October 10, 2022 Julia Haberecht
Ratgeber
Ratgeber
Building a pizza oven kit: Avoid these mistakes
Avoid the following mistakes when assembling your pizza oven kit
You have decided to assemble your pizza oven yourself in the garden or on the terrace. The advantages are obvious: inexpensive, individual and timely. But despite all the excitement about the new project, you should know our tips for assembly - and above all not make these mistakes:
1. devote too little time to the substructure
There are good and less suitable materials for the substructure of your pizza oven kit. Concrete slabs, for example, are not well suited because they can draw heat from the oven in the worst case. In this case, you must make sure that there is good insulation between the concrete and the oven using calcium silicate bricks. Better are gas concrete blocks or hollow bricks under the stove. In our assembly instructions we explain in detail and with sketches how the optimal unit construction can look.
2. neglect the insulation
Insulation is essential for your pizza oven kit. You should use high-quality materials in sufficient quantities. When you buy your pizza oven kit from us at pizza-ofen.de, we already offer you package solutions with the right amount of insulation material. This always includes calcium silicate bricks and ceramic fibre wool. You can also buy the right mortar directly from us.
3. water the stones
The bricks in the kit must not be watered. They are mechanically produced, partly by hand, in Italy and have been dried there. It would take a long time for the stove to dry again and be ready for firing and cooking. We strongly recommend buying and using the matching insulation material in our shop. The fireclay bricks for the floor must not get wet. 4.
4. laying or connecting fireclay bricks too closely
The fireclay slabs are placed loosely in the base of the pizza oven and should not be pressed against each other, as they can expand or contract a little depending on the weather and the heat in the oven. This is important so that they do not crack. Do not connect the fireclay plates with mortar or other materials. Cracks in the fireclay plates in the base of the pizza oven are not a problem, they do not negatively affect the heat storage capacity of the bricks.
5. heating the oven too quickly
You have done it, your pizza oven kit is ready, your outdoor kitchen is built according to your ideas. Now you want to start baking and cooking pizza. But please be careful. The stones of the oven, both the dome parts and the fireclay plates in the base of the pizza oven still have residual moisture from production. Fire the oven for several days at a low temperature and for a short time. Increase this firing time a little every day. There may be a little dripping from your oven. This is not a problem. The heat dries the kiln. After about a week you can cook and bake to your heart's content. You can find detailed instructions for firing up the oven in our blog. You will also find valuable tips on how to assemble a pizza oven kit in our blog.