DIY: Pizza Oven

Oven Base

• 1

  Dig a square hole that is 8 inches deep and 27 inches wide. Fill the bottom of the hole with sand, 5 to 6 inches deep. Tamp the sand down firmly so it is smooth and flat.

• 2

  Place firebricks on the tamped sand. Set them so they are tight against each other.

• 3

  Chisel bricks into halves and thirds, as needed, to form a tight base that fills the hole. Tamp the bricks down until they are resting solidly in the sand and butting firmly against the dirt sides of the hole.

Base and Dome

• 4

  Spread damp sand onto the brick base then mold it to form a 25-inch circle. Push the sand up on the sides, like a bowl, to about 4 inches. Pack the sand firmly so that it is sturdy and solid. This will be the mold for the oven floor.

• 5

  Mix refractory cement, according to the manufacturer's instructions, and add pea gravel. The mixture should be the consistency of oatmeal. Pour the concrete into the sand mold. Gently push it all the way to the edges of the circle then smooth out the surface. Allow the concrete to dry for 24 hours.

• 6

  Push the sand away from the sides of the oven floor after it has set up completely. The dried concrete now forms a round, 25-inch circle that is the pizza oven floor.

• 7

  Pile damp sand or soil in the center of the oven floor. Pack it tightly so that it is solid and add water, as needed, if you encounter dry spots. Form the sand into a mound that is 18 inches high at the peak of the dome and slopes down evenly to the base. Leave a few inches around the perimeter of the sand form's base to expose the oven floor.

• 8

  Lay sheets of wet newspaper over the entire sand form. Smooth them down so they are not wrinkled and cover any gaps you see.

• 9

  Mix more refractory cement, according to the manufacturer's directions, and add pea gravel to the consistency of thick oatmeal. Apply the concrete over the sand form, working from the bottom up. Press it across the form with your hands, smoothing it as you go. Ensure the concrete is placed in a uniform thickness, at least 2 inches thick.

• 10

  Allow the refractory cement to dry completely, about 24 hours. Measure and trace an arched doorway in the concrete with a pencil. The doorway should be approximately 11 inches tall at the peak of the arch and about 15 inches wide at the base. Use a jigsaw to cut away the door.

• 11

  Scoop out the sand form from the doorway. Stop when you get to the newspaper layer. Gently peel the paper off the inside of the concrete oven. Allow it to dry for another 24 hours.

Door and Finishing Layer

• 12

  Mix refractory cement into mortar, according to the manufacturer's directions. Do not add pea gravel to this mixture as it will only be used as mortar, not to form a structure of its own.

• 13

  Pile moist sand in front of the arched doorway. Shape the sand so that it fills the doorway and protrudes out about 10 inches. It should be rounded, like the doorway arch. This will be the form for the brick door arch. Cover it with wet newspaper.

• 14

  Lay standard bricks on either side of the sand form. Put mortar on each brick. Set bricks on top of the first layer then apply mortar on top. Continue building a brick archway that conforms to the sand form underneath. When you get to the top of the arch, mortar a brick in place for the arch stone.

• 15

  Allow the doorway to dry completely for at least 24 hours. Dig out the sand form and remove the newspaper from the inside.

• 16

  Apply another layer of refractory cement mixed with pea gravel over the entire oven. Give the oven a smooth and solid layer of concrete to hold all the parts together -- the dome to the base and the door arch to the base and dome. Allow it to dry completely for about 24 hours.