Studios are ever evolving and mine is no exception. We now have the kiln room all enclosed. Yippee! Before we went on vacation we decided to enclose the lower covered patio where my kilns are located but we had to wait for storm windows on order. I didn't want any driving rain to get anywhere near the kilns. We plan on putting in a stone patio in front of the entrance door but we have to dig out several layers of (packed) gravel. I want to add a few pottery sherds as accents. Once we get the stone patio finished I'll post photos. I had the sign above the door from California and tacked it up till I can get something different.
Earlier this week we got home and have been working hard finishing the room. The whole room is enclosed with ceiling, walls, storm windows, and doors. We painted all the lumber before we put it up which streamlined the process. Above is a view of the lower room from outside. The room faces south with the Winter sun low in the sky providing passive solar heat. In the summer the storm doors and windows can all be opened to let in cross breezes from three directions. When I'm firing I can open windows and use a fan to disperse any fumes (or excess heat) which may accumulate.
Enclosing the room adds lots of usable space. The room is 32 x 8 feet. I plan to move the slab roller out of the studio onto the enclosed kiln room so I can add more table space inside for pottery classes beginning soon. The slab roller will go along the wall where you see the iron chair.
Here's a view from the other end of the room. The pottery wheel is covered with a black plastic cover, the raku kiln is behind (still thinking of where to set it up), and the big kiln is covered with a sheet. I finally got the trim put up around the doors but haven't gotten around to painting the trim yet. We also plan on painting the concrete floor with (a beige to match the ceiling color) concrete paint hopefully before it gets too cold to do that. Everything is taking more time (and money) than we expected, but slowly we're getting there. Last night I went out to the room and it was like a warm sun room. I might even be able to start a few seeds there in Spring. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
