Set-up in the Sub-Level

It all starts from the bottom.

Sometimes, even lower.

Welcome to the basement. 

Where Do We Begin..?

I set up my studio in a small room above the attached garage. Inside, I have all of my art supplies, my pottery wheel, and a pair of messy slippers. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter, both of which are easily rectifiable. It does not, however, have the ventilation necessary for a kiln.

I was fortunate enough to find a kiln on Facebook Marketplace from a man who got his use out of an old Gare kiln, and thankfully, he had a computer to run the older kiln with some accuracy. After running some test firings using an existing outlet in a satellite structure, she was determined to be working well! The kiln could not run throughout the year this way though, and I called an electrician.

The Basement

What a place! The basement is damp and full of spiders, but it is also somewhat warm and at least it’s within the house. No more walking into the dark, terrified of everything that bumps in the night, equipped with a flashlight and an escort (much to the relief of my compatriots). I do not aspire to be the “local woman” in the headlines that day.

With every easy solution often comes a later hurdle.

Water
Water
Water

This home is rural. It relies on well water and natural drainage. Consequently, the basement is routinely quite damp, and sometimes it floods. The kiln has been raised up off the floor and is supported by a wooden dolly. Obviously, wood is not a great idea! The solution is to place a concrete board between the wood and the kiln for insulation and heat protection.

Humid air is not amazing for firing pottery. Firstly, it can cause problems when damp clay or glaze go into the firing process. It also does damage to the heating elements and I truly do not want to have the expense of replacing kiln elements before they need to be!

I could not make another room because of the damp ground, but I could create its own climate. I bought a grow tent and placed the kiln and a dehumidifier inside. Humidity begone!

Ventilation

It is wildly important that a kiln be ventilated. The kiln burns off organic materials in the clay, and it stinks! It can also release compounds, byproducts of molten glazes, in the air not suitable for inhalation.

Ideally, a ventilation system with a hood vent and airflow to the outside would be in place. I did not have this, but I did have a basement window.

That was absolutely not enough.

After several hours of trial and error (and a stinky first floor), a box fan was put in the small window and, with the bilco doors open, it seemed to suffice and the smell quickly subsided. Smoke and bubble tests were done to check the airflow.

As an extra precaution, no one spends more than a minute or two in the basement during firing. This gives me enough time to run down and check on the process every hour, making adjustments as needed.

Time

I had scheduled an electrician to install the new 250 volt outlet in October. Unfortunately, they were quite booked and the earliest slot I could get was six weeks later, on December 12th. They assured me that as this was a quick job and cancellations happened “all the time,” I would likely see the installation happening much sooner.

Weeks went by, and the kiln was installed on the 12th.

Just in time to fire all of my Christmas gifts for friends and family. Sort of.