bout to build a new shed. what would you do different

[oldstyle69]

so, im in another new house, this time we bought the damn thing. im marked out a spot in the back yard for either an 10'x15' or an L shaped shed.

id like to have a working counter with fermentation space underneath. and storage for equipment. likely the keezer as well. maybe a couch for when ive drank to much and start to snore and wake up the rest of the house. the out side hose hook up is about 20 or 25' away. and i can run an ext cord from out side as well. slightly shorter distance.

if you have built a shed, what would you do differently or what tips or exp would you lend me?

 

[broot]

Build it like home construction to keep the mice out. house doors instead of shed doors, ect.

 

[oldstyle69]

for sure. was just thinking about all the black widows i have in my backyard as well.

 

[tdiowa]

Run 220 service

 

[timdillon36]

I have more questions than answers but I hope I can help anyway. First is to find out what codes you have to go by and all that stuff.

Do you plan on this being a permanent structure like a pole barn or is it just going to sit on blocks with a wood floor. Part of that depends on how long you plan to live there. If you want to take it with you in a few years I would look into buying a pre fab one and be done with it. Run a hose and extention cord when you need and done.

If you want to build a brew house that will be there for many years like I want to do I would pour a slab and put up a 2x6 stick building as big as the space will allow. As soon as it's dryed in you have your shed but i would make provisions for drains and electric. I want to set mine up almost as a small guest house but use it as a brew house/pool house with a full bath and a walkin cold enough to lager and serve from. This will be at my next house. Right now I just want to finish by basic basement build.

The only limit is your wallet and imagination. And building codes, Damm codes. And don't forget property taxes.

Edit: Take a look at some of the builds that show up as similar threads at the bottom of the page.

 

[d3track]

If at all possible, I would look into running power and water there, and drainage. I'm in the city, but have basically a 1-car garage as a workshop, and the lack of water/drainage is my only complaint (and turns up really often, when you think of cleaning and testing) and power allows for cooling and heating options when you are out there doing other stuff.

My hose connection is about 30-35' away, and it is a pain in the tail grabbing the RV hose and then winding it back up and storing it out of sunlight.

 

[DaWhip]

My main complaint with my shed is ventilation. It is a prefab 12x14 shed that came with the house, so I make it work OK for my needs. I ran plumbing and electricity inside, but it is not a permanent connection - I hook it up with a water hose and an extension cord when I go out there to work. When I'm boiling, it is basically raining in there with the condensation dripping off of all the walls. I open the doors and the window and set up a fan, but it doesn't help much. Now when the weather is nice, I move my burners right outside of the shed and brew in the open, but that stinks because my plumbing was done with inside in mind.

 

[acidrain]

Run 220v for sure.
Plumb it with water, and install a HW tank.
Add floor drains, or at least a way to hose it out.
Use waterproof interior panels instead of drywall (see previous suggestion for hose-out needs).
Add high-flow ventilation.

DO NOT PERMIT THIS STRUCTURE. Find out what the max sq. ft for an un-permitted structure is in your municipality and use that as a guideline. It's usually <100 sq. ft.
Consider buying a 20' container and use that... it doesn't need a permit. I can get a 20' (or 40' for that matter) container delivered for less that $1800 in my area.

 

[oldstyle69]

DO NOT PERMIT THIS STRUCTURE. Find out what the max sq. ft for an un-permitted structure is in your municipality and use that as a guideline. It's usually <100 sq. ft.
Consider buying a 20' container and use that... it doesn't need a permit. I can get a 20' (or 40' for that matter) container delivered for less that $1800 in my area.

what would be the main reason not to permit it. other than having to pay for the permit and dealing with the city.

 

[kh54s10]

If you run water and electricity to it I think you will HAVE to pull permits. Make sure you know what permits you need. If you don't, and there is any problem, they can make you remove it regardless of how it is installed.

 

[itsnotrequired]

If you run water and electricity to it I think you will HAVE to pull permits. Make sure you know what permits you need. If you don't, and there is any problem, they can make you remove it regardless of how it is installed.

this. very unusual for a municipality to allow permanent water/elec connections without a permit. and that 100 sf rule about not needing a permit is just a guideline, check your municipality. in mine, you need a permit for a shed, no matter how small, whether it has electricity or not. of course, this is flaunted all the time but the rule is there.

saw the op is in chicago, is that chicago proper? good luck with that on the permit front. you will need to hire a licensed electrician and plumber to do any of that work, homeowners cannot do their own work, even on their own property.

 

[oldstyle69]

im in national city, ca. now. maybe i should update that info. haha. i was just researching the permit site. i plan on having it built from a shed company here, so i assume they will have to get me the plans in order to submit them for a permit.

 

[dragonlor20]

If permanent connections are the cause of pulling permits maybe just set it up like an appliance? Plug in water, plug in electrical, brew. Everything else could be hard-plumbed, hard-wired within the shed itself.

As for things I would do differently (mine is a bar/brew setup in the garage), I would say plan the big picture in advance. I think I had trouble ever being realistic about how big my operation was going to be, so now I have lots of cool, useful stuff in annoying, inefficient places. In many cases the pieces are large and heavy and moving them to other locations is going to be difficult if not impossible by myself.

Put things on wheels if you can...

 

[GJOCONNELL]

I would go with a shed about 25% larger than you think you need. If you can run 240v/50 amp service as well as water if you can.

I went with a 10x12 shed and in hindsight should have gone 12x15 or larger (wife permitting). I got 15 amp service run to the shed with lights but my shed became the dumping ground for my extra bikes, reloading bench, et al so I ran out of space quickly.

Lay everything out so it has a spot to be stored in the manner you would pull it out to brew...the more thought you put into that the easier brew days will go especially on the cleanup side of things. A drain would be tits!

 

[oldstyle69]

anyone have ideas for cheap interior walls? not sure i wanna shell out money for drywall. i do plan on insulating it and vapor barrier.