I don't think one would enjoy having a floor drain underfoot in work zones like in front of a sink or in front of a brew rig...
Cheers!
Cheers!
Brew room design questions
- Thread starter hezagenius
- Start date
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That's kind of what I'm thinking. The room will be 16' x 24'. The brew wall will be on a 16' side. All the plumbing and brewing equipment and a fridge or 2 will be on or near that wall. I think it might make sense to have the trench drain run parallel to that wall and set back 8' or so. The other end of the room will be for storage/non-brewing items so I'm trying to keep the drain from encroaching into that area in case I want to put down a rug and chairs or something.
shoengine
Whale Noun Member
What deck on the Starship Enterprise is that brew room?
BarryBrews
Well-Known Member
Another factor not mentioned here is the noise level of your exhaust fan and pumps. If you are going to spend 4+ hours in a hard walled room brewing consider purchasing the quietest equipment and possibly sound proofing on the walls.
Red Clay
Well-Known Member
I went to great trouble to put in a complicated floor trench system into my basement brew room. I think I put in about sixteen feet (five meters) of 4" drain and a pit for a lift pump to get it out. It surrounded my brewing area so that I could just spill to my heart's content.
Let me first say...cutting some 34 feet of 6" concreate slab is the single worse DIY thing I have ever done. I won't do it again.
That being said, it was WAY overkill. I should have simply put in a single 4" square floor drain and gently sloped the floor toward the drain with some tile or something.
As chessking said above, think of it making your floor squeegee and mopping experience easier, and as an emergency 'pear shaped day' backup if the outlet breaks off your 1/2 BBL mash tun while it's filled with 167F water (which you're not fixing until it's all on the floor.) It's still a really bad day, but you aren't burned trying to stop a scalding hot stream of wort and all you have to do is mop, not replace all the sheetrock.
The irony of my herculean effort on the floor drain masterpiece is I never brewed on it. We sold the house just after I finished it. And boy was it hard to explain that to prospective buyers. Good thing the house buying frenzy was on our side!
The one thing I'm adding to my new brewery is an overhead helper. I'm not getting younger and beer isn't making me more fit. So I'm using unitrack and some nifty pully and slides to be able to pull my grain basket by myself and trolly it over to the sink. Speaking of sinks, I really like my 40" long Mustee Model 28 Big Tub.
Let me first say...cutting some 34 feet of 6" concreate slab is the single worse DIY thing I have ever done. I won't do it again.
That being said, it was WAY overkill. I should have simply put in a single 4" square floor drain and gently sloped the floor toward the drain with some tile or something.
As chessking said above, think of it making your floor squeegee and mopping experience easier, and as an emergency 'pear shaped day' backup if the outlet breaks off your 1/2 BBL mash tun while it's filled with 167F water (which you're not fixing until it's all on the floor.) It's still a really bad day, but you aren't burned trying to stop a scalding hot stream of wort and all you have to do is mop, not replace all the sheetrock.
The irony of my herculean effort on the floor drain masterpiece is I never brewed on it. We sold the house just after I finished it. And boy was it hard to explain that to prospective buyers. Good thing the house buying frenzy was on our side!
The one thing I'm adding to my new brewery is an overhead helper. I'm not getting younger and beer isn't making me more fit. So I'm using unitrack and some nifty pully and slides to be able to pull my grain basket by myself and trolly it over to the sink. Speaking of sinks, I really like my 40" long Mustee Model 28 Big Tub.
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I hear you! My brew space is in my garage. I've got everything I need in there except hot water and a floor drain. That means I have to lug everything down to the basement laundry room for clean-up. I often wonder if I'll be able to handle that in 10 or 15 years. My wife has been pretty understanding about my investment in this hobby, but I don't think she's going to go for the expense of getting a drain put in the garage.
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Red Clay
Well-Known Member
Here's the link to a Unistrut trolley video. I've got a BrewHaHa 1/2 BBL system and that BIAC basket cannot be lifted without some mechanical advantage. I'm just now installing a smaller SS Brew Tech brewery (I don't yet have hordes of 'friends' at the new location, so 15 gallon batches last a wee bit too long.) I plan on using that trolley to pull a bag I'll be putting my grain in to contain it and not have to schlep the full tun to the trash.
The other way you can clean out a mash tun is with a wet-dry vac. When we started our brewery back in 2013 that's how we emptied our 1 BBL mash vessel. It worked like a charm.
The other way you can clean out a mash tun is with a wet-dry vac. When we started our brewery back in 2013 that's how we emptied our 1 BBL mash vessel. It worked like a charm.
There's a doorway now, and a trench for the floor drain to tie back to the existing drain system.
Definitely invest in a 220v electric space heater to keep warm in winter.
@ScrewyBrewer
There will be baseboard heating in the room
There will be baseboard heating in the room
Red Clay
Well-Known Member
Looks great! Is that a hunk of concreate laying on the ground through the door?
Yes, that's what they cut out of the existing basement wall for the door to the new room.
Red Clay
Well-Known Member
Holy moly. I bet that shook the house when it fell!
Not sure. I was out getting lunch I think when it happened. At least the contractors had the decency to push it outward instead of inward. It still took a jackhammer and a skidloader to remove the pieces of it.
Floor drain tied into the house drain
Floor drain in the brew room
Floor drain in the brew room
While there is still an opportunity possible to have a cold room for storing beer (before kegging, etc). Do wish I had the room for such a thing.
I plan to have at least 1 fridge/upright freezer for temp control and possibly a 2nd one if the need arises.
Red Clay
Well-Known Member
Yeah. In my build I'm planning on a two-stage cold room (both small...basically a long 8' wide walk-in closet with two rooms.)
Front part will be ~55F, the back part I'll keep at ~38F. That's the plan at least. I might need to up my glycol system as I'm going to use glycol chillers I think...since I'll have the glycol system anyway. I want to do some stuff other than beer, specifically artisan cheeses. And the misses wants a 'cellar' for storing stuff and that's really hard when you are 7 foot above the high-tide mark!
Front part will be ~55F, the back part I'll keep at ~38F. That's the plan at least. I might need to up my glycol system as I'm going to use glycol chillers I think...since I'll have the glycol system anyway. I want to do some stuff other than beer, specifically artisan cheeses. And the misses wants a 'cellar' for storing stuff and that's really hard when you are 7 foot above the high-tide mark!
Sweet!
Red Clay
Well-Known Member
@hezagenius Are you going to put a roll-up garage door in that large opening? That'll be sweet if you do!!!
Hmm, hadn't thought of that. We were planning on french doors so we could easily get through anything we wanted (appliances, mowers, snowblower, etc.) Since it will be exposed to the outside, I want to make sure whatever door goes there has a nice seal.
Red Clay
Well-Known Member
Check out this type of door (if you are interested.) Lots of light, seals very well and can be thrown open to get that 'outside-while-inside' feeling on those awesome days.
The problem would how to attach that to the ceiling, plus the room will be about 7'8" so that type of door would really cut into that clearance. I like the idea though.
Garage doors are nice if the weather cooperates. Around my home, we'd probably have maybe 1 hour or so to actually use.
Floor drains are rough. Perhaps, best not to watch.
But then things turned out OK.
Nice!
Wish we lived closer and I'd invite you over. I even have a Ruthie tap from Exile Brewing Co. in Des Moines ;-)
Red Clay
Well-Known Member
Yeah, at 7' 8" that would be a problem for sure unless you and all your friends are particularly short! The build is looking great. You are going to love it.
I have been in Concrete and Waterproofing for almost 30 years, so a couple comments on the floors...
If at all possible PUT A VAPOR BARRIER under the floor before pouring concrete. Even in dry desert environments vapor drive will cause your coating (even epoxy in many situations) to bubble and delaminate from the floor. Ideally you would want a vapor barrier such as Grace Florprufe which will prevent vapor from coming thru, but it is very expensive. A good Vapor Retarder such as Stegowrap would likely be good enough (especially if seams are taped), easy to install and should run you about 30 cents or less a square foot. (As a side note, using 6-mil visqueen is common in residential construction but does very little good for moisture mitigation and is generally a waste of money. )
Secondly, like the other posts I recommend epoxy coating. However, you may need to wait 4-6 months or longer after placing the concrete for it to cure/dry out enough to install it. A good installer will have moisture meters and should be able to tell you when the moisture (and pH) levels in the concrete are ok for additional coatings.
Finally, many of today's coatings use chips that are good for wet/non slip situations without needing a broadcast of sand. Talk to a local subcontractor about what they have to offer.
EDIT:
Full Disclosure, I worked for Grace/GCP for ten years before retiring in May. I have no connection with the company now.
If at all possible PUT A VAPOR BARRIER under the floor before pouring concrete. Even in dry desert environments vapor drive will cause your coating (even epoxy in many situations) to bubble and delaminate from the floor. Ideally you would want a vapor barrier such as Grace Florprufe which will prevent vapor from coming thru, but it is very expensive. A good Vapor Retarder such as Stegowrap would likely be good enough (especially if seams are taped), easy to install and should run you about 30 cents or less a square foot. (As a side note, using 6-mil visqueen is common in residential construction but does very little good for moisture mitigation and is generally a waste of money. )
Secondly, like the other posts I recommend epoxy coating. However, you may need to wait 4-6 months or longer after placing the concrete for it to cure/dry out enough to install it. A good installer will have moisture meters and should be able to tell you when the moisture (and pH) levels in the concrete are ok for additional coatings.
Finally, many of today's coatings use chips that are good for wet/non slip situations without needing a broadcast of sand. Talk to a local subcontractor about what they have to offer.
EDIT:
Full Disclosure, I worked for Grace/GCP for ten years before retiring in May. I have no connection with the company now.
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