Building a new house - need suggestions

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

tulsabrewdaddy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2011
Messages
166
Reaction score
2
Location
Tulsa
We are building a new house with a 3 car garage, the third car will mainly be brewing and tools. I currently run natural gas but foresee electric in my future. I have thought of a couple things to make sure they put out there but I'm sure I have missed a lot. Here is my current list:

50 amp outlet
Plumbed for a sink
Natural gas line

Please give me advice from your experience, thanks!
 
I assume that 50amp line is 220v. Make sure either the outlet or the breaker is GFI. I believe code states if an outlet is dedicated for an appliance like a stove or dryer (purpose of most 220 outlets), then it won't be required to be protected even a kitchen or garage. But you'll definitely want the protection.

Do you use well water and a softener? If so, you may want to specify a separate line from before the softener run to the garage for brewing water supply.

Define multiple lighting circuits as opposed to a single switch for the whole garage.
 
I would second the sub panel idea, with a standard and GFI circuit coming off of it. A GFI breaker can go crazy if you plug a welder to it.

If you plan on an air compressor, I would try to incorporate a specific enclosure for it outside of the garage if it fits the layout you have in mind, then run air inside. This keeps you from having to listen to a noisy compressor in the garage.

you can never have too much lighting, and the multiple switch layout would be very nice. Definitely a good good light over the workbench (no garage is complete without a workbench).

A floor drain is also nice, not absolutely necessary if you have plenty of slope leading out of your garage into the yard. I would make absolutely sure that you incorporate at least a 12" knee wall to get the drywall/paneling/wall sheathing up off the floor so that you don't have to deal with deteriation. Most localities require this, but not all.

Beer Fridge/Kegerator.
 
Third the sub panel, and oversize it. If people plan on using their garage a lot, I recommend they put in at least 100A sub panel. It's far better to pay the extra few bucks now than be running inside and resetting breakers when your compressor kicks in while the mash is just coming to a boil.

Also, don't say that you want a 60A gfci breaker, tell them you want a 60A spa panel beside the sub panel. It's far cheaper than paying for a gfci breaker. Or it is here in Canada anyway. If you have the sub panel, you don't even have to do anything right now for electric brewing.

One more thing, tell them you want a big sub panel. A lot of guys out in a dinky little panel and you run out of room right away. The difference between a 12/24 (24 circuits, 240v circuits take up 4 spaces) and a 32/64 is about $20. Again, same as supply size, cheap to do now, expensive later.

One last thing, make sure your wifi signal is good, if not, run some cat5e for an access point. And run some coax+cat5e for a future tv, you never know... ;)
 
Back
Top