VITCAS Wood fires bread and Pizza oven

 After being a big fan of the wood-burning oven chef on YouTube for some time and having wanted to build my own pizza oven I carried out a lot of research over the years.

There are several types of ovens that you can make, from using foundry bricks which are silica based , That contain and hold heat building the oven arch takes some skill with brick work and can prove difficult.

, That contain and hold heat building the oven arch takes some skill with brick work and can prove difficult.

I was really impressed with ovens from the Australian brick oven company however costs were prohibitive, their ovens come in at around about 3 to 5000 pounds.

After further research of companies offering Kits in the UK that would not only work properly but hold heat correctly.

VITCAS based in England had a superb website and they have been numerous people documenting their builds , On speaking to them direct they were very helpful and were able to provide details of their products.

Their product is a foundry cement-based Archway and Dome including a base all of which are designed to hold heat and distributed evenly if insulated correctly.

The decision was quickly made that VITCAS Was the product and company for me.

I purchased the 1 m x 1.2m oven kit adding a 50 mm insulated base, and insulated blanket to allow me to fully insulate the dome and Archway, and their fire cement including fire silicone and high temperature tile adhesive.

The kit came within a week was on one pallet and everything was packaged up neatly I had no issues with transportation with the pallet being brought on a courier and pallet dropped to my canopy area so from door to door with a super service from VITCAS. 

My next blog addition will go through the installation and set up of VITCAS Wood burning bread and pizza oven.

Update 2020 , COVID push

 It’s been a while since I posted. 

I have completed the frame and initially clad the roof with timber lapping the timber to allow any rain to run off and protect the underside, well that didn’t work and when it rained the water poured through. 

So I removed the timber and clad the roof with slate capping with zinc and to be honest it now looks fab and in keeping with the barn.

Under the canopy I built a fitted a gas BBQ, making room for a decent wood burning oven. 

Frame in Progress

Well, I ordered the timbers for the frame from Glenalmond Timber Co Ltd who were very helpful in supplying my unusual sizes. I ordered some pretty chunky looking timbers as I want the frame to look like an old Oak frame structure and add character to the garden and fit in with my old Stone Barn.

Chunky timbers.

I decided to go really chunky also to enable me to choose between a timber or slate roof. The extra strength will allow Slate which is about a Ton in weight where as the timber roof would be about two thirds lighter. (I still have not decided which way to go just yet)

Well with my plan drawn up and timbers arrived I could get started.

Using a handsaw in conjunction with a circular saw and wood chisels I managed to get the timbers cut and I have added a few pics to give you an idea on the design and how I tied in the timbers.

Marking out the cut required.

Using the circular saw, cut the depth required before chiselling it out to remove unwanted material.

 End result a nice neat grove for the timbers to interlock into each other for strength.

The finished job ready for fitting.

As you can see I have added extra material to take the weight of the cantilever on the longer section. All tied into each other and screwed (to be bolted- once I have got the bolts)

Painting the bottom (special sealant paint)of the upright to stop it from rotting when its concreted into the ground, the post holes were dug at 1.5 meter deep to take the post right into the ground to hold them in place.

Both uprights were made in mirror images of each other so to look correct when fitted, they were placed into their holes and a horizontal timber placed onto them to enable the level to be set prior to concreting into the ground with a strong mix. 

Once they were set in concrete the horizontal timbers were added and the structure begins to take shape. Note the horizontal timbers were notched to hold them into each other then screwed for final fit the top timber will sit into the notched top of the uprights then held in place with screws.

Now with the top timber ridge in place. I now need to order more materials to get the rest of the roof timbers in place and get the structure watertight. Then its onto the groundwork for the Wood Burning oven and built in BBQ. 

Its at the planning stage

Well measuring up of the space I have to play with I now know its 7 x 3 meter so not massive space but equally a good size to play with.

As previously stated the weather in the UK is a little hit and miss and rain often upsets plans. So with a canopy planned to enable year round use of the BBQ area and wood burning oven (pizza oven) should allow me to cook and enjoy the outdoors whenever I want.

In Perthshire we can have all four seasons in one hour never mind the day.

With the plans roughly drawn up, I have identified I would like chunky timber construction, heavy timber beams that are jointed where they meet to add to strength and look of the canopy. I wanted two vertical posts that are set about 1 meter into the ground concreted in to add to the strength, with a longer overhang at the front to allow the chef to be able to stand a the BBQ and oven and still stay dry if its raining. I like the chunky timber framed look as it will go well with our 19th century barn.

As you can see the area I have to work with is a good size and being next to the patio should be a great spot for the BBQ and canopy. Lots of work to do. I have been in touch with 

Glenalmond Timber in Methven just up the road and Martin there can have timbers cut to whatever size I need. More to follow on that. 

http://www.glenalmondtimber.com/ 

That's all for now.

It all starts with an idea.

My idea is for a usable outdoor space to link my garden to my home.

Barbecuing in the UK, is often difficult due to our often wet weather, I intend to create a space I can use all year round and I hope to record my efforts here.

This will be real time so be patient and sit back I hope this is of use to you and it brings inspiration or just the motivation to give it a go. I am not a builder so if I can do it so can you.

Next post will outline the plans and preparation of this project.

Welcome and any questions please ask.

Rob