We Joined Houzz.com! A Great Site for Ideas for the Home!

Good Saturday Morning!!

We recently joined a fantastic site called Houzz and posted several pictures of our customer's ovens!  I think this is going to be our "go-to" site for social media.  

This is a GREAT place to get ideas for building a wood burning oven.

Check out the BrickWood Ovens profile page or click on the little green icon on our homepage.

BrickWood Ovens - True Brick Ovens for around $1000!

This is the first blog from BrickWood Ovens! This venture is new for us.  We have never blogged before - so please understand if our blog isn't very sexy at first; we will get better as we go.

We’ll begin our blog by addressing some questions raised by a contractor/blogger in New England. I’d like to review his concerns and respond to each one in detail as it’s important that our customers understand these important aspects of building their brick ovens. 

Before beginning however, I should mention that just as most of today’s other successful consumer products and literature have improved over the years, BrickWood Oven’s products and support literature have improved as well.  From our first day in business we have always been responsive to our customer’s needs and will continue to do so. You will see MUCH more about this in our upcoming blogs so for now, let’s talk through the contractor’s concerns.

COMMENT 1:  BrickWood Ovens are “…without insulation above or below…” the oven.

BWO Response:  First a reminder to everyone, BWO does not make ovens. We manufacture only the foam forms, so homeowners and contractors can easily build the most critical and difficult part—the design and assembly of the oven’s cooking chamber; getting the firebrick to the perfect arch, width, length and height proportions.

If you want to include insulation in your oven, we encourage you to do so and even provide detailed, step-by-step directions on how to insulate your oven ABOVE and BELOW on our INSTRUCTIONS page. In addition, we even sell top quality Harbison Walker 8# insulation in our online store.

COMMENT 2:  BrickWood Ovens are “without…proper proportions for door to interior…”

BWO RESPONSE:  We’ve learned over the years that while many oven owners choose to reduce the size of the access of their ovens, many choose not to do so when their ovens are first made—knowing of course that they can always easily add this section in the future.  It’s simply a matter of preference based on how they intend to use their oven.  Ovens with smaller access are great for cooking pizza and many other foods but still provide the necessary access for cooks using cast iron cookware such as Dutch Ovens, roasters and skillets. Optional larger openings are great for customers that want to not only have the option to cook pizzas and breads, but gives you the ability to easy cook larger items like multiple / stacked foods like turkeys, duck and small game. We also offer a BBQ accessory so you can use your oven as a charcoal grill or smoker!

Customers choosing to close off (reduce the size of the front access) can do so at any time after the BrickWood Ovens foam form is removed. For those interested, we offer instructions on our website regarding how to properly close off your oven to retain more heat and to achieve the ideal draft for foods requiring longer cooking times and convection cooking. Although many of our customers choose to reduce the size of their oven’s access, many choose not to, which is the way it is shown in our original video. Please take a look at our Photo Gallery to see the many ways homeowners and contractors have custom built their ovens using our BrickWood Ovens foam form.

  

COMMENT 3:  “Masons all over are scoffing” and “Twice I have gotten emails…”

BWO RESPONSE:  Although a few contractors may be doubtful (we believe there could be more than two, but not many more), there are thousands of masons, landscape contractors, hardscape installers and DIY’ers all over the PLANET that are scoffing no more as they have experienced the ease of building and low cost of brick ovens designed around BrickWood Oven’s simple foam forms!  We have customers in all 50 states, 5 U.S. territories and 14 other countries. We have also donated and shipped several oven forms to our brave troops in the military stationed in Afghanistan & Iraq.  Semper Fi!

Looking back and going forward…

BrickWood Ovens has been in business for over 5 years and to date, we have NOT received a single complaint from a customer having used our products. However, we have received many glowing emails & phone calls praising our ovens and the quality of the foods that are prepared in the ovens. Not to mention the countless emails and calls of thanks we receive for our simplistic construction and fool-proof directions. In fact, I spoke to a customer just this morning that called to tell me that he and his wife have used their oven religiously 2-3 times a week for past 16 months and he is now a self-proclaimed wood burning oven aficionado. But, the best part about his oven that cost around $1000 to build…he just had his house appraised and the appraiser valued his oven at $5000! (Click here to see photos)

If you EVER have a question about our ovens, I am more than happy to speak with anyone (including bloggers) about our oven forms! Our office phone forwards to my cell phone so I try to never miss a call. Don't ever hesitate to call with a question - we are here for you and will walk you through the process of building your oven.

In closing, I feel the need to mention - there is a HUGE difference between a Ford and a Ferrari. You’re probably saying to yourself...well...duh.

We don't sell kits for Ferrari owners—we sell kits for Ford owners. By this I mean that there is a difference between oven brands and those that build ovens. Our oven kits are designed for the DIY home owner and contractor who wants to build an inexpensive yet highly functional brick oven for around $1000 (base, oven & form). They also get the bragging rights for having built the oven…and personally, I think all those wonderful foods taste better in an oven that is built or contracted by the home owner.

But - if you are a Ferrari owner, you typically have a huge budget and can afford to hire a contractor that specializes in blogging and building true brick ovens.. let us know what they will build you for $1000. 

Thank you for your time!!

Kevin Claridge

BrickWood Ovens

www.BrickWoodOvens.com