Hello all, is there an easy way to get the two inch Styrofoam out of the molds? What tools should I use?
Hello, Matt, and welcome to the BrickWood forum!
We are talking about the three base slabs, where you use the rigid polystyrene foam to build a “void” into the slabs.
The easiest and most effective tool is a flat bar, commonly known as a “demolition bar.” You want the wide claws and the leverage for this. If you have a double-ended bar, use the straight end to get in on a side, near a corner, and crush the foam enough so you can slip in the curved end. Then, work that end all the way down (and use a hammer to help); when you have the end down and under, just start levering it up. The styro will start to pop out. Just keep working it, and don’t worry about breaking anything, because they are embedded in reinforced concrete. 
You may find you break off some of it, but that just gives you more space to slip the bar in and keep lifting more out.
Hope this helps! Which oven design are you building?
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Thank you very much! I’m building the Mattone Grande. The slabs are waiting until Spring now, but I wanted to get the foam out of them.
Happy to help. You’re good whether you remove the foam or keep it in there until Spring. They are water-repellant and will not affect your concrete cure either way.
Good luck, and catch up with us whenever you can.
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