I was recently invited to a Pizza Party with some friends. Brian, a friend from our local pub, had built a Pizza Oven in his garden and having never been to a party like this I was intrigued to see what it entailed.

It was a fabulous night, even though it was held in December and the temperature for the evening was well below freezing, but as with all good parties, the company, copious amounts of alcohol and food more than made up for the fact that the most of us contracted hypothermia!!!

I was so impressed with Brian's oven that I decided to build one myself.

Now...bearing in mind this took place in December 2014 and It's now March 2015, this was not a project to be rushed into. My wife Kim, will vouch for the fact that I've become a Pizza Oven bore, spending dozens of hours researching it on the internet, grilling Brian...pardon the pun, and Andy another local Pizza Oven owner, on the best way to approach a project like this.

I have no doubt that their advice will prove invaluable as the project progresses.

I am very lucky that I have a good friend Alan, who will be helping me during the build, and who will also be building one in his garden once mine is completed. 

I think what is really happening is that we'll make all the mistakes on my oven, and when it comes to building Alan's, his will take a considerably shorter time to build and will be of a much higher standard....the things you do for friends. I Hope Alisa his wife doesn't have to suffer the trauma Kim has gone through.

Now the research has been completed, it's time to spend the dosh. 

I will be ordering double quantities of materials. Alan and I will split the cost to keep it to a minimum, and this will mean all the materials will have been delivered once Alan starts his.

I'm not going to mention figures during the build because you can spend as much or as little as you want on a project like this. It's all down to personal taste and what you want out of it.

I'm very lucky, three years ago we moved to our current home and in one corner of the garden the previous owner had built a brick BBQ which will form the basis of my oven. This will take quite a lot of the hard work out of building the base. As the old saying

goes " A picture paints a thousand words" so you'll see what I mean by referring to the photo's as the build progresses.

Today I've ordered the breeze blocks for the main skeleton structure, the sand and cement and also the facing bricks which will be the finishing touch. As yet I haven't ordered the fire bricks, but will do so when I'm satisfied the main structure is nearing completion.

For the next few days it will be a matter of wheelbarrowing the bricks and other materials to the ovens location. Once this has been completed the build can begin in ernest.

I've allowed myself approx. six to eight weeks to complete the oven. Whether I achieve this time scale remains to be seen. I have factored in work and some down time for Kim and I to ensure she doesn't become a Pizza Oven widow!!

Once completed, the oven will be left for a couple of weeks to dry out, then the slow process of firing it will begin. More on that when the time comes.

I would be more than happy to receive comments/advice during the build because I have no doubt mistakes will be made and if I can keep them to a bare minimum all the better.

                        The selected location complete with compulsory cup of tea and clipboard

Until next time......