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An "office" Kiln


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This might seem like an odd set of questions but I also have an odd set of circumstances.

 

I work in Manhattan for a marketing agency that has very forward thinking policies about nurturing their employee's creativity. My coworker and I both dabble in pottery. Mostly just classes at ceramic shops that fire our amateur pots for us. Neither of us have a kiln of our own or much space in our apartments (barely enough to store the few pieces we've thrown).

 

We share a small-ish office that theoretically has enough space for a small personal kiln. We are considering an Evenheat Copper as a potential option ( http://www.evenheat-kiln.com/?pg=models&c=1&p=1 ). 

 

As much as we would love easy access to a kiln to experiment and learn we are fully aware that we lack the necessary information and experience to jump right in and make a purchase. Our company is open minded but worried that it might be a bother or hazard in a small professional environment.

 

They want to know specifically:

 

Will a kiln be loud (beeps/alarms)?

Will a kiln be a fire hazard (we have hardwood floors)?

Will a kiln produce any strange smells?

Will a kiln produce any harmful fumes or exhausts. 

Will a kiln user more power than a mini fridge or personal ac unit?

 

If this sounds like a terrible idea please let us know. I'd rather seem foolish now than later after upsetting co-workers and putting down money. 

 

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They want to know specifically:

 

Will a kiln be loud (beeps/alarms)? Not familiar with any beeping kiln

 

Will a kiln be a fire hazard (we have hardwood floors)? Yes.Some Fire codes require different flameproof material around and beneath the kiln.

 

Will a kiln produce any strange smells? Yes. you need to vent it.

Will a kiln produce any harmful fumes or exhausts. see above

Will a kiln user more power than a mini fridge or personal ac unit? Yes. Several hours of continual usage of 120v at 30 amps possibly. Look up the specs for this kiln.

 

Sounds like a terrible idea.

 

Marcia

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sorry, it is a bad idea.

 

however, if you have not looked into classes at The New School, (Parsons school of design) you might want to sign up there if they still offer evening classes.  your boss might give you an hour off on class nights to get you there early so he/she can feel good about encouraging your creativity. it was at 13th st and Park if i remember correctly.  (from 1986)

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If you must be creative with your pottery at the office, probably the least messy and least dangerous step of making pottery would be glazing bisque-fired pots. A few (dozen) containers of glaze, a banding wheel, and a few paintbrushes should give you access to enough creativity without endangering everyone around you.

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I think I understand your motivation to have a kiln of your own to share with your office mate, however, the office is hardly a place for a kiln to operate.  Kilns need to be where they do not impend upon the environment they are in, such as a garage, patio, special kiln room, or utility room.  But an office where you will be spending a lot of your time would not be a good place for one.  Do either of you have a place at home that would be suitable?  I would definitely give this a bit more thought. 

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I would try another creative thing at work and do the clay thing elsewhere-all the factors of a kiln in the office point to problematic issues.

How about painting or drawing or oragami??

clay dabbling in the office simply is bad idea-especially kilns mixed in.

Mark

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Thank you everyone. I'm glad I found this forum and appreciate you guys taking the time to give honest feedback. 

 I definitely don't want to have a situation at work where people are upset/uncomfortable/in danger.

 

I'll also look up those classes at Parsons oldlady, thats such a thoughtful idea.

 

The spaces we live in are definitely not appropriate for a kiln (small studio apartments with little ventilation). Perhaps NYC has some alternative space to consider. Are any members active in the area? I'd love to know how you pursue an interest in ceramics with out a garage or yard. I enjoy the classes a lot but they are fairly expensive and only allow for limited time and materials.

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there were several other options to the new school, it was simply closest to my job on canal st then home on the subway that ran under the river to hoboken.  PATH.  was it closed after 911?

 

the assumption that EVERYBODY knows that the 92nd st Y is not a YMCA but a YMJA was so prevalent that i could never find it until i took the subway to 92nd st and walked until i found it.  they offered lots of things besides classes, workshops, etc.

 

there was a YWCA on about 54th st as i recall.  they had a waiting list but good facilities.

 

greenwich house was small but it offered classes as well.  

 

the only people i knew in manhattan who had kilns made only jewelry.  they had such small kilns that nothing else would fit.  persistence will pay off.  :)

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Many years ago (late 1970's I think) there was a pottery studio on one of the upper floors of Riverside Church (around 120th St.) in Manhattan. I have no idea if they still give classes there. 

 

In the same area, Teacher's College at Columbia University also had a few ceramics classes open to the general community. 

 

This is very old information, but worth checking out. I hope you find something!

 

Susan

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I had a studio in a office building for more than a year. I rented the office, had my kiln, pottery wheel and all the stuff I needed there. I only had 22 sq meters :) 

Your kiln will not get remarkably hot at the bottom. My kiln was standing on a wooden pallet it did not even get warm.

My kiln vent was "connected" (it is not a airtight connection) to office ventilation duct and it caused zero problems.

 

Only problem you are going to have is dust on the floor -> footsteps in other areas of the office. 

 

Cheers!

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I had a studio in a office building for more than a year. I rented the office, had my kiln, pottery wheel and all the stuff I needed there. I only had 22 sq meters :)

Your kiln will not get remarkably hot at the bottom. My kiln was standing on a wooden pallet it did not even get warm.

My kiln vent was "connected" (it is not a airtight connection) to office ventilation duct and it caused zero problems.

 

Only problem you are going to have is dust on the floor -> footsteps in other areas of the office. 

 

Cheers!

 

Kilns should never be placed on a combustible/wooden floor. Over time the wood will dry out, lowering its flash point to where it can catch fire.

 

I would not connect the kiln to the building vent system. The fumes from the kiln will corrode the ductwork.

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You have received excellent advice on this forum.

 

You can fire a cone 6 pottery kiln on a 120 volt, 15 amp circuit, but you will be limited to a kiln interior of about 6" x 6" x 6". The circuit must be dedicated, which means it will not be used for other appliances while the kiln is firing. This might be feasible if you could place the kiln near an open window and limit your projects to very small pieces such as pendants.

 

Sincerely,

 

Arnold Howard

Paragon Industries, L.P.,

Mesquite, Texas USA

ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com

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I had a studio in a office building for more than a year. I rented the office, had my kiln, pottery wheel and all the stuff I needed there. I only had 22 sq meters :)

Your kiln will not get remarkably hot at the bottom. My kiln was standing on a wooden pallet it did not even get warm.

My kiln vent was "connected" (it is not a airtight connection) to office ventilation duct and it caused zero problems.

 

Only problem you are going to have is dust on the floor -> footsteps in other areas of the office. 

 

Cheers!

 

Kilns should never be placed on a combustible/wooden floor. Over time the wood will dry out, lowering its flash point to where it can catch fire.

 

I would not connect the kiln to the building vent system. The fumes from the kiln will corrode the ductwork.

 

 

This is a good example of how you can get away this things for a short while, but long term it's a problem.

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Guest JBaymore

This is a good example of how you can get away this things for a short while, but long term it's a problem.

 

When I've been called in to do consulting and evaluation of studio kiln installations I've seen some "interesting" things at times.  The people working in a given studio often don't seem to see them.  Familiarity... and the background "disappears".

 

Like the broken metal hood support on the corner of a hood over a gas fired updraft kiln.  That hood was propped up with a wood 2 x 4.  And apparently had been for a whiile.  Because the 2x4 was starting to char.  The 2x4 was right next to and above the pile of old studio related crap that was combustible that was stored pretty near the kiln.  The pile of combustables was against the wall of a wooden frame building that had no interior seathing (like sheetrock) to protect the wood walls, studs, and siding in any way.  That building was attached to a large "school" type studio operation that was a wooden frame building.

 

When I included that 2x4 in my report....... people were totally surprised.  They hadn't noticed that.  Most somehow never noticed that it was WOOD holding that up. 

 

They were insured by "Just Lucky, Ltd."

 

best,

 

........................john

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....Or the kiln room in a high school that smelled like gas. And they knew it, they just figured it wasn't bad enough to do any harm. And my competitor had disconnected some of the safety systems because the teacher said the school didn't have the money to replace the parts. I made the maintenance guy shut off the gas to the room and told them they weren't allowed to ever turn it on again until they fixed the kiln's gas train properly. They got rid of the gas kiln and bought a shiny new electric kiln from me!

 

...Or the raku kiln setup at a school where the propane hose went right through the area where the hot pots went into the cans for reduction.

 

....Or the electric kiln in the paper storage room, on carpet.

 

....Or the kiln in the janitor's closet, with a broom melted to it.

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All good advice here, and I agree, don't do it! Take classes, you will most likely find that to be enough.  I have a studio properly set-up in my home and honestly, don't do much in there! It's a huge investment in time and materials that continues to grow as you get more involved.  This is not a hobby conducive for an hour at a time in the workplace.  Maybe you and your friend can do hand-building at work and find a studio to fire it for you.  Or use Sculpey instead and bake it at home!  Or just do drawing/design sessions to take your ideas into class.

Good luck with your pottery!

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