If you needed to plan a brew shed?

I have had a shed project in mind for a year now, with plans to dig into the project in 3-5 years... but my brewing habit is taking up garage space, and I think I might dedicate some shed space to it.

Right now, I do LP and Extract brewing, but want to step to AG and kegging (bottle now)

I am wrestling with the major construction items now:
1) Power
2) Plumbing
3) Flooring

I figure a 4x4x4 cold space would be nice to build in, and need to plan electric for that plus lights, fans, pumps, etc. Plumbing in the LP as well as well would be nice.

The major construction hold up though is flooring.

Would you do a raised wood floor and linoleum + drain, or a concrete floor with a drain? I like wood cause I can do it without outsourcing, but concrete seems easier to clean and hose off and lasting longer.

Thoughts?

I'd think doing raised wood floor with either linoleum or tile flooring would work -- you should be able to hose off tile or lino, especially if you build in a floor drain. From what I've been seeing on these forums you probably want to go bigger than 4x4x4 for your cold space. In my opinion the electricity is relatively easy (one feed from your main panel to a sub in your shed then wiring your outlets) and plumbing your LP is probably just as easy. Since you're down in Austin I think the only big deal is how to plumb the drain lines (water lines shouldn't freeze in winter

You could do concrete yourself. A small pad is not that hard to do. You can get instruction from the web. The hardest thing is getting the slope to your drain right.

Nothing wrong with a wood floor either. Just make sure to use pressure treated wood for anything that will touch the ground.

How far is the shed from your house? Do you have a basement in your house? Can you take some pictures of where the utilities will go, to help us visualize?

Don't forget about that white restaurant washable wall stuff - I have NO idea what it's called, but it's hose off-able...

+1 on going electric. If you can handle the wiring, it's easier and cheaper than gas IMO. If you run gas in a shed, you're gonna have to have some hella ventilation. With electric all you have to deal with is steam. And it's cheaper to run electric than gas pipe, if you do it yourself...

SweetSounds said:

Don't forget about that white restaurant washable wall stuff - I have NO idea what it's called, but it's hose off-able...

+1 on going electric. If you can handle the wiring, it's easier and cheaper than gas IMO. If you run gas in a shed, you're gonna have to have some hella ventilation. With electric all you have to deal with is steam. And it's cheaper to run electric than gas pipe, if you do it yourself...

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I believe that would be FRP.

rabeb25 said:

I believe that would be FRP.

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+1 on the FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Panel). It is great stuff. Durable, washable, and fairly easy to install. You can get it at HD or Lowes. The only negative is that it is a little spendy. It is over $32 in my area.

You would need to hang Sheetrock first then install the FRP. Including glue trim, etc. it would cost around $1.25 per sq. ft. of wall area to install FRP.

to add to the dude from the red planet: where moisture abounds, you may want to consider cement board instead of gypsum.

sjlammer said:

How far is the shed from your house? Do you have a basement in your house? Can you take some pictures of where the utilities will go, to help us visualize?

Click to expand...

about 25 feet away. pictures at this point won't do much justice, there's lots of other stuff and projects that need work before this one can start - I am just trying to get a feel of concrete versus wood for the base of it. Would definitely be PT wood if going wood... and likely would outsource the concrete so the outsourcing company can do my design/permits quicker than me figuring that all out.

You would need to hang Sheetrock first then install the FRP. Including glue trim, etc. it would cost around $1.25 per sq. ft. of wall area to install FRP.

I studded the wall and put rigid insulation (that blue or red stuff) between the studs and nailed the FRP with ss nails. It works great. easy to clean, brightens up the room (Its all white)

If your are going to be into brewing for a while go electric.
Cheaper, Easier, Better,

you can see the way i studded up my wall

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/squam-lakes-brewery-pictures-144764/