niki crosby on wed 23 may 07
First I want to say I tried searching through the archives but the searcher
isnt working. I get "0" results for everything. (could be a user error - Ive
been known to make some pretty dumb mistakes...) So please excuse if this
has been discussed before.
We wired my basement for my very first kiln - a 1227 Skutt - so that it was
nearer to the fusebox thingy. My concern now is that my drop ceiling in the
basement or the wood floors covering the first floor above it are in danger
of...I dunno? Fire? Heat damage?
Our friend/contractor/all around country good ol boy said all we need is to
replace the tiles above the kiln with fireproof drop ceiling tiles. I trust
my friend - but I trust experienced potters more - so I thought I would ask
if this is a known, or preferred solution to the studio in the basement way
of setting things up.
The kiln is used, but came with a vent system - the one that goes under the
bottom and will be piped out of one of the basement windows.
Thanks everyone for helping me keep my house from burning to the ground :)
Niki
WJ Seidl on wed 23 may 07
Niki:
It depends .
How far is the ceiling from the top of your kiln?
A foot or less? That's not a basement, that's a crawlspace.
2 feet? Too close for a kiln
4 feet? Still too close. Use a heat shield.
5 feet? That's better. You'll probably feel better with a heat shield.
You can always hang a heat shield between the kiln and the ceiling, and
just remove those tiles
if you don't feel comfortable.
The vent should remove a good deal of the noxious fumes.
It should NOT remove a lot of the heat, you need that in the kiln (duh!)
so a heat shield may be the way to go
and cheaper than fireproof tiles (which won't protect the wood above
them from heating up, BTW).
Hang a piece of Hardie Board or sheet metal horizontally, a few inches
down from the tiles, and get yourself a small cheap fan to blow across
the top of it to keep the heat from building up.
Another way is to beg/borrow/build a sheet metal "hood" above the kiln,
and put a fan on that to suck out any accumulated heat.
If you don't care what it looks like and you can find them cheap (like
yard sales), four kitchen range hoods mounted up there will work well.
Yes, you CAN paint them with a spray can so they match .
Others will have other ideas, no doubt.
Best,
Wayne Seidl
niki crosby wrote:
> First I want to say I tried searching through the archives but the searcher
> isnt working. I get "0" results for everything. (could be a user error - Ive
> been known to make some pretty dumb mistakes...) So please excuse if this
> has been discussed before.
>
>
> We wired my basement for my very first kiln - a 1227 Skutt - so that it was
> nearer to the fusebox thingy. My concern now is that my drop ceiling in the
> basement or the wood floors covering the first floor above it are in danger
> of...I dunno? Fire? Heat damage?
>
> Our friend/contractor/all around country good ol boy said all we need is to
> replace the tiles above the kiln with fireproof drop ceiling tiles. I trust
> my friend - but I trust experienced potters more - so I thought I would ask
> if this is a known, or preferred solution to the studio in the basement way
> of setting things up.
>
> The kiln is used, but came with a vent system - the one that goes under the
> bottom and will be piped out of one of the basement windows.
>
> Thanks everyone for helping me keep my house from burning to the ground :)
>
> Niki
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
Arnold Howard on wed 23 may 07
From: "niki crosby"
> We wired my basement for my very first kiln - a 1227
> Skutt - so that it was
> nearer to the fusebox thingy. My concern now is that my
> drop ceiling in the
> basement or the wood floors covering the first floor above
> it are in danger
> of...I dunno? Fire? Heat damage?
>
> Our friend/contractor/all around country good ol boy said
> all we need is to
> replace the tiles above the kiln with fireproof drop
> ceiling tiles.
Niki, do not allow the room temperature to rise higher than
110 degrees F (measured about 3 feet from the kiln). If
necessary, circulate air with a fan.
I would follow your contractor's advice. He sounds
knowledgeable.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
Patty Kaliher on wed 23 may 07
To protect the wooden floors above my kiln in the basement we put in a
ceiling of sheetrock. Fire proof rated sheetrock is thicker than the
standard wall board and heavy and hard to handle so my husband installed two
layers of regular sheetrock above the kiln and also in the garage to
fireproof it. The later is to protect the house from a possible car fire in
the garage.
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of niki crosby
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 3:53 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Basement studio ceiling
First I want to say I tried searching through the archives but the searcher
isnt working. I get "0" results for everything. (could be a user error - Ive
been known to make some pretty dumb mistakes...) So please excuse if this
has been discussed before.
We wired my basement for my very first kiln - a 1227 Skutt - so that it was
nearer to the fusebox thingy. My concern now is that my drop ceiling in the
basement or the wood floors covering the first floor above it are in danger
of...I dunno? Fire? Heat damage?
Our friend/contractor/all around country good ol boy said all we need is to
replace the tiles above the kiln with fireproof drop ceiling tiles. I trust
my friend - but I trust experienced potters more - so I thought I would ask
if this is a known, or preferred solution to the studio in the basement way
of setting things up.
The kiln is used, but came with a vent system - the one that goes under the
bottom and will be piped out of one of the basement windows.
Thanks everyone for helping me keep my house from burning to the ground :)
Niki
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
John Sankey on thu 24 may 07
"My concern now is that my drop ceiling in the basement or the
wood floors covering the first floor above it are in danger
of...I dunno? Fire? Heat damage? ... Our friend/contractor/all
around country good ol boy said all we need is to replace the
tiles above the kiln with fireproof drop ceiling tiles."
First, as every kiln manufacturer's site will tell you, ensure
that there is at least 12" clearance all around your kiln from
ANY surface, fireproof or other. I trust you have the metal stand
provided my Skutt and that your kiln is standing on a totally
fireproof surface like basement concrete. If not, you need a 2"
firebrick floor for a distance of at least 24" beyond the kiln in
all directions to meet most local fire codes.
I personally would never allow flammable surfaces closer than 3',
and that includes ordinary drywall - it has a paper coating. If
you must have drywall closer than that, buy the fireproof kind
and cover or replace your existing drywall with it in the kiln
area. If your drop ceiling is more than 3' above the kiln, I
wouldn't say you need fireproof ceiling tiles for say 6' diameter
around the kiln, but if they make you feel more secure, they
aren't expensive.
Denny on thu 24 may 07
Congratulations, Nikki on getting the kiln and having it connected. Your work will improve greatly with your own kiln.
You asked about simply using fireproof drop ceiling tiles, and this would be a good first step, as a minimum.
The tiles you would be looking for would be called "fire rated."
A better step would be to rework the ceiling above the kiln area and install 5/8" thick firecode drywall.
For an ideal installation, make a kiln room and line the ceiling and walls with firecode drywall. This type of drywall is usually readily available and does not cost a lot more than standard drywall.
A final important note, insurance. You may want to have one of those "what if" conversations with your insurance agent. as in "what if I were to get a ceramic kiln and install it in the basement?"
Mine insurance company's response when they found out I had a kiln was to immmediately drop the coverage - they fired me as a customer. We were able to persude them to give us 30 days to find a new carrier.
Some insurers will not insure the building if it has a kiln in it. Other insurers will cover it with a special rider if it is for "hobby" use. But not if for business use.
You do not want to be like the potter friend of mine whose entire studio burned down. Then his insurer told him he had no coverage, since he was using kilns for business use. (The kiln emphatically did not cause the fire.) He eventually got some payment, but not full replacement, after a battle with the insurer.
This issue is one to get out on the table with your insurer before you need the coverage - not after there is a problem.
Best of luck to you,
Denny Means
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