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Blog Cabin '08: Outdoor Pizza Oven The Rock Solid guys visit the cabin to install an outdoor pizza oven. Get lots more info on DIY's Blog Cabin. From "Blog Cabin" episode DBLG-207

The components of the outdoor pizza oven came from a kit. DIY's intrepid stonemasons Derek and Dean did the brickwork and added the sandstone arches to highlight the arched doors and the oven itself.

Host Ahmed Hassan and the Blog Cabin team take the projects outdoors as they start work on the patio. Guest experts Dean Marsico and Derek Stearns, hosts of DIY's Indoors Out and Rock Solid, have some ideas of their own for this "outdoor room," including a custom pizza oven and stone surround. Installing a pizza oven is relatively straightforward if you're working from a kit like the one used in this project. Below is a summary of the basic steps.

Materials and tools:

queen-size brick
natural sandstone for arches
mortar mix
sand
trowels
shovels
wheelbarrow

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Steps:

• Begin by prepping the area for the installation, providing a level space and following any special instructions or precautions that come with the kit.

• With the location prepped, set up the oven base according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place oven frame and component frames in desired location. Allow the front edge of the lower oven base overhang the oven frame by 1 inch. Secure the oven base to the frame with screws.
  

  	Figure A
  	Figure B
  	Figure C

• Using a basic mortar mix of sand, concrete and water, set up one row of bricks around the perimeter to secure the base. Then lay a course of bricks "soldier style" under the oven components and each lower door (figure A).

• Continue bricking the front, making certain that the grout lines are about 1/2-inch thick.

• Attach the lower stone arches, following the oven frame as a guide (figure B). The bricks adjacent to the stone arches may need to be custom cut for proper fit.

• Continue bricking around the rest of the base, making certain to leave the rear mesh-covered ventilation areas open.

• Place the top portion of the oven on top of the base, and secure with screws. Make certain that the tabs on the side of the oven base fit in the underside slots of the oven dome.

• Attach the stone arch above the oven door on the arched templates, using high-temperature, weather-resistant caulk.

• Mortar the joints between the stones for a uniform look (figure C).

• Attach the oven chimney, securing it with screws. Attach the doors per the instructions in the kit.

• To finish, install countertop surfaces of your choice. If using concrete countertops, you may stain the countertops if desired.

Important Safety Precautions:

• Follow the manufacturer's instructions as well as any safety precautions that come with the oven kit you select.
  
• For a pizza oven like the one installed in this project, make sure foundation will support at least 1,500 pounds.
  
• The oven must be positioned at least 3 feet from any combustible materials.
  
• If placed backed up to a brick or concrete retaining wall, a 3-inch space must be left behind the oven to allow for proper ventilation.

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