5th September Meeting with Sue, Andy, Mike, Sarah and Penny
Part One
We met to discuss the building of the kiln. The restoration of the buildings was proceeding rapidly and the time had come to renovate the roof structure. Andy and Mike were looking at ways of incorporating the kiln chimney which would have to be built at the same time, as the plan was for it to come up through the roof. The height of the chimney was a concern for Andy and Mike who wanted to ensure that it was safe and complied with Building Regulations. Given the tight schedule it became clear that their thoughts were to build the chimney first, with the kiln being built subsequently to fit in with this. Penny and I were beginning to feel a bit alarmed at this point, as compromises were being made to the design, although we could see their point of view. They needed to build the chimney as a solid structure on a base – they were not happy with the idea of the kiln structure itself supporting the chimney, as in the Kusakabe/Hungarian design. Andy suggested placing the chimney at the side of the firing chamber. This would mean a change in the draught through the kiln. We wondered how this would affect the efficiency of the firings – being aware of how the slightest change to the design can mean the difference between success and failure. If we proceeded with this idea the challenge for us would be to ensure the structure would be flexible enough to expand and contract with temperature fluctuations and have modifications that would allow us to experiment with airflow through the kiln by having a couple of dampers and air vents in the base of the chimney.
