Calabrese ENTERTAINER User manual

Instructions on how to install a Pre casted Calabrese oven kit September 2017
Before you start you will need a roll of chicken wire 5 metres, tie wire and aluminium foil x 3 rolls
1. On your slab roll out the Aluminium foil covering the area of your slab, Do 2 layers of foil ( Picture
1). Lay your insulation board on top of the (aluminium foil ) area in where the oven will be going
keeping centre ( Picture 2 ) . Make sure the board is at least 80mm off the back of your base to
allow for insulation blanket & render (Picture 3).
( the Alumium foil acts as a barrier for moisture between the slab and the insulation board )
Once the insulation board is layed out,
place your floor cooking tiles ontop of
the insulation board in the following
order listed on page 2. The tiles may
overhang the insulation board on the
left and right of the tiles. With the
offcuts of the insulation board or
excess fibre blanket pack this under
the tiles that overhang to support tiles.
PLEASE NOTE THE STANDARD
INSULATION BOARD is between 40mm
and 50mm thick for the Courtyard,
entertainer & Grande. IF YOU RECEIVE
4 pieces of 25mm thick board in your
courtyard, Entertainer or Grande kit
PLEASE DOUBLE THE SHEET UP TO
MAKE 50mm..
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3

Calabrese Courtyard Tile plan
Calabrese Entertainer Tile plan
Calabrese 800 Tile plan
Calabrese Grande Tile plan

Picture 4
Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 7
When you lay your floor tiles ontop of the board one is slightly higher than the other you can gently
grind this down with an angle grinder to make it smooth. (Picture 4) (if you do this it will leave grind
marks in the floor tiles )
Using 4+ people lift the oven into place ontop of the cooking tiles ( please be careful it weighs 220 + kg
in 1 piece) The oven should match up to the tiles cut.. Leaving a 230mm area in front of the door area
for your flue arch bricks . If in 2 or 3 pieces again please take precautions when lifting. (Picture 6)
If the oven is in pieces lift each piece and join together with the mortar supplied in the TUB (picture
9). The castable is powder in the bag.
Tip: To get a tight join use a ratchet strap join each piece tightening it until its sealed.

With any mortar or Castable that
you may have left over ONLY
AFTER MORTARING THE FRONT
ARCH BRICKS fill the join between
the oven and the floor tiles. If you
don’t have enough don’t worry.
(Picture 9)
When you cut the Calsil board to
conform to the shape of the floor
tiles keep these pieces leftover and
trim them to fit under the front
arch tiles. Then the underfloor tiles
sit flush to the front. (Picture 10)
Put together the flue arch template
using 200mm battens (only 6
needed) The template is to be
placed ontop of the front floor tiles
. Make sure your template is evenly
spaced on the ovens opening. Use
4 x 2-4mm spacers underneath the
template to lift the template up so
when taking it once the bricks are
dry it will drop . Follow the
combination below for your oven
( Picture 11)
Picture 8
Picture 9
Picture 10
Picture 11

Don’t forget to fold the foil that you placed under the oven insulation board up to cover the board
.
800, Courtyard Entertainer , Grande
800*, Courtyard - Calabrese –63/51/51/51/51/51/51/51/51/51/51/51/51/51/51/63
*Calabrese 800 has smaller 25mm thick front underfloor tile & only a 230 x 115 x 75 brick with no 25mm tile under the front flue arch
Entertainer, Grande - Calabrese - 63/51/51/63/51/51/63/51/51/51/51/63/51/51/63/51/51/63
When putting the combination together only use a 3mm thin scrape of mortar to bind the bricks together.
On the back of the arch bricks put a thin scrape of mortar and this will bind the bricks to the ovens body
When you start to get to the top of the bricks arch set your 75/51, 80mm cut arch bricks. Leaving a 150mm
gap behind in where your flue will sit. See below (picture 14)
Picture 13
Picture 12

Gently squeeze the flue in and it should sit in there. Tear a small amount of insulation blanket off and pack
in around the flue , straighten your flue ..
With the castable supplied mix this with water until you obtain a doughy consistency. Then pack this
around the flue to seal it in. Once the castable is dry slowly pull your template out and clean the inside
joints of any excess mortar using a scraper and a wet sponge.
Slide the 2 - 300 x 50 x 50mm tiles in under the front tiles to create your front using a small amount of
mortar to glue them in. For the courtyard they are approx 250 x 50 x 50mm ( Picture 15)
Picture 14
Picture 15

For the optional brick trim and stainless cap which is
extra we supply mortar them ontop of the flue top 4
x 51mm flue bricks in the following combination and
insert the stainless flue ontop.
Courtyard & 800 Brick Trim
1 2 3 4
Entertainer / Grande Brick trim

For the brick trim optional on the entertainer and Grande models when assembling please make sure the
face bricks are at the front and the Cut bricks with the grain exposed each side are on the back.

Then once you have mortared the top bricks with any left over mortar spread over the top of the brick trim
to make a seal then gently insert the stainless steel cap. When pushing the stainless steel cap down the
mortar spread over the top will create a seal. For any excess mortar on the bricks use a wet sponge and
remove before it drys. With any left over castable mix to a doughy consistency and fill in the joints in
between the flue arch and front floor tiles.
With your household aluminium foil a wrap the ovens chamber like a hot potato. Please do minimum 3
layers over the oven and create a Flashing edge near the bricks. (Picture 16 & 17) You can use tape to hold
it down if it gets a bit windy…
Picture 16
Picture 17

Place ceramic fibre blanket over the oven (not over the brick front) and make sure it is fully covered
tucking it in on the corners around the arch (please use gloves and a mask when handling and cutting the
ceramic blanket) and overlapping any joins. Optional: Using Aluminium foil as a secondary barrier cover the
ceramic blanket FULLY so you cant see any blanket at all ( this acts as a barrier so no moisture can
penetrate the blanket over time. Wrap chicken wire over the Aluminium foil and ceramic fibre blanket and
make sure the mesh is secured down. Dont worry if you pierce the aluminum foil. Make sure the chicken
wire is tight.
Picture 18
Picture 19
Picture 20

Once this is done mix your render ( mix below) and form over the top to create a rough layer covering the
chicken wire ( Picture 22 ). If you see the chicken wire its not a worry, the first coat is the rough coat. Wait
till the render is touch dry say 1hr. Then mix another lot of render to do the final coat. Make sure this coat
covers the entire oven and no chicken wire must be seen. After you have finished the final coat wait till its
touch try and in a circular fashion use a damp sponge to give you a fine texture. (picture 21)
RENDER MIX = 5 - Bags of 20kg BORAL SAND CEMENT + 10 handfuls of Boral builders clay
When using the sand cement, mix 3 - 20kg bags first with 6 handfuls of builders clay
together and render the oven. Then with the final layer 2 - 20kg bags sand cement & 4
handfuls of builders clay. –If you don’t find the BORAL brand of clay and cement its ok.
Moisture is the ovens biggest enemy over time !!
When the render has dried, usually 24hrs later the curing process must begin straight away. During the
curing process no moisture must get into the oven otherwise you are reversing the curing. ( curing
instructions below). When the curing process is finished you must seal the rendered dome to prevent any
moisture getting back in.. Bondcrete can be used aswell. This mixes with water and seals the oven. This is
available from any local hardware store.
Curing your oven.
Recommended curing is good quality BBQ heat beads available at supermarkets and hardware stores. Heat
them up on a gas bbq or fireplace until they are white around the edges. Place them in a metal pan and put
in the centre of the oven keeping the oven at roughly 100 –150 degrees- no higher. You can close the door
entirely or keep the door ajar a few centermetres to let the air in to keep the heat beads going.The heat
will dissipate quicker than usual as you’re heating up a cold structure. PLEASE BE PATIENT as its protecting
Picture 21
Picture 22

your oven for life. The heat beads are to stay in the oven for a minimum 24 –48hrs (the longer the better)
replacing the heat beads with new ones that are hot to keep the heat at 100 –150 degrees. This pushes
any moisture out of the oven and drys it for LIFE to prevent any issues. After the 48hr process then you can
start to light a small fire in the metal pan keeping the flame very minimal. Push that into the centre of the
oven. Slowly build the temperature up and add more timber until your fire is large.
You will notice the ovens chamber changing colour and getting very hot. That’s a good sign, its pushing and
moisture out!! The back of the door will sweat as well. When the oven has changed to its dry colour and
the door has stopped sweating your good to go.
Make sure after rendering and curing you keep the ovens rendered chamber out of the rain or from any
moisture. If moisture gets in the oven before sealing you need to start the curing process again. The ovens
chamber and render must be completely dry before sealing. Once this is done your ready to cook!
Sealing your oven
Your oven is now completely dry and you must seal it to prevent any moisture getting back in. We
recommend products.
Bondall or Boncrete liquid sealer
Remember to follow the sealant manufacturer’s instruction on the tin and recoat after 12 months or so.
REMEMBER ONCE YOU HAVE CURED THE OVEN IT MUST STAY DRY INSIDE OR THIS CAN CAUSE THE OVEN
NOT TO HEAT UP TO TEMPERATURE AND CRACKING
First firing
Upon your first firing please remember your heating up a structure this takes time. Light a small fire on the
floor cooking tiles just inside the door archway at 6’oclock so its receiving sufficient oxygen to become
larger. After you have a large fire inside the door arch or middle of the oven then move the fire to either 3
oclock or 9 oclock inside the oven up against the chamber wall. The flame needs to travel the entire length
of the chamber to heat the other side of the oven. Your chamber will turn black on the inside. This is
because the carbon from the timber is burning off and the oven is NOT hot enough. When you have a large
fire inside the oven for a long period of time you will notice the chamber in areas start to turn white. This
means the oven is heating up. Once the oven turns 75% white or 100 % white your oven is hot enough to
cook pizza !

To maintain this heat you will have to keep stoking the fire with timber to keep the temperature up.
Please note the door on the oven is not to be used at any stage upon the firing up and cooking. It is only
meant to be used to keep the heat in overnight or between use.
After you have used the oven and it is hot you can leave the fire in the oven and close the door. The oven
will eventually cool down within 24 –48hrs. To clean the floor of the oven simply scrape the floor to
remove any food and scrape with a wire brush. Once the oven has cooled down you can take the Ash out
and gently wipe the floor clean with wet, hot cloth.
Maintenance of your oven.
If you notice small hairline cracks in the oven, not to worry it does happen. There are many reasons for
this.
Every 6 months add a sealer to the ovens chamber to help protect it from any moisture rentering the oven.
If your stainless steel front starts to lose a lttle paint, just spray some touch up paint on it to keep it
looking great.