Basement Brew Room Renovation

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rabeb25

HE of who can not be spoken of.
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So I have been brewing in my basement utility room for a few years now. We just decided we are going to stay in the house for a couple more years. With that I want to upgrade my brew room, to more of a "real brewroom". I want to move the floor drain below my equipment, a nice hood and tile the floor, and figure what to do with the walls/ceiling. I need to relocate some HVAC stuff (trunk, air exchanger etc) and some plumbing. But I was more curious as to what to do with the walls/ceiling. I want it to be able to get wet(pretty much hose it down) and not get moldy in doing so...so... what say you guys?

Here is a current picture of the area:
herms.jpg
 
when you get drywall get the water resistant stuff(i think its green) they use it a lot for bathrooms and such. also make sure the paint is latex itll help prevent water getting into your insulation cause it works like a rubber coating. everything else looks good. good luck and keep pics comin
 
Another option is to attach plywood with screws and cover with a chlorinated rubber pool paint. I did this an an aquarium utility room setup with 6 inches of insulation in the walls, heating and air conditioning. The walls held up great in a nasty salt water environment (much more severe than a brewery) and I could keep the temperature fairly constant.

That's my cold-side brewing room now, lol.
 
I like the FRP suggestion.

The Pros are: they come in 4x8 panels, you can get them at HD, it is a quick and easy install, and, if installed correctly, are fairly waterproof.

The Cons are: FRP is spendy, the last time I bought it I think it was around $30 a sheet. You would need to install the panels over drywall, green board preferred, which adds to the expense. Installing FRP on a ceiling might be difficult.

"Thirteen" suggestion to use tile would make a really nice looking room. He is correct that you would need to use concrete board or hardi-backer on the studs to install the tile on. Tile is surprisingly easy to install. I would be more work than the FRP but the results would be really nice. You could use it on the ceiling but I would not.

Whatever you use for the walls - use cove-base molding on the bottom of the walls. Good luck!
 
:off:
what is the cfm on the range hood?
:off:

green drywal is only resistent, not proof, skip that, if you reallywant to hose down, frb, or as suggested abouve, the pool paint. however. the pool paint i used before, to odly enough paint a pool, was a 2 part epoxy mix stuff that is nasty. you will need mad ventilation to use it. otherwise you will have many other issues.
 
You have several options and greenboard, mold resistant, or regular drywall should not be anywhere on your list.

FRP or PVC panels are an option. As another poster stated, you can go with a tiled surface over a cement-based substrate and then go with epoxy grout (common industrial/commercial kitchen application) or wrap your whole room in Kerdi (GREAT product) before tiling.


And check the CFM on that vent hood. Unless you have a bigger fan rigged up I highly doubt it's anywhere near enough. You will be looking for 500 CFM in all likelihood as a minimum just to deal with the vapor and those older integrated style hoods are usually in the 200 CFM range at most.
 
I don't have a lot of brewing experience but I've built plenty of stuff. If your time frame is really just two years I wouldn't go to crazy with this project. If the drain is usable leave it where it is (they're a b!tch to move if in concrete), use the green drywall all around and put about 3-5 coats of a good bathroom paint on it and paint your floor. You may not be able to hose the whole room down but you'll have a much improved space that didn't require a ton of work and money you'll just be leaving behind.

When you move and plan to stay then go crazy with it.
 
Stainless, all stainless!!! :ban:

Only about $5.50 sq ft for 20 gauge 304:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=715&step=4&showunits=inches&id=30&top_cat=1

Let's see...

If room is 8' x 8 ' square and 7' high, that's about 450 sq ft of wall.
450 x $5.50 = $2,475

A bargain! :D

(you've got to admit that it would be mega-cool, although it might echo a bit)

-Steve

That would be kewl. Put it on the floor as well and you could use the room as an open fermentor for extra large batches :rockin:
 
What do you mean when you say you'll be in the house "a couple more years"? If you're going to be there for 10+ years, then you can go nuts and make the space 'hose-down worthy'. In this case tile for the floor, FRP or PVC panels, & relocate the drain.

But if you're going to be there <5 years, I'd be a bit more conservative. You could still use tile for the floor, but go with water-resistant drywall with several coats of a good paint; and leave the drain where it is. Maybe you could install a utility sink and pipe it's drain over to your existing floor drain. Besides, it looks like your brewery is electric, in which case I'm not sure how much hosing I'd want to do. This way you're not sinking a bunch of money in something you'll only use for a few years that would also hurt the resell of the house.

As for the hood, if your brewery is indeed electric, you only need to vent the steam. So unless you're already having problems venting all the steam, I wouldn't worry about it unless you're in the 10+ year scenario.
 
Thanks for all the opinions guys.. I am awaiting a quote on the Delcan stuff. other than that..There are so many options!

Thanks!
 
Can the pool pain be painted over anything? or is there something best to put behind it?

You would have to check the specs on the specific paint. Chlorinated rubber paint is used for many industrial applications to provide a waterproof, weatherproof coating. I know that you cannot paint it over some other types of paints. I also know from experience that it adheres well to plywood.
 
I know rhino type truck bed liners come in almost all colors now. It might not be pretty but it would be tough and waterproof. I know auto parts stores sell the kits you can roll on. I don't know about applying it to plywood, or the drywall they use in bathrooms but it might be worth looking into.
 
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