Your ideal kiln room

[MadMetal]

Yup, another kiln room thread. So if you had no constraints, what would your ideal kiln room footprint look like? Have read the threads on firewall material, vents etc, so this is more about what you overlooked with footprint\construction design you wished you had accounted for.

Basing my interest on (1) 7 cu ft (with over head and down draft venting) and coming up with a 10 x 12' type size with ceiling height probably on a pitch  ranging from 10' -12'. Ceiling heights never seemed to be discussed.

• overall room size and ceiling height for environmental control, air replenishment, accommodation for shelving, shop vac etc. Is a larger room & high head room necessarily better? 
• exterior wall material & insulation regarding inside condensation
• Would you have your wheel in the same or adjacent space (assuming a non-production studio).
• Do you wish you had water available in the room?
• Space dedicated to shelving
• overhead lighting in regards to heat
• additional things that get overlooked

 

[oldlady]

look at my studio in florida.  it is in a shed 10x16 feet and has almost everything i would like to have.  my shelves are really sheets of drywall and they fit into supports used for closet baskets.  very versatile.   never needed water when firing except to make sure the wax on the bottom is really cleaned off.  a flat bowl with a wet sponge does it fine.

click on my avatar and look for my albums. 

[Hulk]

Ideal, hmm...

Separate, but nearby/adjacent to studio, separated by solid door* - wide enough to roll ware cart through - level, smooth, and common (roll to/fro without impediment) floor. Sufficient shelving to store at least three kiln loads; fitted with a window, doorway to the outside, overhead venting with variable speed control, and downdraft kiln vent. Sufficient space, power, and venting capacity to add another seven cubic foot kiln. Counterspace for at least half a kiln load. Pest resistant, dry, good lighting, camera system, smoke and CO detectors, three fire extinguishers (two outside, one inside)... 

...*very good noise control - hat channel hung drywall, insulation, labyrinth/muffled intake and exhausts, etc.

[Callie Beller Diesel]

So I have an 8x11 garden shed, which has enough room for kiln shelf storage, a 4’ folding table to load/unload onto and enough room after that to turn around in. It’s outdoors and well ventilated. I don’t store pots out there at all. In progress work is in my studio, finished ware is on shelving elsewhere, or in my stock bins. Light is something I wish I had more of, as I currently use bright battery powered camping lanterns (5000 kelvin).  I could use trouble lights, but I don’t want to kill myself by tripping on an extension cord. 

I would say that no, you don’t want to be sitting on top of your kiln if you can avoid it. And no, having water in your kiln area isn’t needed if all you’re doing in that space is firing the kiln. If it’s also your glaze area, the water would be nice to have, but there are lots of hobby studios that work just fine without plumbing. You just need a bucket method of some kind. 

 

[MadMetal]

54 minutes ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

 Light is something I wish I had more of

The older i get, the more of this i want

 

[Pres]

Amazed by the amount and quality of light just replacing my old flourescents with LED units. Same size, but twice the light!

 

best,

Pres

[neilestrick]

10x12 could be an entire studio! In fact, I once had a 120 sq/ft studio with 2 kilns, a kick wheel, two work tables, and all my materials stored in there, too. Seriously, I'd never dedicate that much space for just the kiln. As long as you have proper clearances around the kiln and it's vented properly, you could put a lot of other stuff in a space that size. Maybe also make it raw materials storage, clay storage, shelving for greenware and bisqueware, put the snow blower in there, etc. I'd much rather have the extra space in my work area than in my kiln area. I currently have all 3 of my kilns (10 cu/ft, 4 cu/ft, test kiln) in a 7x12 space in the corner of the studio that's closed off by shelving, and it's very roomy for getting around the kilns. I could easily add in a fourth kiln.

[MadMetal]

Neiestrick, point taken, however my snowblower is a bobcat so it would never fit..lol. I just hate going through the effort and then later saying.."if i just had more space"..which seems to be my mantra. I am quite good at stuffing 20#'s of in a 5# bag but am getting a bit to tired, fat and clumsy to be dancing between tight spaces. I find its cheaper to go big the first time instead of having to do it twice. Guess its like buying a kiln to small.

[LeeU]

On 8/4/2021 at 7:11 PM, MadMetal said:

kiln room footprint

You do not say whether this is solely a kiln room or a studio  w/kiln. Personally I think 10' x 16' is large enough for a small well organized studio & a modest kiln. Judicious choices and placement  of shelving and storage will give you plenty of room for a non-production enterprise.  If it is more than just kiln usage I'd want water if possible. 

[Mark C.]

LED lights-get the ones that are 110 volt and look like florescent tubes-you see them in grocery stores-I bought mine on ebay and bought covered 3-4 bulb fixtures-they are in studio  and out in kiln area (gas kilns)-tons of light with low draw.

[MadMetal]

Hi Mark, Yup i just picked up 4 strips of 10,000 lums  for a 25'x 50' x 16' h barn. I was stunned how well the LED lit it up. They cost me $20 a strip from Menard's 5 yr warrenty