Vanstone Precast (Pty) Ltd

3. The Platform

The reason for the platform is convenience. It is much easier to use the oven at waist to chest height than on the ground. A good average height from the floor to the top of the platform is 1.1m, which is slightly higher than the standard kitchen top.

Choice of building materials for the platform:

The oven with its outer structure is going to be heavy. Therefore, build the platform in masonry using brick support walls and a concrete slab. Either face bricks or plastered stock bricks can be used. The concrete slab will consist of formwork, reinforcing steel and concrete. A good alternative to this is to use concrete lintels side-by-side and plaster it over to make it smooth. The space under the platform can be useful to store wood and tools.

Example:

The plan size of the platform should be sufficient to hold the inner dome plus whatever outer structure you plan to build. Some working space next to the oven to prepare food is also a good idea. The net outer dimensions of the inner dome are shown:

Examples:

1. On the left: For the more compact dome-type outer structure, a space all around of 150mm could be chosen. The platform size would then be 1.45m deep x 1.3 wide.
2. On the right: If a box-house outer structure is used and a space of 300mm is allowed all around, the platform size would be 1.75m deep x 1.6m  wide.

4. Setting out of the Oven

When setting out the oven on the platform, allow space all around for the outer structure that you are going to build. Determine the extremes of the outer structure and then the position of the Vanstone inner dome. Trace the dome on the platform in its final position. Use the footprint diagram hereunder.

Footprint of the Inner Dome: Mark out the centre-lines
wel past the outline for later reference.

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