machtucker

The pizza oven has arrived - all 380kg of it. I now have the challenge of getting it into position in one piece. Got and engine hoist coming in a few weeks.

Cheers Gus, Infact I always wanted to be a pilot but I’m slightly colourblind so went down the engineering route to get as close as I could. It’s actually quite a common route to be a pilot. Pretty handy having a thorough grounding in what’s going on. It turned out there are degrees of colourblindness and I actually passed the test in 2007. I then got onto the cadet programme with an airline and the rest is history. I think I’d do a better job on the rendering if I did it again. The mix was too dry and I was also rushing as my wife had organised meeting friends down the pub that afternoon - not good for good rendering it turns out. 😂 I’m just saying it’s “rustic”

Hi Gus, Thanks for the comments, appreciate it. As joe90 said it's only to support a shelf, which will have some wood and other items on it. I'm also an engineer, although the aerospace kind by training (now I fly for a living) so completely get where you're coming from. This is only a DIY Pizza oven project. Anything more serious I would be getting a professional in! Anyway...it turned out OK, apart from the rendering which is awful! Cheers, Ed

Ahh I misread. I thought that price was for 1! Doh! That is good value. I think I will go for the 122mm versions as the batten is 50mm thick and render about 10mm thick so that will leave 62mm into the concrete. Or do you think the 102mm will be fine? Cheers.

Going to go for these - amazingly they're significantly cheaper at B&Q https://www.diy.com/departments/hardware/screws/DIY580655.cat?Length+(mm)=120&Suitable+for=Concrete

Hmm, I selected masonry screws in the filter and the one I linked to came up. I guess that's not the right one then? I see yours specifically says concrete screw. Thanks for that.

And in hindsight this would have been a good way of doing it, unfortunately the blocks are in and rendered....well, rendered badly!

OK I will give them a go. Any recommendations on brand? I will need some 100mm long. Something like these? https://www.screwfix.com/p/turbo-tx-tx-double-countersunk-self-drilling-multipurpose-screws-6mm-x-100mm-100-pack/586vv

I see. I like the idea of just being able to screw in to the blocks.

What do you mean when you say “fussy”?

Well I’ll be fixing a wooden batten to the blocks fixing in 3 or 4 places. On top of the battens will be be 7 oak boards. Which are pretty heavy hence needing some secure fixings.

Yes I do have an impact driver. I did see Atlas screws on a review on the skill builder YouTube channel. Something like that?

I’m going to bolt some 50x50mm section timber to the rendered concrete blocks to support the oak boards (see Pic). I’m going to need some secure fixings and screws/bolts that will be long enough to go through the 50mm timber and then into the fixing. Any recommendations? Only really used normal rawl plugs and screws. Many thanks, Ed

I’ve managed to get hold of some oak boards at a decent price locally. I’m going to bolt some 50x50mm section timber to the rendered concrete blocks to support the oak boards. Going to need some secure fixings and screws/bolts that will be long enough to go through the 50mm timber and then into the fixing. Any recommendations? Only really used normal rawl plugs and screws. Many thanks, Ed

Thanks for the input. Yes I've redesigned the shelf which is more in line with your suggestions utilising boards with a gap between which will help with drainage etc. Scaffold boards are a good idea however I'd like to keep the look consistent with the rest of the design and go for Oak boards. I have found some suppliers online who sell 2.4m x 200mm x50mm boards which would be perfect. However it's the delivery which always bites. Found these https://www.oakmax.co.uk/shop/oak-boards/oak-boards-2400x200x50/ which will be perfect. however there's a £119 delivery fee. Wtf! I'm based in north Hampshire. Any recommendations for suppliers? E

Hi everyone. I'm currently build this pizza oven base for my garden. Rendered concrete blocks at the bottom with Oak sleepers for the top. I'm looking for timber to use as the shelf, any ideas? The shelf is roughly 1100mm x1200mm x 50mm. Many thanks, Ed

I saw one YouTube video where a chap used a paver to run over the surface which smoothed it out. I’m tempted to leave it as I’m putting sleepers on top of it anyway. It’s just on the front facing sections there are smooth and rough patches. Wondered if it would look rubbish once painted. Going to use the emperor primer and masonry paint like the wall.

Hi everyone, So after receiving what I thought was a high price quote (400GBP) for the rendering of our pizza oven base I decided to try it myself. Scratch coat went on nicely but top coat not so well. I think the mix was too dry and also it didn't help that I was rushing a bit as we were going out for friends in the afternoon. See pics. I'm not too bothered about the surfaces being flat but I would like to sand it down to take out rough texture in places and to make the finish more uniform before I paint it. The top is going to be covered with Oak Sleepers and there is going to be a shelf inside too fortunately so noone will really see how bad the rendering is. What is the best way to achieve this? I'm guessing it's not sand paper as it's sand and cement render. Diamond? something else? Many thanks, Ed

Thanks everyone. Got them from The Timber Group in Ascot in the end. Seemed competitively priced and reasonable delivery. E

Hi everyone, I'm now turning my attention to getting hold of oak sleepers. A lot of the places I've seen online have a fairly hefty delivery fee to GU51. One place which showed promise was OakMax. They had a very good price for the sleepers but then a £119.76 delivery charge. I'm looking for x 6 1.8m and x1 1.2m Any recommendations for good value oak sleepers? Cheers, E

Not a million miles away from there. About an hour. I've managed to find somewhere in Hemel Hempstead which does PSE and I can pick up. I'm now trying to find somewhere that does 200 x 100 mm Oak Sleepers that delivers to GU51 for a reasonable price. Any ideas? E

Hi everyone, I'm now thinking about starting to build a cedar corner bench for the garden which will complement the cedar screen/pergola thingy I've already built. I'm looking for 7.2m (total) of 18x44mm planed square edge battens. I have found some online but they are miles away from me and wont deliver or if they can deliver it's a fortune. I'm on the Hampshire/Berkshire/Surrey border. A lot of timber merchants have chamfered battens as they are a stock item but I need square edge. Can anyone recommend somewhere near me that might do it? Many thanks, Ed

Yes I realised that raking MOT type 1 doesn’t work the first time I did it. In the end I made some wooden fencing for my garden rake which did the trick. I will shovel/barrow most of it. Can you get a rake with a flat plate head? No prongs?

Hi, I'm about to come to the part in the landscaping build where I will have lots of MOT Type 1 subbase to shift and rake into position. My previous garden rake broke so looking for something up to the job. Is there something with a normal rake on one side and builders rake on the other? Cheers

Ahh yes that may be an idea, although there maybe a mm or two in places. I will have a look when I get home.