Brew room design questions

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Ugh. First major build snag. Had a big rain yesterday afternoon and there was leaking down into the brew room. No roof on the garage so obviously way more water than would ever be on the floor above it, but it definitely does leak down to the brew room. And garage floor does not drain well so I have concerns about winter time when snow builds up on cars and slowly melts off. Not sure what to do about it. I have some workaround ideas but for the chunk of change we are spending, I don't want to go in needing workarounds on day 1.

Builder said the concrete cap above the precast should provide a seal. Obviously concrete shrinks so there was no way it was going to seal up against the wall. He said to call him when it leaks. My diplomatic wife (an attorney) sent him an email this morning. Waiting to hear back. I'm sure he'll say there will never be that much water, which is true. That's what I would say. But since the floor above it is essentially flat, it wouldn't take much water to make it to the side and leak down the wall. And when floor cracks at control joints (under where a car will be parked), I don't see any way it won't leak with rain or snow unless remedied somehow. Grrr.
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Agreed on the timing. When we built our house, the original builder said if you want to know if something leaks, spray it with a hose for 10 minutes and wait. I told my wife I was going to do that this weekend and she said not to. Legally speaking, if I caused the leak, that could hurt us in any legal dispute. So a hard rain in that sense was a good thing.

I'm just wondering if there should have been some kind of barrier between the precast panels and the concrete on top of it. My concern was never that water would seep through the concrete and the panels, but that it would seep through any gaps between the concrete and the panels. In tiled showers, there is a waterproof barrier under the tiles. I wonder if there should have been something like that here?
 
The roof will help a lot, but I understand your snow/ice predicament. I'm curious what they'll say . . .
 
It's the snow and rain dripping from a car that's the primary issue, and really mostly just snow. But there are times when your wheel well gets full of snow and ice and those are big chunks just slowly melting on the slab, sometimes for days in colder weather.

I'm also now curious if, on humid days, will moisture build up in the voids and cause leaks?

I'd rather address any preventative measures now than reactive measures later. I asked the builder last week if there was any sealant we could put on the seam of the floor and he said it's not worth it unless there's an issue. Now the wall frames are sitting on those seams so getting to them is much more difficult. And will be even harder/impossible to address as soon as the roof goes on.
 
Builder said he would seal the control joints and the perimeter. Of course the perimeter is now covered with framing so it is unclear how that will happen.
 
Concrete is not waterproof. If you don’t want any water to get in you need a waterproof system. One lesser expensive option is something called traffic topping. It would be a decent choice given where you are at in construction. You would want to either build curbs around the sides of the garage or install flashing that ties into the traffic topping and goes up the side wall a few inches.

There are more robust systems, but you would have to undo some of what you’ve done to install them. Also a lot more $$$.

IMHO is he contractor offering to seal the cracks is a hail marry to have it last long enough for you to forget his phone number. It’s not a reliable solution. I wouldn’t bother doing it.

[edit to fix mistakes made with auttocorrect on my phone. Hopefully it now better approximates English!]
 
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Really want an inspection on record otherwise, if there is an issue, insurance may not cover non inspected work. As an example, there is a problem with the electricity going to the new room. There is a fire. Insurance refuses to pay unless the work was inspected.

Hopefully, this will not happen!

On the flip side once the county tax hounds realize you've had work done then the property tax will increase.
 
Electrical question:
What outlets for brewing do people recommend?

I was planning on a 14-30 for my Auber Cube, and a 6-20 for my induction heater. And a crap ton of 20A outlets all over the room. Any other recommended outlets?
 
Been a while since I posted an update. Painting is done. Just waiting on the interior door and plumbing now. And the electrician needs to swap out 2 breakers for GFCI ones. Not sure why he didn't use them for the 2 240V breakers.
I decided to hold off on epoxying the floor for now. We got a quote for about 6-7K for high end epoxy but the builder said he'd recommend just going with the existing floor for now. If it gets beat up, the epoxy will cover it if we go that route.

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Your builder is probably right about that at this current time. Putting down an impermeable floor coating (Epoxy, Polyurea, PMMA, etc) on top of fresh concrete will cause it to act as a vapor barrier. And most fresh concrete will continue "outgassing" water vapor, especially if it is a slab on grade, for a year or more after being placed. This will likely cause debonding issues or pinholes in the coating.
A couple months ago I had a polyurea floor put on my garage floor and it is beautiful and I recommend it with the right applicator. Cost was about $6.00/SF to grind the concrete and install. I recommend you consider other coatings besides epoxy. Most important is slip resistance when wet, durability, bond to concrete, and ease of cleaning.
Finally, your area looks awesome. Keep us posted as you start to put it in use.
 
Well, I think construction-wise, the brew room is done. Plumber finished today and the electrician changes out 2 breakers for GFI ones earlier this week. I may have the plumber rework the cold line above the sink I plan to use for a chiller later if I don't like it, but I'll give it several brew days to see how it goes.

Going to be chilly in the winter but hopefully a heater fan does the trick. There's baseboard heating in there, too.

Also need to work on some soundproofing.

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sound proofing, or sound-absorption? Fiber boards on the walls will help with absorbing echo, and can be used as "pin board" to hang notes, posters, etc. although not waterproof so hang above floor level, so they don't wick water up from the floor...
 
Very nice. I would love to have that sink and drain. It does need some brewing equipment, storage shelves, Justin Beeber posters, some kind of personal flavor. Currently it looks like an exam room at the old Psychiatric Hospital. I'm expecting Randal Patrick McMurpy to come around the corner.
 
I understand the purpose of sound absorbance/proofing, but why is it importance in a home brewery build?

It's just really echo-y in the room. Concrete walls, ceiling and floor.

I will have a rug in the other half of the room but I'll look to get some wall and/or ceiling panels to absorb some sound.
 
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Well, I think construction-wise, the brew room is done. Plumber finished today and the electrician changes out 2 breakers for GFI ones earlier this week. I may have the plumber rework the cold line above the sink I plan to use for a chiller later if I don't like it, but I'll give it several brew days to see how it goes.

Going to be chilly in the winter but hopefully a heater fan does the trick. There's baseboard heating in there, too.

Also need to work on some soundproofing.

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"It puts the grain in the mash tun or it gets the hose again."
 
Looking great - I can’t believe I just found this thread - going to have to start from the beginning tomorrow and catch up!

for what it’s worth, I was very concerned with echo in my room but once I got some furniture in there, even though it was all SS, it was reduced greatly.

also super jealous of your floor drain.
 
Thank you @NeoBrew !

This would probably be a good option. I was trying to think of a way to build up the sides somehow.
I did a new build home 2 years ago and the day I moved in I had my garage floor and footers epoxied by a reputable company. My garage is effectively waterproof at this point and I just use a big push squeegee anytime I have snow melt or rain and it takes care of it no problem. My only potential concern is not if but when the control joints finally pop will the epoxy stretch or crack along with it.

Edit: Saw you were considering epoxying the brew room floor. If it's done right, they are going to diamond sand the whole floor, so if you plan on doing it I would do it before you get a bunch of stuff in there because they'll likely make you empty it before they will begin working on the floor.
 
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