While the 2 or 3 week air-drying time is beneficial, you still need to go ahead and start w/ the 6 Day curing process when you get back from your 2-3 week vacation.
It’s not the time, but the temps that we are looking for.
The high-temp mortar gets harder as the oven gets hotter, so you want to proceed w/ the 6-day curing process to ensure that your mortar is a rock-hard as possible.
I know you’re ready to have that pizza party – but the curing process is one of the most important aspects of building the oven. You’ve got to get that part just right or you could possibly get hairline cracking.