Sweat the Small Stuff

I'm very level-headed. At least, I am now! Last night I dreamed of that mysterious, Kryptonite-green liquid, and of capricious, hard-to-please sliding bubbles.

I don't know if I am being more persnickity than is strictly necessary, but I do know that there is no fix for not-persnickity-enough. Though "half-assed" could be my middle name, in this case, I am making sure it's done right.

A couple of things:

• The sand I got, called paving sand, was actually a little too coarse for the second layer.  Once I started using shreds of inswool, things got easier. Silica shot or fine grog might be better. Don't use it to level the first layer, though: 80 pounds of silica shot would be an unnecessary expense. 

• The second layer was at least a million times easier than the first. Which makes sense, as I was laying the second layer on top of a foundattion which had already been levelled. 

• Because the whole kiln is dependent on the sand underneath to keep it level, we needed to channel water from a nearby downspout away from the kiln pad, which lay just slightly down grade from the stream. Doug solved the problem for now by digging a channel leading away. Probably I will have to do something (not sure what yet -- half-pipes? Do they sell those?) to make that a permanent feature. 

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