It's all going on behind the scenes

Not much has changed externally to the kiln since last week. Any gaps between the hot face bricks and the tops of the insulation bricks have been filled with sand in preparation for the insulation layer to be laid which will be happening with the help of Rob and Alex, 2 of our 3D final year students on Wednesday. The insulation mix will be roughly :

6 parts Sand
1pts fireclay
1pt Portland cement
1 pt lime
4pts cotton fibres
5litres Pearlite

 Behind the scenes with many thanks to Chris and Pete the large RSJ which I plan to use as the uprights for the exterior bracing has been cut in half and has been marked up for cutting and drilling also next week, these can then be bolted to the ground and secured to the wall and the large horizontal brace bolted into place.

Another pallet of straights has been ordered for the floor, grate and door as well, so hopefully by the end of next week externally the kiln will be complete with just the secondary floor to lay. The first firing will be mid April, this gives the whole structure plenty of time to dry etc. and plenty of work will be made to fill it. More of this later :-)