BUILDING AN EARTH OVEN PART 2 – CRUMBLING SANDCASTLES

We could have researched ahead to see what materials we needed for the weekend. Instead we rose to a glorious morning ready to get stuck into the earth oven, only to discover the oven didn’t want any ordinary bricks for the oven floor, oh no, it needed fire brick tiles. We scolded it, so it knew it wasn’t allowed to be a high maintenance pet demanding a fresh coat of render to match the season! So a week went by and we procured some fire brick tiles, then it rained, for a week. The next week we realised that a chisel and hammer weren’t going to cut it, the fact that they were seconds with chips on them should have tipped us off that they like to crumble rather than cut neatly like a dream…time to call in some favours…

STEP 4: BAKE YOUR NEIGHBOUR A CAKE (AND BORROW THEIR ANGLE GRINDER)

When you buy your fire brick tiles buy seconds, it doesn’t matter if they have a few chips. Use an angle grinder to cut a grove in the tile then use a chisel and hammer to break it along this line. These tiles form the floor of your earth oven so make it as large as you want the interior to be.

STEP 5: MAKE A SAND CASTLE

First mudpies now sandcastles, I recommend calling an expert to supervise, someone under the age of 10 would do nicely. This sand mould will be what supports the clay while it dries and then be removed. Mark a circle on the tiles representing the inside of the oven, I recommend the technologically advanced pen on the end of a string method. Then pile up damp sand in the centre of the circle. Put a stick in the centre with the height you want marked on it and then when you get there make a cardboard cut-out of the shape you want and test it against your mould. We thought we were about right but when we put the cardboard cutout against out sand pile we saw we weren’t even close. Once you’re done compact and smooth it by gently patting it with a flat piece of wood, I can’t stress enough the word gently we had a few landslides that seriously put a dent in my mood, keeping the sand damp by sprinkling it with a hose will keep it happy and it will be less likely to crumble.