If you want a good wood-fired oven – you have to insulate it, and insulate it well!

A well insulated oven can reach temperatures of 500-700 degrees C on the inside. Let’s just say, you can’t achieve or maintain that kind of heat if you don’t.

You can use your oven pre-insulation for cooking, but the temperature won’t last for very long, and the outside of the oven will get very hot.

Day 2

Step 1: Cover oven in insulation

1. Cover the oven with the insulation blanket
2. Place black poly plastic over the insulation blanket (we held it in place with sticky tape!)
3. Cover the plastic with chicken wire

Step 2: Insulation cement the oven

A final layer of insulation involves a mix of vermiculite and perlite mixed with cement. Vermiculite and perlite are inert materials that are very light. They enable the cement to be very aerated, hence a poor conductor of heat (and a good insulator).

1. Place concrete arch and cap on the back of the oven and secure to the chicken wire
2. Mix the vermiculite/perlite into the cement mix
3. Place cement mix over the chicken wire to secure
4. Allow cement mix to dry

Go to Day 3: Render and dress your oven