DIY Attack

The kiln has been put on hold for a few days. We have a visitor coming so I decided to tear out the disgusting carpet in the guest bedroom and put down new flooring. No problem, one day job. This, of course, lead to the discovery that moisture had seeped through the cinder-block and caused damage to the drywall. So...out came the drywall and I am sealing the block and rehanging the dry wall, taping and floating it, painting the room...and then putting down the new flooring. All with a deadline. Where's HGTV?

Porch Thoughts

My eyes scanned the green wall of trees this morning as I sat drinking my coffee this morning. I was looking for hints of the coming fall. They were there; very subtle, but they were there. A few leafs gone to orange, yellow and brown with a worn, tired look to the rest. We had a cold front slide through a few days ago and it signaled to the hummingbirds that it was time to take their long journey south again. A few still hang on, like the last guests at a party unwilling to call it a night. I love the celebration of fall with its bright colors and invigorating weather. The time of year makes mindful the cycles of life that the seasons unfold. The birth of spring, youth of summer, the full bodied maturity of fall and the quiet passing of winter. My mind scans myself, fully seeing the autumn within.

Devil in the Details

What they don't mention is that bricks, Super, High, Medium and Insulated Fire Brick (IFB) are not the exact same size. I am using the 3" x 4 1/2 x9 inch series of brick and have mixed the various grades of bricks in the kiln. I used Super duty around the firebox, High duty for the inner shell and medium duty for the door and upper chimney. The outer shell is made from IFB. As you can see from the photos below, these bricks differ just a bit in height. If you are using a mortar, then the difference is taken care of. I am doing a bit of mortar in critical areas, but for the most part I am dry stacking the bricks with just a skim coat of fire clay and sand to seal and level a bit.








So at the header course, I have to deal with cutting the IFB back level to the hard brick. A pain, but not too bad as the IFB easily cuts with a hand saw. Unfortunately, my brick saw will not handle the brick on edge without making a double cut. The 4 1/2" is just too tall to make the cut in a single pass. Only two more header layers to go, layers 14 and 18. Layer 18 is the base for the arch.