A wood-fired brick oven can add flavor to any backyard and infuse an ordinary pizza with an old-world Mediterranean taste. California homeowners Dave and Howie Cort wanted an outdoor oven for baking pizzas, breads, and even a holiday turkey. So,
Landscape Smart enlisted the aid of Raison Cain, a garden designer, and Alan Scott, an oven craftsman who has built hundreds of outdoor ovens.
Cain advises keeping fire safety in mind when building a pizza oven. Avoid placing it near a building or vegetation that could pose a fire hazard. Keep the area clear of any combustible materials, and check with your fire department about local regulations.
Cain estimates that a professional would charge $4,000 to build an outdoor oven, but do-it-yourselfers can buy materials for around $800. He rates this project a 5 on a difficulty scale of 1 (easy) to 5 (difficult) because basic masonry skills are needed. The project would take about three weekends to complete with the help of friends.
Step One: Building the Foundation
The crew built the oven's base and countertop ahead of time and at an additional cost. They used local Sonoma field stone (about $95/ton) for the base, capped with Arizona flagstone (about $240/ton) for the countertop.
On the base, pour 2 inches of the oven floor (hearth slab) in a wooden form using a mixture of vermiculite, light-weight aggregate, and Portland cement--a strong, inexpensive, insulating layer (figure A).
Smooth out the vermiculite and lay a piece of 10-gauge mesh with 6" x 6" squares to add strength to the next layer. Shovel about 2 inches of concrete on top, spreading it with a trowel. Then, screed the concrete with a scrap piece of wood to level the surface.
Mix one part fine mortar sand and one part fire clay (a heat-resistant mortar additive), and spread it on the hearth slab using a trowel until it's 1/4-inch thick. Next, start at the front of the oven and set a fire brick into the mortar. Tap it down with a mallet and make sure it's level. Place the rest of the bricks right next to each other for a tight fit (figure B). Use a mason's chisel to cut some bricks in half to fit around the edges.
Step Two: Building the Oven Walls
Place two bricks far enough apart so that your baking pans will fit (about 15 inches ) to create a door jamb, and mark their locations on the hearth (figure C). Mock up the rest of the wall, using a flat carpenter's pencil as a spacer for a 1/4" gap between bricks, and mark the placement of the bricks.
Starting with the door jamb, sink the bricks into a thin bed of mortar, ensuring that they're level and plumb. Continue with the neighboring brick, mortaring on the side against the adjacent brick and the bottom to hold it in place. After the first tier is complete, wipe off any excess mortar on the oven's interior. Next, build up the rear oven wall by laying tiers of bricks in a stretcher style, with staggered mortared joints (figure D).
Create an attractive look by mortaring red brick on the countertop in front of the oven and cover it with a flagstone mantel. Use more red brick to create a rustic facade around the doorway and to support the chimney (figure E).
Step Three: Building the Dome
Scott explains that the dome height is crucial to achieving the right oven temperature . If the dome is too low, heat will escape through the door too quickly. So, the correct proportion to achieve the right temperature is for the door to be 63 percent of the dome height.
Before starting the dome, attach plywood forms around the oven walls, leaving a 3-inch gap between the form and brick. Then, fill the space with Portland cement until it's level with the top of the fire bricks. This concrete cladding will help the oven retain heat. Let it set overnight.
Begin the dome by measuring the height of the doorway, height of the fire bricks, and width of the oven interior. Using these measurements, create two identical templates out of plywood and mock up the placement of each brick (figure F). Then, use a jigsaw to cut out the arched shape on two layers of plywood. Attach the templates to both sides of a 2' x 6' brace, which you'll use to build the dome.
Set the form on some fire bricks in the back of the oven so that it rests level with the oven walls (figure G). Mortar bricks in place starting with end pieces and working towards the middle. Let the mortar set for about 10 minutes before carefully removing the form. Then, wipe off any excess mortar from the arch's interior. Continue this process forward to finish the dome.
Insert a temperature probe (thermocouple) into one of the dome's bricks to monitor the oven temperature. When you reach the front of the oven, lean the bricks back on top of an angle iron that braces the doorway to create a downward slope toward the opening (figure H).
Because this oven is small enough for heat not to escape out the doorway, there's no need to add a door.
Step Four: Finishing the Oven
Cladding, the concrete that covers the brick, will hold the structure together and enable the oven to retain heat. Layer the dome with industrial-strength aluminum foil to allow bricks to expand and contract. Add a sheet of 10-gauge mesh over the foil, and then spread Portland cement over the dome. Let the concrete set for 24 to 48 hours before removing the forms.
Next, build a frame around the oven and cover the exposed surfaces with lath. Apply a stucco base in two layers, and finish the surface with a serrated trowel to create a bumpy texture to which the color coat can adhere. Allow the base to dry for up to 2 days. Meanwhile, build a chimney out of red brick and set a spark arrester at the top.
Finally, spread a color coat of stucco over the walls for a clean, even finish (figure I). Let it dry for at least a day before testing the oven.
Planting a Gourmet Garden
Cain uses pots on the deck to add color and plants an herb garden nearby to complement the culinary motif. He also adds colorful plants on the hillside behind the oven, including:
- 'Red Rubin' basil (Ocimum basilicum), zones 9-10
- Greek oregano (Origanum heracleoticum), zones 5-9
- California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), zones 9-10
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