Built-In Pizza Oven Planning Checklist
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A pre-construction checklist covering permits, clearances, structure, insulation, fuel, venting, budget and curing so nothing is discovered after the enclosure is sealed.

[ ] Confirm with your municipality whether a permanent masonry oven requires a building permit, and whether the footing and flue will be inspected.
[ ] Check homeowners' association rules on structure height, exterior appearance, smoke and outdoor cooking before the design is finalized.
[ ] Measure clearances from property lines, combustible walls, eaves, pergolas, covers and overhanging trees, and keep a dated sketch with the numbers.
[ ] Ask the local fire authority about burn restrictions and, for gas or hybrid ovens, ask the utility or a licensed plumber what the supply line and shutoff must meet.
[ ] Record the oven core's shipping weight and assembled weight from the spec sheet, then add the hearth, enclosure and finish weight for the mason or engineer.
[ ] Decide whether the existing slab can carry the total load or whether a new reinforced footing is needed; when in doubt, read /blog/professional-installation/ before pouring anything.
[ ] Note local frost depth and soil type so the footing is designed for your ground rather than a generic detail.
[ ] Set the hearth height so the cooking floor sits at a comfortable working height for whoever will cook most often.
[ ] Confirm that insulation is specified beneath the cooking floor, not only around the dome, so the slab does not act as a heat sink.
[ ] Confirm dome insulation material and thickness against the manufacturer's installation guide and write the figures into the installer's scope.
[ ] Choose the dome shape for the whole cooking repertoire: a low dome for Neapolitan pizza, a taller chamber if bread and roasting matter to you; see /blog/dome-shape/.
[ ] Choose the interior floor diameter with /tools/oven-capacity-planner/ using your real guest counts, not the largest size the budget allows.
[ ] Decide on wood, gas or hybrid fuel, and compare running costs for your own cooking habits with /tools/wood-vs-gas-fuel-cost/.
[ ] Size the flue and chimney termination to the manufacturer's specification and plan its route past roofs, covers and pergolas with a spark arrestor and cap.
[ ] Plan a dry, ventilated wood store within a few steps of the oven if you will burn wood, sized for at least a season of seasoned hardwood.
[ ] Plan electrical needs early: an outlet for a light, a fan or a gas ignition module on a protected outdoor circuit.
[ ] Build the full installed budget with /tools/oven-installed-cost/, including base, enclosure, venting, utilities, labor and a contingency you are comfortable with.
[ ] Get the installer's written scope stating who is responsible for the footing, masonry, refractory assembly, insulation, flue, gas connection and finish.
[ ] Read the warranty terms for the oven core and list the installation practices that would void it, then share that list with the installer.
[ ] Confirm site access for delivery: pallet dimensions, gate and side-yard width, driveway slope, and whether a pallet jack, forklift or crane is needed.
[ ] Confirm lead times for the oven core, stone or tile finishes and any custom metalwork, and align them with the mason's schedule.
[ ] Choose an enclosure finish rated for outdoor exposure and heat, and plan how water will be kept out of the insulation layer.
[ ] Schedule the curing fires into the first one to two weeks after assembly, before any pizza night, and note the manufacturer's curing sequence on the calendar.