how we conceived and built our very own

b r e a d     o v e n    a t    t  h e    w i n e r y

dateline, septemter 2004

or,  one vision and another vision of a number of visions...

Here we are at the First Firing last Sunday, September 26th...a small fire to begin tempering the interior of the oven to expansion and contraction - to slowly dry out moisture...

  This picture was taken September 20th, and the cap had not been poured nor the dome yet insulated..

This entire presentation is and will be a long scroll...enjoy!

I am in the process of reorganizing this page.  I will post the design ideas/germination, and then a sequential scroll of pictures to illustrate a year and three months' worth of effort.  In the meantime, some newer progress shots follow.  We expect to begin firing in 2 weeks!!

d     e     s     i     g     n

Here is the original idea, unrefined, but the conceptual germ is there...the oven grows out of the landscape.  How do I make it grow together with other forms?  Here, it seems stuck in the open, clogging what could be a nice view.   How can we do many things at once with this design element?  Perhaps we  pull it over to the right a bit, and back it up against that wall and walk coming down from the driveway,  so it lines up with our home's porch, and is on the northern edge of our house pation entry...

Seems to offer some interesting design possibilities!! 

  Here we are looking southwest toward the winery.    Seems the porch can  encompass the bread oven.  We have to pop the portion directly over the oven space up, because to the left of the oven you see the stair path we have to climb to get to the mid level terrace.  Drape the dry laid walls with vines, plant against the walls so vegetation eventually softens them, and the stone moderates the cold so we can, maybe put our fig tree here against it, and pave the terraces with brick.  Paint the metal roof deep purple, and sit under it in an adirondack chair, in the rain, while the bread cooks, while the drops drum above..

g     e     n     e     s     i     s

First day.  Ben's progress hand digging  the foundation hole...

Ben laying block Summer 2003

At the same time we are building a raised terrace...

October 2003 progress

h     i     a     t     u     s .  .  .

Bob Palmer comes to help in August, 2004...the bread oven has sat forlorn under a tarp since Ben has left for Niger...

Rafters set to guide setting of chimney, flashings and counterflashings...

t   r   u   e     t  o    t  h  e    v  i  s  i  o  n  ?

If we can do this, I think we could build a vaulted cellar! 

In the foreground on the right you see the entry to a cellar which is cooled by the earth and by a wet weather spring.    It extends 30' to 40' to the west. 

I told my friends to GET READY...soon, I'll be able to include our pond in the sketches, the ravine, our crush barn facility, the bed and breakfast, and some day...the Vineyard!