Back wall all bricked up

On Sunday, yesterday, I finished bricking up the back of the kiln. I sealed with mortar the seam between the arch and the back wall from the inside. While inside the kiln, the seam between the arch and front wall was also sealed. For some reason, this small amount of bricks took much of the day. Besides not raining, it was not freezing, making it a good day to work outside.

There are still a couple of bricks to be added to the top of the front walls. This afternoon, Paul will come by and grind mortar from more old bricks. I moved about 20 bricks inside the pottery studio in front of the heater, since wet bricks only clog the grinder. This is not the most fun job, but a 'necessary evil' for someone who looked for deals on used bricks.

Once more bricks are ground, I will have a better count of how many usable bricks are left for the chimney. Besides the chimney, smaller amounts of bricks will be needed for the bag wall (inside between the firebox and stack of pots), burner ports (when firing with wood, these holes need to be bricked up), peep holes and a few more door bricks.

My piles of bricks in the kiln yard are going down fast. Today, I want to take down chimney bricks to see how the dampers will fit in. Also, I need to see how the better bricks remaining will work into the lower (the foundation part) of the chimney.