Introduction: DIY Pizza Oven

By Dad DIY website
About: I’ve done my fair share of DIY projects, including home maintenance, decoration, school projects, vehicle repair and even some cooking the dad way. As a home handyman I find it really rewarding to complete a j…

How to build a pizza oven Overview

Having your own wood fired pizza oven is really awesome, not only for making pizza, but all kinds of wood fired oven dishes.

This is a project I've been wanting to do for a long time. I've done research, looked at many online examples, taken ideas from those that I thought were useful and came up with the following.

Please note: My design is built in a very narrow corner in my garden, so the base is tapered towards the back (as per photos). This tutorial is based on a normal square base (as per drawings).

Disclaimer

This instructional guide and the material covered is for informational purposes only. I take no responsibility for what you do with this knowledge. Please consult your local building code for best building practices and planning permission.

Safety Information

Use safety equipment when operating equipment. Take necessary precautions to avoid injuries to persons/animals and damage to property when operating equipment. Always abide by the manufacturers safety information and warnings when using equipment.

Supplies

Tools required

Materials required (see figure 1)

1. Cinder blocks - 6" (150 mm), Qty: 20

2. Lintels - 4' (1220 mm) long , Qty: 9

3. Paving bricks, Qty: 68

4. Bags of cement - 50kg, Qty: 2

5. Bags of building sand - 25kg, Qty: 15

Step 1: Cast the Foundation

First off we need to create a foundation for the pizza oven. Dig an area 4' (1220 mm) wide by 4' (1220 mm) long and 4" (100 mm) deep. Check that the edges are level, as shown in figure 2.

Mix sufficient cement and building sand in a 1:3 ratio (1 part cement to 3 parts sand) to fill the foundation area.

Pour the concrete into the foundation area, 4" deep. Spread and smooth the concrete with a straight edged piece of timber. Check that it is level, as shown in figure 3.

Let the concrete cure for at least 48 hours.

Step 2: Build the Base

Cut 4 of the cinder blocks in half using an angle grinder, as shown in figure 4.

Mix sufficient cement and sand in a 1:3 ratio (1 part cement to 3 parts sand) to use as mortar for the building of the base.

Build 2 short cinder block walls, parallel to each other and about 27.95" (711.2 mm) apart. Each wall must be 2.5 blocks long and 4 rows high, as shown in figure 5.

Place the 9 lintels on top of the walls. Arrange them as shown in figure 6.

Figure 7 shows my project with the walls tapering to the back due to an sharp corner I chose as the location. The walls are also only 2 cinder blocks long. Instead of the 9 lintels, I used 3 lintels to support concrete slabs on top of it. This can be done as an alternative method of construction, all depends what material you have available to you.

Let the base cure for 24 hours.

Step 3: Build the Arch for the Opening

From the center of the base, draw a circle with a 27.5" (700 mm) diameter, as shown in figure 9. Use a pencil and a piece of string to draw the circle.

Please note: The height of the inside of the pizza oven will be half of the diameter, so 27.5" x 0.5 = 13.75" (700 mm x 0.5 = 350 mm). The height of the bottom of the chimney must be 64% of the internal height of the pizza oven (so 13.75" x 0.64 = 8.8" or 350 mm x 0.64 = 224 mm), as shown in figure 10.

Cut 2 pieces of plywood into the shape of the pizza oven opening, these will become the form work to support the bricks when building the arch for the opening. The height must be 8.8" (224 mm) high and 17.3" (445 mm) wide, as shown in figure 11.

Attach the plywood to each other with a pieces of wood. The overall depth of the plywood form work must be about the length of a brick, as shown in figure 11.

Place the plywood form work in the location of the oven opening, as shown in figure 11.Build a arch with bricks and mortar, using the plywood as support for the bricks, as shown in figure 12.

The top keystone must only be half an brick and place a suitable size tin or container behind the keystone to keep the space open for the chimney.

Step 4: Make the Pizza Dome

Mound damp sand into a dome inside the circle. Measure 13.75" (350 mm) (half of the diameter) on a stick and insert it into the center of the sand. Push the stick until the bottom reaches the base, as shown in figure 13.

Heap and round the sand to to the height of the mark on the stick, as shown in figure 14.

Remove the stick and cover the mound of sand with wet newspaper, as shown in figure 15.

Mix sufficient cement and sand in a 1:3 ratio (1 part cement to 3 parts sand) to use as concrete to cover the sand.

Cover the sand with a 1" (aprox 25 mm) layer of concrete. Build it up from the base in rings, as shown in figure 16.

Smooth the concrete with a builders trowel. Use a fire blanket or fire proof insulation and cover the concrete to help retain the heat in the pizza oven when in use, as shown in figure 17.

Cover the insulation with chicken wire. This will give the next layer of concrete something to grip to and also help prevent cracking , as shown in figure 18.

Add another 1" (aprox 25 mm) layer of concrete over the chicken wire, as shown in figure 19.

Smooth the concrete with a builders trowel and then a builders float, as shown in figure 20.

Use a wet sponge to clean off excess cement from the brickwork.Let the pizza oven cure for about a week.

Step 5: Curing the Pizza Oven

Remove the sand and newspaper from the pizza oven. Any newspaper left behind will be burned off when in use, as shown in figure 21.

Light a small fire in the pizza oven to help it cure from the inside. Do not rush this process by lighting a bigger fire as the pizza oven may crack, as shown in figure 22.

Repeat with a slightly bigger fire the next day. The pizza oven should now be ready for use, see figure 23.

Download a pdf plan of this DIY pizza oven from my DIY website.

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