Sorry I missed you! I was traveling over the last couple of weeks and did not have access to the forum.
I’m hoping that, deducing from your two messages, you waited the 3-4 days to apply the waterproofing. That would allow the mortar to dry.
I don’t believe there is a similar interval after that before you start your firing.
And YES, that veneer job looks great.
As the pepperoni said after going through the slicer, “It won’t be long now!” (I just made that up.) But it won’t be long until you can throw an actual pizza into the actual oven that you built.
You should be fine. With smaller areas water will migrate along the interior mortar lines and find its way out as vapor, most likely at sharp corners and edges.
And tomorrow is the Big Day to start. I know at this point you are trusting the advice in the instructions, so this is more a general reminder for other builders: follow the curing fire instructions to the letter, even though the first couple of fires will seem pointless. Low and Slow are your watchwords. Soon enough you will be touching 1,000°F…well, not literally touching…and all this hard work will pay off.
