View of Lower Walls

We've built up the kiln walls, thus far.  You can see how the floor of the kiln fits flush when it is pushed all the way in.

Here's a view of the chimney going up with the back wall.  Every 4-5 rows, we tied the chimney in, by continuing the brick over into the wall, for added support.

Here's the back view of the kiln, with chimney.

Lower Layers of Walls

Note the detail work necessary to get a good fit on lower part of kiln.  We'll start to build the lower walls of kiln, then switch over to completing the door.  A hole was drilled in the steel to screw and bolt in a vertical steel rod that will run alongside the door in order to secure it in place, once it is up.

Once the first layers of brick have been layed, we pushed the car out of the kiln to start building up the lower walls.  Using insulating soft brick is quick to stack - no mortar!  Note where there are darker bricks above the burner ports.  Those are hard brick used for extra support.  You can also see where the angle iron tracks end inside the kiln.

Building Up The Walls

Now it's time to start building up the walls around the floor, while taking the chimney up at the same time.  While stacking the first rows of wall bricks, we had to continuously push the floor in and out to make sure it was a tight fit, and at the same time slide in and out, easily.  The walls are stacked with 2 layers of K26 insulating soft brick, and the chimney is built with K23's.  The chimney, or course does not get as hot as the kiln itself, so using K23's was a more affordable option.

Awaiting funding to continue

This is about as far as we've gotten!  I am now doing a fundraising campaign on www.indiegogo.com  Here is the link to my campaign:
http://igg.me/p/46295?a=278466&i=shlk

Any amount donated for this kiln project will be received with tremendous gratitude.
Another way you can help is to pass this word on to everyone you know!

Many thanks!
Tacy

Setting concrete blocks

We set the (8" x8"x 16") concrete blocks in mortar.  They go around 3 sides, with the chimney at the back.  The walls of the kiln will be built on top of these.  We were careful to level each block, and allow a brick width of space between the top of each block, and the middle layer of soft brick, to create the lower ledge for the car to slide along.  The accuracy of this is vital to building a straight, tightly sealed kiln.

Floor of kiln

The 3rd, and final layer of brick is set on the soft brick, leaving a 2' ledge around the periphery.  This allows for the door to slide into the kiln, closing tightly.  Shelves and pots will be placed directly on top of this layer of hard brick.  We are now ready to set the concrete blocks with mortar.

Laying brick floor

After the steel car is built and set on tracks, it's time to lay the floor.  First, we put down a piece of Durock, then a layer of hard brick.  On top of that, a layer of soft, insulation brick was placed so that it tapered inward toward the front of the floor.  This allows for the car to slide in and out of the kiln, easily.  In order to do this, the middle bricks needed to be cut to size.  Note the slight angles of each of the center bricks in order for everything to fit snug.