Do I really need to wait five days for the anchor plate to cure?

My oven is pretty much done, just need to attach the duratech exhaust kit. I see it has a 5 day cure time which I’m not all that excited about since I’d like to start the curing fires so we can get on with a party! Is the 5 day cure for the anchor plate necessary if we are also screwing it on to the brick? or can I put the duratech kit on after curing the oven? I don’t want to get this far and then mess up the last step, just anxious to get started. Thank you!

Hi Nancy, and congratulations on getting to this stage! At this point I’m sure you can almost taste the wood-fired pizzas.

Here is where it is time to resist the temptation to push things. You are going to invest the next few days in setting your oven up to be a sturdy, durable appliance that (1) you built yourself, and (2) will outlast pretty much all our lifetimes.

The DuraTech kit is designed to attach to a tricky surface. The adhesive cures by absorbing moisture from the air and underlying masonry, which starts a chemical reaction. If you drive that moisture out, you shorten the opportunity for a full cure.

And, even if you are also using TapCons or similar to attach the plate mechanically, the adhesive plays a second role of providing both a smoke-proof seal and moisture-resistant seal, so you do want it to be fully cured as the manufacturers have designed it.

So, as hard as it is to wait…you have to exert some patience right now, in order to have a great oven 10 days from now. Get that anchor plate installed today, and maybe mist with water the area surrounding it for the next 4 days. (See? I already cut one day off, because today counts!) In my opinion you can do your first curing fire on day 5 of the plate installation, because you are going to do that “low and slow” which will not generate enough heat to reach the chimney cap. (Hey! I cut off another day!) Following that you will have just 5 more days, and you’ll be home free.

On day 10 (not 11, because we overlapped a day), you’ll be ready to do a test pizza fire. If your curing fires are going well, you can even try throwing a thawed supermarket pizza in there on your last couple of fires to get an idea of how it’s all going to work.

Hang in there, because I’m sure you’ve built a great oven, and you want to set yourselves up for success.

I’m glad I asked! Thank you this is super helpful

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