How to maintain a refractory pizza oven. Curing and Sealing.

Some helpful advice on curing, sealing and maintaining a wood fired oven. If you have a new or existing pre-cast cement type outdoor wood fired oven, it is very important that you dry it out and weatherproof it annually to prevent the possability of getting cracks in your render and dome. For new ovens, curing should be done gradually over 4-5 days and then annually to maintain its performance.
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[@mattiaspizza7874]

Amazing tips and very well explained, thank you

[@Bennyboy-dog]

Thanks Robert - some nice tips there.

[@Maxyz]

Phenomenal video, thanks Roberto!

[@nhojcam]

hearing the parrots in the background of your video was cool!

[@lindasands1433]

Very useful. Thanks

[@joep65ck]

Another very useful video...

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Thanks

[@powerofseven10]

Thanks for sharing mate !

[@SuperMoeLarryCurly]

Nice video

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Thank you

[@3nunsbrewing640]

G'day Rob, firstly mate, great video. Your ovens look terrific. I have a clay pizza oven (Chapala) that has a crack all the way through. What is the best way to repair? Any help would be awesome. Cheers mate.

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi mate, have you watched this video Wood Fired Oven Repair kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4nchouBfc96e7M

[@billoneill7540]

Thank you Robert. This video really helped me. How is a hairline crack inside a dome repaired?

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi, air set mortar should help if its less than 5mm. Push in with your fingers when it is cool to touch.

[@carlosusepulveda5492]

Hola Robert, Thank you for sharing this information. Just question: I could paint with high temperature paint over the Bondcrete application?

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hello Carlos, the render on the dome should not get hotter than 40-50 Celsius if the oven in well insulated. If this is the case you can use a standard outdoor paint that is good in the sun and you don't need high temp paint.

[@oozification]

what would usa version of this product ? I can see bunch of concrete glues but sure which ones are heat safe or food safe

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi, it doesn’t need to be food safe or heat safe because the outside of the oven shouldn’t get too hot. Any concrete bonding product with waterproofing characteristics will be fine, maybe Shakes Concrete Bond if available in USA.

[@coachenrico]

What is the right formula for the render to insure it goes on without cracking for the first time on install? I only put a scratch coat onto the insulation blanket so far and it's cracking a bit more than i would like. I was using portland, sand and fire clay mix. Thank you!

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

We use Boral Sand and Cement and add a big handfull of Boral Premium Clay for each bag. We put on about 30-40mm in one go and dont have any trouble.

[@lewisdow]

Hey mate, should I be adding a light spray of water each day on to fresh render for a week to reduce cracking?

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi. Only if it’s very hot weather.

[@BlackpearlAbu]

Pls reply:- what will happen if we give 4mm or 5mm aluminium walls inside oven ? Can that help the oven to keep heat for long? Is that helpful???

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

I think aluminium is poisonous if you put it in an oven at high temperature and it won’t last long. If you use stainless steel it will help radiate heat and heat the floor up quicker but not retain heat for longer.

[@timobrien9993]

Hi Robert, great info.. My pizza oven is a few years old and never realised you should re-seal every year especially all the rain we've been hammered with in QLD this last year. What silicone would you recommend to seal in those gaps between oven and the brick facework?

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

You can use any silicone that is made for concrete. If the cracks are in the render, use some bondcrete first and then tile grout if the cracks are big enough.

[@SuperFathers]

Hi Robert. I had painted my oven with red acrylic render, it’s fading fast and not really sealing. I want to tile the oven exactly like you did with your other oven there. Question is 1) can I apply the Bondcrete ontop of the acrylic render, or need to scrap it off? 2) Can I tile ontop of the bondcrete? Thanks

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi, I would scrape off the paint as best as possible and then apply bondcrete and then glue on the tiles. Its always best to talk to the tile store and get their opinion, they will know best.

[@brettpatman6263]

If you wanted to paint the dome what paint would you use and would you still seal it with bondcrete once a year

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

You should be able to paint it with any exterior paint if your oven is well insulated because it should never get hotter than 50 Celsius but check with your paint supplier to be sure the paint is ok. I believe its best to seal with a bondcrete mix as well, this will help protect your paint as well.

[@timothywargo3530]

Great info, but had a question. Just finished my 5 days of curing and am going to tile the dome. Do I need to paint on some type of water membrane over the render?

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi, it’s not necessary because the glue will seal the render but it won’t hurt if you do.

[@timwargo7313]

@@pizzaovens-fornieri do you have any recommendation on a good membrane. Something I can buy in the USA

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

@@timwargo7313 We use Bondcrete, there should be something similar in the USA, here is the link www.bondall.com/concrete-additives/bondcrete/

[@dejanveselinovic9562]

Hi Robert, very nice tip. Just one question for you, i notice that the wood you are using is not necessarily red gum (i might be wrong). What wood do you prefer to use for cooking and what wood do you recommend to stay away from, if any (other than treated pine and all other poisonous things like plywood, mdf, pallet wood and stuff). Maybe a video about it wouldn't be a good idea. Thank you, much appreciated and keep up the good work.

[@dejanveselinovic9562]

*wouldn't be a bad idea (sorry 🤦‍♂️)

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi Dj, I only use dry red gum when cooking but any gum tree or hardwood is fine when heating up the oven. Avoid fruit tree woods unless you want a strong smoky flavour and of course don’t use manufactured or treated woods as you suggested. I’ll do some more research and post a video one day, thanks for the idea.

[@vincentbaudry8138]

Iron bark will be you best friend in aus ;)

[@mickfryar6120]

When curing.. when aiming for example 150degrees, are we looking for 150 degrees on the floor or on the dome? Thank you!

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi, measure on the dome. It’s ok if it cools down overnight but it must never go cold until you finish the process.

[@mickfryar6120]

@@pizzaovens-fornieri Thank you :)

[@fhionawainwright7526]

Some of the render has dropped out on the inside of our dome - quite a substantial area 15 cm x 30cm. How would we go about fixing that please?

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi Fhiona. The inside dome is made of a refractory cement (rated to around 1500 degrees celsius) and sometimes they add small wires in it to keep it all stuck together. You can repair it with any refractory cement but the problem is that it wont stick very well to the other stuff and will probably fall off again. If the cement is chipping away it could end up in your food so I would be careful if you are still using the oven. Might be best to replace it if possible.

[@juliacurry8303]

Hi, our Bondcrete seems to have re-emulsified and turned white in the rain. What did we do wrong? Any fixes? Thanks

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi, Sorry to hear that. I cant say that I have ever had that problem, it always goes clear when dry regardless of the amount of water I mix it with. if it looks bad, you can always paint over the top of it but make sure it dries before the rain hits it again. I hope this helps.

[@juliacurry8303]

Thank you, we’ll give that a go!

[@markward38]

Hi I have the concrete oven and I would like to reseal my oven with Bondcrete. But I’ve painted the exterior of the oven with paint. There is no obvious cracks in the dome. What can I do

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi Mark, you don't need to seal it with bondcrete if you have already sealed it with paint but you can still apply a bondcrete layer over the paint (4 parts water, 1 part bomdcrete) if you want to be sure. Keep in mind the bondcrete solution will dry a bit shinny.

[@markward38]

@@pizzaovens-fornieri Thanks mate I like your videos keep up the good work!

[@PatrickGuerrisi]

Roberto sometimes I cook meat but I hate how the oil spits and stains the floor just at the front as I cannot put coals that close to the mouth of the oven Any tips for that ?

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

Hi Patrick, put aluminium foil down.

[@PatrickGuerrisi]

@@pizzaovens-fornieri tried that..Dam wind blows it away

[@eda.2332]

How would one seal if the oven is finished in tiling? Same method since you said the material dries clear. 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@pizzaovens-fornieri]

No, if your grout has cracks you can patch it up with new grout and seal with an appropriate tile and grout sealer. Bondcrete might leave a haze on your tiles.