mel jacobson on tue 3 oct 00
a good story.
several women in our area built a small company to
fire people's pots.
built a great donovan palmquist kiln. ( he is a fine builder.)
car kiln...big.
of course the roofing people and inspectors new how to
do the ceiling, roof flashing.
`hey little ladies, don't tell us how to do roofing.`.
they tried.
the kiln stack was boxed in with wood by the carpenters.
the entire ceiling/roof burned the first time they fired it.
so, beware. those that know, often do not. they have no idea
what temps we are dealing with.
they tried to weadle out. `hey, no one told us it would be 2000f.
what the hell.` no, they would not listen. they knew better.
they had to install a brand new roof and ceiling structure.
they now know.
mel
very few people out there know anything about kilns.
they view them as ovens...500f..cookies.
and, don't assume that electric kilns are easy and safe.
i have a hunch, many are dangerous...i watch mine like a hawk.
light it and leave it.....no house any more.
FROM MINNETONKA, MINNESOTA, USA
http://www.pclink.com/melpots (website)
Sandy Heidel on tue 3 oct 00
Maybe what needs to happen is those that have the correct information, need
to offer it in the form of guidelines that local authorities can relate to
when they consider allowing the building of kilns in their towns and cities.
In a parallel situation my township would not allow my son to shoot his bow
in our rural yard. We own a full acre and had plenty of room. He is a
multi-year state champion and ranked 9th in the nation in his age group, and
is very safe with the bow, but none of that mattered. Furthermore the
ordinance read that we needed a permit, but, the town said they had no
permit...just the ordinance requiring one. We researched safe archery
shooting ranges among the national archery organizations and worked with the
town to establish standards for archery ranges in our township. Everyone must
now have a permit and standards for safety are defined. As I recall we were
on the heels of a few Olympic gold medals that year...which didn't hurt
either!
I think in rural areas in particular, when local authorities are confronted
with an unknown or unfamiliar situation, they have a tendency to say "no".
Maybe a little leg and brain work can lead them to "yes".
Sandy
JAlexan491@AOL.COM on wed 4 oct 00
Yes, as someone who has had experience with local town councils, both from
the inside and out, they do have a tendency to say no more than yes,
especially if you know more than they do about the situation. Even ordinances
won't be enforced or followed if the town council just wants to say no.
Also having experience with the same said town's building inspector---they
are not always what they appear to be. So if one is okaying something that
you know is wrong, don't follow that advice. You most certainly know more
than he does---so don't just respect the title of building inspector. Small
towns can be very easily hoodwinked on personnel. They may be the brother of
someone's wife's cousin.
Been there in NC
SterlingDesign@AOL.COM on wed 4 oct 00
>I think in rural areas in particular, when local authorities are confronted
>with an unknown or unfamiliar situation, they have a tendency to say "no".
>Maybe a little leg and brain work can lead them to "yes
You have to remember that "Public Officials" are charged with maintaining
and insuring public health & safety. May of these individuals are either not
paid or grossly underpaid in their positions, and are not experts in building
related fields.
If you can present your project in a reasonable and clear manner many will
not have a problem. In today's day and age by agreeing to let someone do
something that is not normally allowed opens a flood gate of other potential
serious problems. Zoning and building codes are not something to just
circumvent there are reasons why they exist and they are there for your own
protection as well.
Karen Deasy, RA
Sterling Design
Cabot, Vermont
Dave Murphy on wed 4 oct 00
I have just gone through an approval for my self built brick kiln and burner
assembly. I had purchased the burner system from another potter and built
the brick kiln in my studio which is attached to our house. Here in
Ontario, Canada there is a group called "The Safety Standards Authority"
mostly made up of engineers of one stripe or another. When they came to see
the kiln they were alarmed at the size (60 cu/ft) and also the BTU's that
the burners would be putting out. We got the "code" from the propane
company and then just filled out the application form. The engineer that
came out for the field inspection had never seen a pottery kiln before but
was very interested in what I was doing. He was only interested in the
burner system and the safeties on it. The approval only took about half an
hour. I would suggest that you go any route that would not involve
bureaucrats but try to find technical people. I got all of my information
from the propane company. After all it is in their best interest that they
have you as a customer and are not alarmed that you will be using "gas".
Good Luck
Barbara Murphy
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada
----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2000 10:50 AM
Subject: Re: don't assume it is correct/kiln
> Yes, as someone who has had experience with local town councils, both from
> the inside and out, they do have a tendency to say no more than yes,
> especially if you know more than they do about the situation. Even
ordinances
> won't be enforced or followed if the town council just wants to say no.
>
> Also having experience with the same said town's building inspector---they
> are not always what they appear to be. So if one is okaying something that
> you know is wrong, don't follow that advice. You most certainly know more
> than he does---so don't just respect the title of building inspector.
Small
> towns can be very easily hoodwinked on personnel. They may be the brother
of
> someone's wife's cousin.
>
> Been there in NC
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
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> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
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>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Milton Markey on thu 5 oct 00
Hi Everybody! JAlexan491@AOL.COM writes, In a message dated 10/4/00:
>
> Also having experience with the same said town's building inspector---they
> are not always what they appear to be. So if one is okaying something that
> you know is wrong, don't follow that advice. You most certainly know more
> than he does---so don't just respect the title of building inspector. Small
> towns can be very easily hoodwinked on personnel. They may be the brother
of
> someone's wife's cousin.
===================================
There's also the possibility that one inspector who is favorable to one's
well-planned building project, will be rejected by a peer in the same office.
This happened to us, about six months ago. The first inspector, Mr. "A," went
on vacation, shortly after he gave us the go-ahead for construction. Mr. "B,"
his substitute, came to the project to see the progress, and told us to stop
work--the plans were not in compliance with a little-known code!
We cleared up the mess, after making many non-toll free phone calls to the
County Supervisors, and writing numerous letters with no uncertain terms,
etc. But this fiasco delayed our project for about two months, while we
negotiated a variance, to satisfy Mr. B's needs.
Yes, even in rural areas, the building codes are one tough stumbling block.
When Mr. A returned to the office, he was greatly surprized to learn that Mr.
B stopped our project! I understand another neighbor experienced this
problem, too--hmmm.
Best wishes!
Milton NakedClay@AOL.COM
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