“You can do irrefutably impossible things with the right amount of planning and support from intelligent and hardworking people and pizza,” says writer Scott Gimple. Rockpile Construction’s masterpiece pizza oven is a testament to that assertion.
The team at Rockpile had just completed a custom-built home in Albemarle County when the clients approached owner Bill Norton about an additional project. They wanted to cook up a wood-fire pizza oven that would be the focal point of their grilling patio, and Rockpile delivered. The finished product is, in a word, bellissima!
Though it was a smaller-scale project than is typical for the construction company, Rockpile displayed the same attention to detail and care as had been done for the clients’ home. “We’re known for undertaking challenging projects,” says Norton. “I’ve always wanted to build a pizza oven for a client. They’re a wonderful way to entertain guests because everyone loves to build their own pizza.”
Norton initially modeled the design after a pizza oven he built for his own home nearly a decade ago. Forno Bravo provided the initial specifications and the ceramic insulation for the fire chamber. Norton then made modifications to align with this home’s particular aesthetic, gathering special ingredients from its exterior to incorporate into the project. The base, fire chamber, and veneer consist of the same stone used on the home. The copper-clad dome complements the roofing of the home itself. Here, form meets function, as the copper roof also provides long-lasting protection for the underlying masonry dome. Not to mention, it’s entirely fitting that a pizza oven should harken back to Brunelleschi’s Dome in Florence, Italy.
It was a team effort to hand-build the oven in a matter of weeks, sourcing most of the materials from local vendors. The finished product is an easy-to-use outdoor pizza oven that adds flavor to the homeowners’ gatherings. Norton even got to taste-test his work, as the clients invited him to their first firing celebration. The menu consisted of build-your-own pizzas. Molto buono!