A portable pizza oven looks small next to a kitchen appliance, but the stone deck and the insulated shell pack a lot of weight into a box that’s hard to get your arms around. Most sit on a cart or a stand in the back yard, so the route out is usually the yard rather than the house.
Let it cool, completely
A pizza oven stone holds its heat for hours after the fire is out. Plan to stop using it the day before the pickup, and check it by hand before anyone lifts it.
Take it apart where it comes apart
The stone. Lift out the baking stone or stones and carry them separately. Stones crack if they are knocked, and they are a large share of the weight.
Fuel. For a wood or charcoal oven, empty the ash and any pellets from the hopper. For a gas oven, close the valve and take the propane cylinder off. A propane cylinder is a separate item from the oven itself; set it aside and mention it when you book.
The chimney. Many chimneys twist off or lift out, which makes the oven easier to carry and stops the chimney catching on a gate post.
Bag the ash rather than tipping it out on the lawn. Wood ash looks cold long before it is, and a sealed metal can is the safest place for it.
Built-in ovens are different
A masonry oven built into a patio or an outdoor kitchen is a demolition job rather than a pickup. Freestanding and countertop ovens that lift clear of their stand or cart are what a pickup covers.
Measure the side gate
Side gates are often narrower than the front door, and the route from the back yard is rarely flat. Measure the gate and note any steps or slopes when you book.
Pizza oven checklist
- Out of use since the day before, cold to the touch
- Stone out and carried separately
- Ash or pellets emptied
- Gas valve closed, propane cylinder off and set aside
- Chimney off, if it comes off
- Side gate width measured
A pizza oven starts at $95 on its own. If the grill is going too, the second one adds only its add-on price to the same pickup.
