Home Brew Stairway Storage

[CAustin919]

Sooo... this new "hobby" is now starting to change the landscape of the house.

I've grown tired of having the equipment in the kitchen all the time.. so I decided to repurpose some space in the basement. The goal is to create a temperature controlled "cabinet." It will be insulated and will contain a couple light bulb base ceramic infrared heaters. Down the road I plan on using a small fridge to cool the space down if I need to. Wired up a new 2 gang box with a switch to control the cabinet and a new duplex.

The temp controlled cabinet should hold at least 4 carboys.

I'll build in a couple of shelves.. The space in the front will hold 8 crates which hold 16 bottles apiece.

Pictures of today's progress to come.

 

[CAustin919]

 

[CAustin919]

Sorry about the big friggin pics...

 

[toronado13]

Looks cool, can't wait to see the final product... I've got a similar space in my basement, this might inspire me to make some use of it.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I have a space like this as well, but I planned on using it for a storm shelter for the wife and kids. We get some nasty tornadoes and storms here in the spring and summer and it's better to be safe than sorry. This is a great use for that space as well.

 

[JackSmith]

Looks great. It's hard to tell from the pics, but is your concrete sealed & painted, or is it bare? If it's bare, you should have used pressure treated lumber for the sole plate on that framing. Having non-PT lumber on bare concrete is a bad idea and fails to meet code in most places. The wood will wick moisture through the concrete and if it's not PT, it will get moldy and rot rather quickly. If the concrete is sealed & painted that should serve as a moisture barrier.

 

[CAustin919]

Looks great. It's hard to tell from the pics, but is your concrete sealed & painted, or is it bare? If it's bare, you should have used pressure treated lumber for the sole plate on that framing. Having non-PT lumber on bare concrete is a bad idea and fails to meet code in most places. The wood will wick moisture through the concrete and if it's not PT, it will get moldy and rot rather quickly. If the concrete is sealed & painted that should serve as a moisture barrier.

I thought about that.. but I could very easily undo this whole thing if I need to. Our basement is unusually dry. Both the walls and the floor have a waterproof sealant and multiple layers of paint applied... builder said we have a 20 year waterproof warranty.. but who knows.

In the areas where we have started to finish the basement (wall framing & storage shelves), I have used PT lumber.

 

[CAustin919]

Made some progress today. Beefed up the frame.. added OSB.. and foil lined foam board.

 

[509inc]

that is looking good. Keep us updated with pics.

 

[CAustin919]

Got the door framed and hung. Decided to insulate the door too.. so I sandwiched the plywood in first and then pieced together some scraps of foam board with aluminum tape.

White board was cheap at the orange box store.. so now I have a dry erase door for making notes/dates of fermentations etc...

I had originally planned on using light bulbs to warm the cabinet. But I've been thinking, and I don't know if I like the idea of having to cover the carboys all the time. I don't want to use a belt.. because I could have done that without the cabinet. I was thinking maybe a ceramic infrared heat emitter, but I am open to suggestions.

Todays progress pics in a minute....

 

[CAustin919]

 

[DubbelDach]

I had originally planned on using light bulbs to warm the cabinet. But I've been thinking, and I don't know if I like the idea of having to cover the carboys all the time.

Do you have to cover them if it's lightbulb light? I always thought that it was just UV light we had to worry about. I've kept clear carboys in lighted rooms.

 

[Atl300zx]

Light from light bulbs can still skunk beer. There was recently an article in either Zymurgy or BYO (cant remmeber which) that talked about the differnt types of light (incandescent vs natural vs floro)

 

[Acoma]

Is that a pumpkin back there?

 

[wedge421]

Great idea!!

 

[CAustin919]

Do you have to cover them if it's lightbulb light? I always thought that it was just UV light we had to worry about. I've kept clear carboys in lighted rooms.

From what I have read, both here and otherwise, you are correct that it is UV light that does the harm. The shorter wavelength light, if you will. Incandescent bulbs can give off light considered to be in the UV range.. the amount can differ.

Light from light bulbs can still skunk beer. There was recently an article in either Zymurgy or BYO (cant remmeber which) that talked about the differnt types of light (incandescent vs natural vs floro)

This is what I always thought, different types of bulbs can have varying amounts of UV light. Which is why I think I am going to go with the ceramic heater.

Is that a pumpkin back there?

Ummm... yeah.. but not the kind thats going to end up in a pumpkin porter. This area was formerly used as our holiday decoration storage area. And now.. dammit.. I'm gunna use it for beer. :rockin:

Great idea!!

Thanks.