Home Page

We used a pre-fabricated metal table incorporating a 6" tray for the concrete base slab and two pre-fabricated wire sections to form the dovecote. We covered these with chicken wire ready for rendering.

We rendered the base and built the oven on it. Use the arch to determine the position of front floor piece. Mark the positions and remove the arch, position the entire floor then mark the position of each piece. Re-lay the floor as level as possible "spotting" if necessary with refractory mortar to assist levelling. It is important not to "cement" down the floor pieces for two reasons firstly they need to expand and contract as temperature rises and falls in your oven and secondly in some circumstances in years to come you may wish to replace some or all of your floor components. Once the floor is level, if necessary rub it level with a rubbing stone, grout the gaps in the floor with refractory mortar. It is important not to force the mortar into the joints as again this will restrict expansion and contraction all you want to achieve is a seal so that the floor is smooth. This is a hand made product and there will be imperfections you are only trying to achieve a good result so that your pizza paddles slide smoothly and do not get caught on ridges between the floor pieces. Clean off any excess grouting mortar allow the floor to dry and then place the oven crown pieces and flue manifold in position. Paste over all joints with refractory mortar to create a seal but do not force mortar into the joints - you are not cementing the pieces together you just want to create an air tight seal. Like the floor pieces the crown pieces need to expand and contract. The crown pieces are again handmade and fill fit together well but probably not perfectly by small positional adjustments try to achieve the smoothest possible finish inside your crown don't worry about outside alignment.

With the oven built insulate it with ceramic blanket - it is important to use the correct product (available from us) to get the best performance and longevity from your oven. Then begin the oven housing which has two primary functions firstly to hold the vermiculite crystals which complete the insulation of your oven and secondly to provide the aesthetic finish to your oven installation.

Fill you enclosure with vermiculite crystals to a height of approximately 12" above the oven. You can buy the crystals from us but we suggest you try your local builders merchant where you probably find them cheaper. Fit the flue section to the flue manifold you can cement it in place using the refractory mortar.

In the case of our dovecote installation we fitted the top section of the dovecote and then rendered it.

Finally we painted it and finished around the edge with red quarry tiles. This was a customer design with our help. The particular height of this dovecote was to accommodate the size of the garden and to ensure adequate draw on the flue given the close proximity to tall trees.

Finally fascinate, entertain and feed your friends and ENJOY!!!