you need to light the BBQ hours before any heat
comes out :-)

You have to have a fire in a bread oven for hours before it's hot enough
to bake in - but it's worth it.

Worth destroying the planet just to bake a bit of bread in an old fashioned
way?

Now if it were properly insulated and you baked for the street..

Owain wrote:
dennis@home wrote:
Worth destroying the planet just to bake a bit of bread in an old
fashioned way?
Now if it were properly insulated and you baked for the street..

... you'd have the food police breaking down the door looking for your
hygiene certificates and haccp compliance ringbinder.

Sadly, too true. I have been involved in organising the local May Day
Carnival for the passed twenty years with proceeds going to local
charities. What we have gone through in the last couple of years in
terms of various risk assessments, safety certificates, public liability
insurances is almost beyond credibility. I suspect that it's been a
rouse of Blur's to keep the unemployment figures down by added local
govt. job's worths - who in this instance, don't seem to have a clue
about the real world, but have to do something!

clot wrote:
Sadly, too true. I have been involved in organising the local May Day
Carnival for the passed twenty years with proceeds going to local
charities. What we have gone through in the last couple of years in
terms of various risk assessments, safety certificates, public liability
insurances is almost beyond credibility. I suspect that it's been a
rouse of Blur's to keep the unemployment figures down by added local
govt. job's worths - who in this instance, don't seem to have a clue
about the real world, but have to do something!

The Army are rebuilding a bridge near me as a training exercise, but
they're not allowed to sleep in the local community centre because of
elfin safety. I know it's a bit of a rough area, but they're headed off
to Afghanistan soon...

Owain

Owain wrote:
clot wrote:
Sadly, too true. I have been involved in organising the local May Day
Carnival for the passed twenty years with proceeds going to local
charities. What we have gone through in the last couple of years in
terms of various risk assessments, safety certificates, public
liability insurances is almost beyond credibility. I suspect that
it's been a rouse of Blur's to keep the unemployment figures down by
added local govt. job's worths - who in this instance, don't seem to
have a clue about the real world, but have to do something!

The Army are rebuilding a bridge near me as a training exercise, but
they're not allowed to sleep in the local community centre because of
elfin safety. I know it's a bit of a rough area, but they're headed
off to Afghanistan soon...

Spot on. It's just not credible how stupid we are.We desperately Douglas
Adams to take these loonies to a better life for them!

clot wrote:
Owain wrote:
clot wrote:
Sadly, too true. I have been involved in organising the local May Day
Carnival for the passed twenty years with proceeds going to local
charities. What we have gone through in the last couple of years in
terms of various risk assessments, safety certificates, public
liability insurances is almost beyond credibility. I suspect that
it's been a rouse of Blur's to keep the unemployment figures down by
added local govt. job's worths - who in this instance, don't seem to
have a clue about the real world, but have to do something!

The Army are rebuilding a bridge near me as a training exercise, but
they're not allowed to sleep in the local community centre because of
elfin safety. I know it's a bit of a rough area, but they're headed
off to Afghanistan soon...

Spot on. It's just not credible how stupid we are.We desperately Douglas
Adams to take these loonies to a better life for them!

Why are us Brits so law abiding? Just do what the Europeans do, pass the
laws and obey them if you feel like it. Ever seen a Greek wearing a
crash helmet?

On 2007-10-07 13:09:35 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

clot wrote:
Owain wrote:
clot wrote:
Sadly, too true. I have been involved in organising the local May Day
Carnival for the passed twenty years with proceeds going to local
charities. What we have gone through in the last couple of years in
terms of various risk assessments, safety certificates, public
liability insurances is almost beyond credibility. I suspect that
it's been a rouse of Blur's to keep the unemployment figures down by
added local govt. job's worths - who in this instance, don't seem to
have a clue about the real world, but have to do something!

The Army are rebuilding a bridge near me as a training exercise, but
they're not allowed to sleep in the local community centre because of
elfin safety. I know it's a bit of a rough area, but they're headed
off to Afghanistan soon...

Spot on. It's just not credible how stupid we are.We desperately
Douglas Adams to take these loonies to a better life for them!

Why are us Brits so law abiding? Just do what the Europeans do, pass
the laws and obey them if you feel like it. Ever seen a Greek wearing a
crash helmet?

First point is that we are (geographically at least) in Europe - it
isn't somewhere else.

The second point is that it isn't true to say that the British are more
law abiding in a blanket way than in other European countries. I've
spent a lot of time in many of them and talked to a lot of people about
just these issues.

One difference that does separate the UK from most other countries is
that the legal system here is based mainly on precedent and case law,
whereas in most other places it's codified (e.g. based on Napoleonic
Code). However, this has extended into many parts of Europe, both
north and south.

THe far more significant issue is a cultural one as you hinted, and
that does seem to be a north/south, germanic language/latin language
one. Thus if you speak with people from the Nordic countries or
Germany, they do feel more comfortable with clear cut laws. Even so,
there are variations. For example (and these are generalisations)
Norwegians tend to be quite independently minded and so consider
respect for the individual to be important, whereas Finns tend to
value humility as an important trait.

French, Italian and Spanish people have all said to me on different
occasions that in many aspects they view the law as something to be
applied when something bad happens. Again this is a stereotype but
does give some explanation of why there is an apparent disregard for
the law. There's plenty of it, but enforcement isn't there until
there's a problem.

Going further afield, there is much more apparent lawlessness (or
perhaps apparent lack of lawful behaviour) in former Eastern Europe.
For example, the standard of driving and road behaviour in places like
Warsaw and Moscow is appalling - makes Milan seem like a Sunday
afternoon outing.

So I think there is a perception factor as well as reality.

Where we do unnecessarily shoot ourselves in the foot is in placing of
EU Directives into local law. I've looked at quite a few of these
over the years and compared UK implementations with those of other
countries. In basis, they are the same. However, in most other
countries, the detail is left out. In the UK we tend to either take
them pretty much verbatim or even worse gold plate them. We have only
ourselves to blame for that.

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-10-07 13:09:35 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

clot wrote:
Owain wrote:
clot wrote:
Sadly, too true. I have been involved in organising the local May
Day Carnival for the passed twenty years with proceeds going to
local charities. What we have gone through in the last couple of
years in terms of various risk assessments, safety certificates,
public liability insurances is almost beyond credibility. I
suspect that it's been a rouse of Blur's to keep the unemployment
figures down by added local govt. job's worths - who in this
instance, don't seem to have a clue about the real world, but
have to do something!

The Army are rebuilding a bridge near me as a training exercise,
but they're not allowed to sleep in the local community centre
because of elfin safety. I know it's a bit of a rough area, but
they're headed off to Afghanistan soon...

Spot on. It's just not credible how stupid we are.We desperately
Douglas Adams to take these loonies to a better life for them!

Why are us Brits so law abiding? Just do what the Europeans do, pass
the laws and obey them if you feel like it. Ever seen a Greek
wearing a crash helmet?

First point is that we are (geographically at least) in Europe - it
isn't somewhere else.

The second point is that it isn't true to say that the British are
more law abiding in a blanket way than in other European countries.
I've spent a lot of time in many of them and talked to a lot of
people about just these issues.

One difference that does separate the UK from most other countries is
that the legal system here is based mainly on precedent and case law,
whereas in most other places it's codified (e.g. based on Napoleonic
Code). However, this has extended into many parts of Europe, both
north and south.

THe far more significant issue is a cultural one as you hinted, and
that does seem to be a north/south, germanic language/latin language
one. Thus if you speak with people from the Nordic countries or
Germany, they do feel more comfortable with clear cut laws. Even so,
there are variations. For example (and these are generalisations)
Norwegians tend to be quite independently minded and so consider
respect for the individual to be important, whereas Finns tend to
value humility as an important trait.

French, Italian and Spanish people have all said to me on different
occasions that in many aspects they view the law as something to be
applied when something bad happens. Again this is a stereotype but
does give some explanation of why there is an apparent disregard for
the law. There's plenty of it, but enforcement isn't there until
there's a problem.

Going further afield, there is much more apparent lawlessness (or
perhaps apparent lack of lawful behaviour) in former Eastern Europe.
For example, the standard of driving and road behaviour in places like
Warsaw and Moscow is appalling - makes Milan seem like a Sunday
afternoon outing.

So I think there is a perception factor as well as reality.

Where we do unnecessarily shoot ourselves in the foot is in placing of
EU Directives into local law. I've looked at quite a few of these
over the years and compared UK implementations with those of other
countries. In basis, they are the same. However, in most other
countries, the detail is left out. In the UK we tend to either take
them pretty much verbatim or even worse gold plate them. We have
only ourselves to blame for that.

Over many years, I've been involved in lobbying the Commission over
environmental directives and also involved in CEN Standards committees.
As a result, I've been able to get a view on different countries'
attitudes to adopting EU Directives. I broadly concur with your
experiences and views. We tend to have a much more adversarial and
litigious approach - almost as if we are half way across The Pond.

"dennis@home" wrote in message
...


You have to have a fire in a bread oven for hours before it's hot enough
to bake in - but it's worth it.

Worth destroying the planet just to bake a bit of bread in an old
fashioned way?

How is it even contributing to destroying the planet?

Now if it were properly insulated and you baked for the street..

What makes you think it isn't well insulated or that I don't bake a large
amount in it? Not for the street but for two months' worth for us.

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"dennis@home" wrote in message
...


You have to have a fire in a bread oven for hours before it's hot enough
to bake in - but it's worth it.

Worth destroying the planet just to bake a bit of bread in an old
fashioned way?

How is it even contributing to destroying the planet?

Now if it were properly insulated and you baked for the street..

What makes you think it isn't well insulated or that I don't bake a large
amount in it? Not for the street but for two months' worth for us.

So you waste even more energy by freezing bread?

"dennis@home" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"dennis@home" wrote in message
...


You have to have a fire in a bread oven for hours before it's hot
enough to bake in - but it's worth it.

Worth destroying the planet just to bake a bit of bread in an old
fashioned way?

How is it even contributing to destroying the planet?

Now if it were properly insulated and you baked for the street..

What makes you think it isn't well insulated or that I don't bake a large
amount in it? Not for the street but for two months' worth for us.

So you waste even more energy by freezing bread?

You're determined to prove your point, aren't you!

No, the freezer uses far less energy than the electric oven would to bake
the amount of bread I can in the wood fired oven :-)

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"dennis@home" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"dennis@home" wrote in message
...


You have to have a fire in a bread oven for hours before it's hot
enough to bake in - but it's worth it.

Worth destroying the planet just to bake a bit of bread in an old
fashioned way?

How is it even contributing to destroying the planet?

Now if it were properly insulated and you baked for the street..

What makes you think it isn't well insulated or that I don't bake a
large amount in it? Not for the street but for two months' worth for us.

So you waste even more energy by freezing bread?

You're determined to prove your point, aren't you!

Not really, just having a bit of fun. 8-)


No, the freezer uses far less energy than the electric oven would to bake
the amount of bread I can in the wood fired oven :-)

I think you are starting to get a bit serious so I won't pull that one
apart, at least not today. 8-)