Dry Kiln Exterior Wall material

[pine]

Most DH kilns show the exterior wall made of plywood. 
I had thought of doing a B&B style exterior wall but recently have thought of using the exterior metal sheathing that can be found. 

My question is has anyone used metal sheathing on a DH kiln exterior wall?
Can you fasten it directly to the frame of the kiln (studs and horizontal blocking) or do you need to have a solid backing such as plywood.  If so that kind of defeats my thinking of using the metal sheathing.

[red oaks lumber]

on the inside of the chamber or outside? if you want to put inside the chamber, it will rust away inside 5 yrs. to much acid in the air.

[pine]

Most DH kilns show the exterior wall made of plywood. 
I had thought of doing a B&B style exterior wall but recently have thought of using the exterior metal sheathing that can be found. 

My question is has anyone used metal sheathing on a DH kiln exterior wall?
Can you fasten it directly to the frame of the kiln (studs and horizontal blocking) or do you need to have a solid backing such as plywood.  If so that kind of defeats my thinking of using the metal sheathing.

on the inside of the chamber or outside? if you want to put inside the chamber, it will rust away inside 5 yrs. to much acid in the air.

The question was about the exterior wall. 
I want to think that with the interior wood wall then the 6 mil poly barrier then the various layers of insulation that rust will not be a problem from the inside.  Exterior weather effects are another issue but the question is more whether the exterior metal sheathing would require a plywood backer or could I just use the studs and horizontal backers for fastening.  The hope would be that any moisture that got through the inner barriers would escape through the metal just like it would through any wood exterior wall sheathing.

[WDH]

Yellowhammer has metal sheathing on the outside of his kiln.



 

[red oaks lumber]

if your kiln chamber is built well and insulated good, then steel on the outside will be no differant than a pole building.you dont need a plywood backer, just nail it to your girts.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Galvalum is often used, but painted steel does not seem like a good idea due to rusting from scratches, etc.

[Bill Gaiche]

I think sheet metal on the outside would work just fine. If well insulated with a plastic barrier. It should last about as long as anything and if you do have a problem with it, just take the screws out and replace the bad with new. Plus it wouldn't take long to cover a kiln with it.bg

[pine]

The stuff I was looking at was either the gavalume from HD or the Fabral which I think is a brand of gavalume from Lowes.

[pineywoods]

Mine's a combination of whatever I had handy. Metal roofing over sheet styrofoam on the back/door, pine board and batten everywhere else. The pine is beginning to rot near the ground. I need to get hopping on the new/bigger build that's on the to-do list..

[Den Socling]

At this shop, we have 5000 square feet for controller manufacturing and a couple small vac kilns. I built it in three sections starting about 10 years ago. Steel construction. I have Galvalum on the roof but painted steel on the walls. Point is that this stuff doesn't rust. You drill 1000's of holes while setting up a building. I have yet to see any hole or sawed edge develop any rust. I think it would be fine outside a kiln.

[jdonovan]

I had thought of doing a B&B style exterior wall but recently have thought of using the exterior metal sheathing that can be found. 

Can you fasten it directly to the frame of the kiln (studs and horizontal blocking) or do you need to have a solid backing such as plywood. 

Either can be done, but both are prone to a less-air tight exterior.

If you are careful about your sealing, you can overcome the air tightness. But unless you have access to lower cost metal siding I'm not sure of the cost/labor savings. Your local market may make some choices more economical than others.

I could the see the cost savings for B&B if you are cutting your own materials. I've read a few papers that indicate the shiplap is faster to put up, and much tighter in final performance as a siding material. Its a bit more labor to cut the grooves in the ends of the boards, but a day with a table saw, or router table and you can produce a lot of shiplap boards.