Installation guide

Pompeii Oven Instructions

7. Building the Dome

Overview

At this point, you have reached a decision on the type of

dome you want to build, the size of your oven, and the

type of forms you will be using,. You are now ready to

start building your dome. The next decision is to determine

the orientation of your first course of bricks. The first

course will determine not only the size (internal cooking

floor diameter) of your oven, but also the shape and

inward curve of the dome.

The First Course

The dome itself is a series of self-supporting circular brick

chains that curve inward, until they meet at the keystone

at the oven top. The first chain is a ring of brick cut in half

and standing on their ends, with the thin edge (2 1/2”)

facing inside the oven. You can adjust the exact diameter

of your oven to match the size circle that your bricks form,

so that you do not have to cut a brick in your first chain.

7.1. First course a half brick set upright.

The first course can be oriented in three ways. First, you

can stand a brick cut in half upright, as show in Photo 7.2.

Second, you can lay a half brick on its side, as shown in

Photo 7.1. Finally, if you are building a Naples-style oven,

you can assemble the first course with a full height brick

standing upright. There is no right or wrong way to start

your oven. Once you decide the style oven you want to

build, you can decide which first course method works for

you.

7.2. First course with a half brick on its side.

7.3. A full height brick upright in the first course.

The subsequent chains are made up of brick cut in half

and set on their wide edge (4 1/2") with the clean edge

facing in. The angle of the inward curve is set using a

standard wooden shim that you cut to the necessary

angle. To determine the angle of your oven's inward curve,

and of the shim itself, build a trial layout, and cut your shim

accordingly (Photo 7.4).