I haven’t posted about our cob oven project in a while. You’d think we’d be done by now, but you’d be mistaken. The basic structure is complete – in fact we baked our first batch of pizzas two weeks ago.
However, we discovered that the cracks that had developed in the dried clay were not just aesthetic issues. Smoke and heat were actually escaping from them. Repairing the cracks required a couple more layers of plaster both on the inside and outside. This is a lengthy process as we’re taking care to dry each layer slowly and evenly. Things are looking pretty good now, though we’ve yet to do another trial by fire.
Then there’s the roof. We considered a lot of designs and finally settled on a simple shed roof; but executed as a living roof to make it more fun. Hey – we like to challenge ourselves. We plan to put up the framing this year and plant next spring.