Starting with design and supplies

I started by doing a ton of research, asking tons of questions, reading, and reading. Here's my favorite book list:
The Kiln Book by Frederick Olson- referred to for everything, repeatedly. Hubby used it for burner construction data and I used it as a reference when I had a questions about anything. Very in depth but a lot of info to take in at once. On occasion I found it overwhelming.
Kiln Building-A Brick by Brick Approach by Joe Finch: Great straightforward book with clear plans and explanations. I had the honor of exchanging a few emails with Joe and greatly appreciate his feedback and info. The kiln I have decided to build is closest to his design for a small kiln The diagrams in here are very helpful.
Salt Glazing by Phil Rogers: A great book to keep you motivated when building your kiln!
Soda Glazing by Ruthanne Tudball: Wow! I flip through this book again and again. Keeps me moving forward on the build. :)
For those out there looking for professional kiln build consulting for a fee, William Baker is friendly and knowledgeable too.
The web is of course a great resource starting with the Facebook Soda and Salt firing site. Here I had the pleasure of "meeting" Mathew Gaddie who generously shared his Backyard soda kiln design (innovative and super simple in concept and design) and Denise Joyal who shared her thorough master thesis where she also built a soda kiln based on Mathew's design. Online I also got in touch with Scott Cooper, from St. Earth Pottery in Indiana, who sent me info on his small soda/salt kiln. Wonderful people happily and freely shared their experience and information! It is because of the help and encouragement I got from all these people that I am now starting this blog to record and share the building of my soda kiln and hopefully it will  help someone else with their similar pursuits.
Before finalizing my design, I also started gathering supplies. Somewhere I read that your kiln should be made out of what is available as well as the best design. Of course cost is a huge factor and I am a bargain shopper so I knew this would be an adventure, and it has been! Searching on Craigslist, I ended up in a cow pasture in SC getting used cinder block for the kiln base. These were 50 cents each. :) and the cows were pretty friendly too especially this cute calf.

Having mentioned my pursuits on Facebook, I was lucky enough to meet someone looking to rehome some used hard firebrick, thank you Glenn! I found out that 288 hard firebrick is the maximum we should carry in our Chevy Avalanche even when moved as far forward as possible, with tires slightly over-inflated, and a 3 1/2 hour drive. They are now waiting in my yard for me to get the kiln built.

The IFB (insulated fire brick) was my priciest item and hunting them down was a feat! I found some on ebay and was willing to drive to New Orleans to pick them up but by the time I set aside the money for them, they were already sold and gone. I stumbled across a pallet of K23 IFB on Ebay at a super reasonable price but they were "key" brick, angled as for an arch. They were only a 7 hour drive away in Ohio...could I make it work? They were EXTREMELY reasonable but he was selling it as a whole pallet. Yup, you guessed it, I'll find a way to make them work. (and by the way, he still has quite a few pallets available but only K23 and "key" shape). 

We did manage to fit in a whole pallet in the Avalanche!!!

But, we couldn't have fit in any more! We found out these brick came out of a manganese alloy manufacturing plant, Eramet, in Mariette, OH. We decided a quick trip to check out the closed plant was necessary.

The bricks are now safely stored in our garage.

Last week I started leveling the area for the kiln and building the base.