Building My Solar Dry Kiln
Written by on January 14, 2017
THE DOORS
The next thing to do was build the front doors. The 2 end doors are hinged, and the 3 center ones are simply lifted and removed. They sit in a channel I made on the bottom and top. It is about 1 1/2″ deep on the top and 1″ on the bottom. This allows me to lift the doors into the upper channel, and let them down into the lower channel. They remain about 1/2″ into the upper channel keeping them in place.
I began making them by building a frame for each one out of 1″x4″s using biscuits and glue. I sat them into place using hinges for the ends, and letting the center ones rest in the channel in their correct positions. They had about 1/2″ clearance between doors and fit loosely. I then applied the siding on each door. I offset the siding, one door to the next to have it overlap onto the next door. This helps to hold them in position. Here’s a photo so you get the idea. I ran a string along the length to keep them straight:
Next, I laid the doors onto a couple of saw horses:
and cut some 1″ Styrofoam sheathing to fit into the center:
Then I applied the same 1/2″x8″ material I used for the inside walls, being careful to make it the correct width for the doors to fit.
The final step was to install a heavy cloth tarp which is used to lay over the lumber stacks after loading. This diverts the air back into the rear upper plenum 6″ area I made earlier when I installed the metal. Here’s a shot of the tarp I used:
And here is a photo of it installed:
I screwed a 1″x4″ to the ceiling at the bottom end of the black metal. The cloth ran underneath to hold it up. I used 2 sections. This works well since the cloth is fairly heavy, and lifting it into position when needed is a lot easier (as you climb over the wood…not fun.) And here’s a picture showing the dehumidifier with the cloth draped over the wood. By the way, you can easily find a dehumidifier at flea markets fairly cheap. I got mine for $10.00:
Well, that’s about it. I worked on the thing off and on over a series of months in my spare time. But it could be built in a couple weeks if you stayed at it. It is a great design and easy to build. Thanks for reading!