Research

Calculating the number of bricks The number of bricks depends on the used format. By means of a table Here we give a table with the number of bricks and amount of mortar per m² measured for a half brick wall (1 stone wall = x2) in half stone bond, this is masonry that exclusively consists of stretchers, and with a joint width of 10 mm. Included is a chopping/breaking loss of brick of 3% and a prefab-mortar loss of 3%. With a traditional mortar you can count on 10% of mortar loss. (Data from Royal Assembly of Dutch Brick Factories and from Jozef Dockx)

Calculating the amount of mortar This calculation depends on the measurements of the chosen brick. Estimate the necessary number of litres/m² of mortar by means of this table. Calculate the surface (see calculating the number of bricks) and multiply this by the number of litres/m² to get the volume of mortar. For a bastard mortar with approx. 1 m³ of sand and a proportion 1 : 1 : 6 you will need the following: Portland cement (CEM I and class 42,5): approx. 200 kg Chaffed lime: approx. 100 kg Rhine sand 0/2: approx. 1600 kg of 1m³ For lime mortar with approx. 1 m³ of sand and a proportion 2 : 1 : 1 you will need the following: sandy clay: approx. 3200 kg Rhine sand 0/2: approx. 1600 kg of 1 m³ chaffed lime: approx. 600 kg Example (by means of building plan): number of litres mortar/m² ½ brick wall for Module 50 = 32 litres or 50 kg number of litres mortar/ m² 1 brick wall for Module 50= 64 litres or 100 kg total surface ½ brick thick = 2,576 m² total surface 1 brick thick= 5,422 m² total...

Calculating the amount of loam for isolation By calculating the volume (of hollow half dome) we can calculate the necessary number of litres (volume) of loam mortar. The volume of the loam layer is calculated by subtracting the volume from the half dome with the volume of the hollow part. This becomes clear when using the following formula: Volume = (D³ - d³) x (3,1416 / 12), with D = outer diameter and d = inner diameter. If you have calculated the volume in cm³ then you have to divide the result by 1000 to get the volume in litres. Multiply the necessary volume by the number of litre components knowing that you need for approx. 1 m³ (1000 litres) loam mortar and a proportion 3 : 1/2 : 1 : 1 : loam soil: approx. 860 litres chaffed lime: approx. 140 litres Rhine sand: approx. 285 litres Chopped straw: approx. 285 litres (Horse urine: approx. 14 litres) Example (by means of building plan): d = 140 cm (this is the length of the oven (100 cm) + 2 x the thickness of the vault) D = 160 cm...

Calculating the amount of concrete Foundation In order to know the amount of concrete, you will first need to calculate the volume of the foundation slots. You multiply: the length of the outer foundation wall the depth of the outer foundation wall the height of the foundation Do the same for the inner foundation wall and subtract both outcomes. Multiply the needed volume by the number of kg of components, knowing that you will need for approx. 1 m³ of concrete with concrete strength of 250 kg/m³ mortar and a proportion 1 : 3 : 4  you will need the following: Portland cement ( CEM I and class 32,5): approx. 250 kg Rhine sand 0/2: approx. 750 kg gravel (aggregate size 4/14): approx. 1000 kg Example (by means of building plan): length outer foundation wall = l(a) = 1,69 m length inner foundation wall = l(b) = 1,09 m depth outer foundation wall = d(a) = 1,69 m depth inner foundation wall = d(b) = 1,09 m height of the foundation = h = 0,60 m (l(a) x d(a) x h) - (l(b) x d(b) x h) = volume...

Building plan Gerrit Van den Dries, together with the MOT, created a design to build a fully functioning oven. We opted for a bread oven in which eighteen to twenty loafs of bread can be baked in one go. Download the building plans here. Do you want to build a smaller oven? During the Workshop build your own oven, we build a small oven for approximately 8 to 10 loafs of bread. Download these plans here. If you want to create your own construction design to your own liking, you can make use of following support tools: How many loafs of bread do you want to bake in the oven? measurements and shape of oven floor shape of vault measurements of oven mouth measurements of substructure

Calculating quantities If your bread oven has different dimensions or a different structure than that of the building plan, you can calculate the amount of materials using the following tips:

Building the chimney This text can only be consulted in Dutch.

Types of bread translation under construction To the way which type of flour is used There are countless types of bread. Hence, we will only describe the most well known and most typical types in Belgium. The type of flour that is used determines the type of bread. We can identify two major groups: wheat bread and rye bread. Wheat and rye both give different types of bread, depending on how much the meal has been sifted. The sifting of the meal is also called “bolting”: the flour is separated from the bran to get a fine white flour. With wheat meal you can get wholemeal bread, brown bread, white bread and luxury breads. With rye meal you get rye bread, also called horse bread or black bread. A lighter brown bread can be obtained from bolted rye flour. At the start of this century, wheat bread was a luxury that only the rich could afford. The ordinary people ate rye bread or bread made from barley and oats among other things. Traditionally, white wheat bread is considered to be the best...

Heating the bread oven