After months of preparation, I have finally broken ground on a new kiln, at our wonderful new home. Since moving in October of 2010, we have undertaken an extensive amount of projects both inside and outside. We have a lot to be thankful for, but I think the most exciting and luxurious aspect of being a new home owner is our new studio space! To start with, we walled-in the existing carport to make large shed that we now refer to as “the barn.” We then upgraded the detached garage with insulation, drywall and a 100 amp subpanel, while also rewiring our new “barn” for an electric kiln and more outlets. Then, we poured a new concrete walkway between the two buildings and added a level kiln pad on an otherwise steep hill. So, to say the least, there was a lot of preparation taking place in the last few months in order to set up the new studio to be as efficient and comfortable as possible, within a modest budget.
Here is a partial “chimney” and foundation of the kiln.
The new kiln will be designed use the chimney as an additional stacking space, in order to maximize the efficiency of the firings.
Here is the arch form in place, waiting for the bricks to be laid. I have been salvaging used firebrick for over a year to help lower the cost of the kiln, as it’s difficult to find a good firebrick for less than $4.50 a piece here in Eureka, where, coincidentally, gas is also at about $4.40 right now. This little kiln requires about 1000 standard firebricks, so by getting them for free, I’m saving quite a bit. I’m really excited about the kiln and the shape of it as its’ been a while since I’ve been able to build a kiln that is dug into a hillside. At this point it looks a little ghetto-ish, but I’m not afraid to say that is kind of my specialty. Anyway, we’ll see how it fires….
