Ok... So I have 2 viable options to setting up the brew cave. My basement is not moldy by no means, however it does not have a standard door etc. The side door is just 2x4's tied together basically with a pin to hold it shut. That will eventually get upgraded. At any rate My house is 100+ years old on a stone stack basement. I have had 1 surface water flood in the past, I have done a lot of mitigating, and there is only a small portion of water leak at this point(about a 2 foot square). I have every intention of sealing off the remainder of that wall and putting a water barrier over the mortar that was patched on the wall. The majority of runoff came from downspouts that were addressed and re-pointed. The house is high enough that for ground water to come in.. it would have to be biblical.
My garage is also large, modestly insulated(r11) I added for comfort when working on things. It is a detached garage (roughly 26x26 interior) large enough for 2 cars and brew cart and whatever I need(i will have to re-arrange some shelving to make this fit). I'd like for the convenience of being able to brew in the basement over the winter... it stays a pretty steady 40-50 downstairs all year round. My concern is the mildew smell / until I seal the walls and concrete floor with epoxy. I've stored several boxes downstairs with cases of bottles etc. that do not have any moisture issues. The boxes stay dry. I'd say the humidity is usually 40-50% I guess that would be a good place to start is a more accurate reading with better equipment then the simple cheap 5 dollar gig from Walmart temp/humid.
I do believe in short term a cheap simple built 2x4 brew cart in the garage will suffice. I'm more or less asking for advice on how to convert / if its a good idea to convert the basement into the brew dungeon. I have the ability to knock a hole in an exterior wall and add an exhaust fan etc. down here. The basement is wired up also, I use it for making soft plastic lures etc. I would likely add a 220 plug to the mix. Basement already has water ran as well. The downfall to brewing in the garage will be moisture control / having to move a car out / get water into the garage etc. I have an outside spigot though so it would just need to have non hose water for the brew batch. I'd run the well through the hose for the chiller comes out of the ground extremely cold.
Sorry to be long winded, but I'm sure others have converted a basement similar to this long term.
My garage is also large, modestly insulated(r11) I added for comfort when working on things. It is a detached garage (roughly 26x26 interior) large enough for 2 cars and brew cart and whatever I need(i will have to re-arrange some shelving to make this fit). I'd like for the convenience of being able to brew in the basement over the winter... it stays a pretty steady 40-50 downstairs all year round. My concern is the mildew smell / until I seal the walls and concrete floor with epoxy. I've stored several boxes downstairs with cases of bottles etc. that do not have any moisture issues. The boxes stay dry. I'd say the humidity is usually 40-50% I guess that would be a good place to start is a more accurate reading with better equipment then the simple cheap 5 dollar gig from Walmart temp/humid.
I do believe in short term a cheap simple built 2x4 brew cart in the garage will suffice. I'm more or less asking for advice on how to convert / if its a good idea to convert the basement into the brew dungeon. I have the ability to knock a hole in an exterior wall and add an exhaust fan etc. down here. The basement is wired up also, I use it for making soft plastic lures etc. I would likely add a 220 plug to the mix. Basement already has water ran as well. The downfall to brewing in the garage will be moisture control / having to move a car out / get water into the garage etc. I have an outside spigot though so it would just need to have non hose water for the brew batch. I'd run the well through the hose for the chiller comes out of the ground extremely cold.
Sorry to be long winded, but I'm sure others have converted a basement similar to this long term.