The homebrew house of my dreams... is 30 days away!!

[iamwhatiseem]

Looks like it might have been a small mother-in-law house. Changing table will come in handy for storing small stuff! Super jealous as well. Can't wait to see the transformation!

In the 1960's it was built as a small beauty salon. It was in operation for 30 years or so until the lady of the house retired.
Mid 90's they redid everything for a place for their grandson to stay while attending Indiana University...thus the bathroom, shower and tiny kitchen.
After that it has basically been unused.

 

[HB2 HughBHomeBrew]

That is awesome! Good luck, have fun. Keep posting the pics. You should make a blog/journal.

 

[OpenSights]

iamwhatiseem, I’m a plumber, if I were you, I’d yank that shower out and put in a high wall mop sink and a mop T&S mop sink faucet. Save your back cleaning corneys if you use them.

Unless it’s also a backup dog house like my brew area....

 

[TechFanMD]

Just my opinion....I'd rent a floor sander and get rid of the residue and stains from whatever tile they had, and would stain/color and seal that cement floor. That would look sweet with whatever future decor changes you make.....which I realize are probably WAY down the road since the main house has to take priority This is awesome! I picture a nice bar area inside, and a patio area outside. Party's over, lock-up and worry about cleanup later, since it isn't in your house.

I can see where @OpenSights is going with the mop sink, but a shower can be nice to have - just adapt a hose to be able to do all of that. You might have a sweaty brew day, or want to shower after doing something really dirty and just sit and have a beer (without tracking inside the main house. Bonus points for a shower beer.

 

[TallDan]

I can see where @OpenSights is going with the mop sink, but a shower can be nice to have - just adapt a hose to be able to do all of that. You might have a sweaty brew day, or want to shower after doing something really dirty and just sit and have a beer (without tracking inside the main house. Bonus points for a shower beer.

Keep the shower, put your taps through the shower wall. Huge drip tray, and endless shower beer!

 

[jayway]

That is awesome and you'll have a ton fun building it. I've been down that road and turned 1/3 of a barn into a dedicated brewery on my dads property. Only took 5 years for us to complete! It's about 44'x12'

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

The Mrs and I have an offer out on a house. The basement has a "workshop" that's finished drywall with 9' ceilings. I'm estimating it's about 40' x 14' and it's all mine to do what I wish with. It's got everything I need except 240V outlet for eBrewing. If we get the place (bit of a bidding war going on), I'll run the 240 and put in a dedicated brewing room / man cave. I'll be able to store everything, brew, ferment, and clean all in one dedicated space.

It has two windows and an exterior door. It would be a fun project if it works out.

 

[NGD]

That is awesome and you'll have a ton fun building it. I've been down that road and turned 1/3 of a barn into a dedicated brewery on my dads property. Only took 5 years for us to complete! It's about 44'x12'

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I’ve been to brewpubs that aren’t that nice. Well done!

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Just my opinion....I'd rent a floor sander and get rid of the residue and stains from whatever tile they had, and would stain/color and seal that cement floor. That would look sweet with whatever future decor changes you make.....which I realize are probably WAY down the road since the main house has to take priority This is awesome! I picture a nice bar area inside, and a patio area outside. Party's over, lock-up and worry about cleanup later, since it isn't in your house.

I can see where @OpenSights is going with the mop sink, but a shower can be nice to have - just adapt a hose to be able to do all of that. You might have a sweaty brew day, or want to shower after doing something really dirty and just sit and have a beer (without tracking inside the main house. Bonus points for a shower beer.

On the the floor that is exactly what I was planning, I like the industrial look of stained concrete...plus the bonus of super easy to clean up spills.
And you are also correct about the timing. There are stuff the wife wants done to the main house, and that comes first. :/

 

[mongoose33]

Since we all get to kibbitz here....

I brew in the back of my garage. Other than more room, the one thing I wish I had was a trench drain. Do you have any floor drain anywhere?

Of course, all that depends on how your floor is sloped, if it is at all. See @jayway 's floor above. No trench drain, but a center drain.

 

[mongoose33]

That is awesome and you'll have a ton fun building it. I've been down that road and turned 1/3 of a barn into a dedicated brewery on my dads property. Only took 5 years for us to complete! It's about 44'x12'

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Great-looking setup!

Above the sink it looks like you have some sort of sprayer device on a long hose. What is that? Where'd you source it?

Also--point-of-use water heater on the wall?

 

[jayway]

Great-looking setup!

Above the sink it looks like you have some sort of sprayer device on a long hose. What is that? Where'd you source it?

Also--point-of-use water heater on the wall?

Thanks! It's a food grade sprayer I picked up years ago and I'm actually looking to replace it. I couldn't tell you where I got it but the water pressure on it stinks, I need a gun style sprayer.

And that's a propane instant water heater which works great.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Demo time!!.... finally able to get started. A lot of work ahead...

 

[passedpawn]

Demo is fun. You get the impression you're moving quickly.

I'm looking forward to the build. Be epic please! That is a pretty awesome little building.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

The door you see to the left of the outside doorway is a small bathroom...really small, like 4' x 4'.
I am thinking of making that my fermentation room. Put up some extra insulation on the walls and put in a small room air conditioner.
Any thoughts/experience/advice on that?
Thanks

 

[NeoBrew]

I’ve never tried anything like that, but you will have to be damn sure you get it sealed up air tight or you will have condensation issues. Especially if you are going to lager or cold crash in there. In wood frame and gypsum board construction that runs a high risk of growing mold.

 

[TallDan]

The door you see to the left of the outside doorway is a small bathroom...really small, like 4' x 4'.
I am thinking of making that my fermentation room. Put up some extra insulation on the walls and put in a small room air conditioner.
Any thoughts/experience/advice on that?
Thanks

Do you actually want that much space at a single fermentation temperature? I know I wouldn’t. A walk in refrigerator has always sounded good to me until I really thought through it.

 

[6Tap]

The door you see to the left of the outside doorway is a small bathroom...really small, like 4' x 4'.
I am thinking of making that my fermentation room. Put up some extra insulation on the walls and put in a small room air conditioner.
Any thoughts/experience/advice on that?
Thanks

I would recommend using that room to store your grains, bottles, kegs, and supplies so if it gets messy you can just shut the door.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I’ve never tried anything like that, but you will have to be damn sure you get it sealed up air tight or you will have condensation issues. Especially if you are going to lager or cold crash in there. In wood frame and gypsum board construction that runs a high risk of growing mold.

Hmm...hadn't though about that, not sure why I didn't since everytime I ferment in the chest freezer I have to clean out all the "sweat" off the interior walls. Need to study up on that.
Thanks

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I would recommend using that room to store your grains, bottles, kegs, and supplies so if it gets messy you can just shut the door.

I am going to use the closet it has for that.

 

[Mike@M]

The door you see to the left of the outside doorway is a small bathroom...really small, like 4' x 4'.
I am thinking of making that my fermentation room. Put up some extra insulation on the walls and put in a small room air conditioner.
Any thoughts/experience/advice on that?
Thanks

Cool bot has some good info on their website about that.
https://www.storeitcold.com/brewing/
Lots of info on there about building a cooler and what to use.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

A few updates, laying the floor today. I chose a waterproof laminate. Definitely not the cheapest option, but the moisture issues with the concrete slab limited my picks and I absolutely hate laying tile..so I went this route. It looks really good, I think it will work great.
Last weekend I actually brewed the first beer in here. The tiny ex-bathroom works great for a fermentation room using a window a/c. Even with the 90+ heat this week it kept the room at a consistent 60 degrees. I insulated pretty well around the window so moisture was not a problem so far.
After the floor I will put stainless corrugated 3' panels on the walls and trim it out. I also bought one of these -> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072R35MVG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 for building my own venting when brewing and a 30" mixing bowl for the top. Got that idea from another thread here. I'll put pictures up of that when done.

Here's the floor.... cheers!

 

[Jmspears]

Looking good! I like that flooring!

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Flooring is done with exception of trimming out, I am going to go with 3' corrugated metal around the wall and then decide what to do with the upper part of the walls.
I want to brew this weekend so I am hooking up some venting. Got the idea of using a commercial mixing bowl on a thread here...what a fantastic idea! And then bought a 390 cfm inline duct blower to push out the wall. It looks to be a good blower, adjustable,,I doubt I will ever use the full 390.
Trying to figure the best way to be able to place it over the kettle, and then also be able to move out of the way (I BIAB so I use a hoist to hold the grain bag while draining).
I have suspended it with some small chain and see how this works.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

LInk to bowl and blower...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072R35MVG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008S1CT4I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The bowl is 22.5" across

 

[hafmpty]

Trying to figure the best way to be able to place it over the kettle, and then also be able to move out of the way...

I had the same issue. I used the bowl as a vent hood and an in-line fan to pull moisture out and needed to be able to move it out of the way.

To solve this I ended up going with an articulating TV mount attached to the wall with the bowl attached to the TV mount. There was some minimal modification to the TV mount, but nothing major.

Then when I needed to move the vent hood out-of-the-way I could just push it aside. It works amazingly well honestly.

Here is I ended up buying: Mount-It! Full Motion... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011CK15PA?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Here’s a link to the thread with pictures so you can see what I mean.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/index.php?posts/8410082/

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I had the same issue. I used the bowl as a vent hood and an in-line fan to pull moisture out and needed to be able to move it out of the way.

To solve this I ended up going with an articulating TV mount attached to the wall with the bowl attached to the TV mount. There was some minimal modification to the TV mount, but nothing major.

Then when I needed to move the vent hood out-of-the-way I could just push it aside. It works amazingly well honestly.

Here is I ended up buying: Mount-It! Full Motion... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011CK15PA?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Here’s a link to the thread with pictures so you can see what I mean.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/index.php?posts/8410082/

That is a good idea, and looks pretty good too.
If the chain idea I have is cumbersome I will do the same, I believe I am a little farther away from the wall than you are, but it should be fairly easy to rig up an extension of sorts.

 

[Mic Carp]

Awesome brew cabin!
I'm gonna make one just like it when I grow up

 

[hafmpty]

That is a good idea, and looks pretty good too.
If the chain idea I have is cumbersome I will do the same, I believe I am a little farther away from the wall than you are, but it should be fairly easy to rig up an extension of sorts.

The other idea I had that I was initially going to go with was a unistrut trolley. Google it. . If you put some flexible duct on the end with the fan attached to the trolley (perhaps using your chains) you could just slide it out of the way. Just attach the unistrut to the ceiling above your brew pot an make it long enough to be able to slide out of the way of the BIAB pulley. Works no matter how close or far you are from a wall.

Lots of options.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

The other idea I had that I was initially going to go with was a unistrut trolley. Google it. . If you put some flexible duct on the end with the fan attached to the trolley (perhaps using your chains) you could just slide it out of the way. Just attach the unistrut to the ceiling above your brew pot an make it long enough to be able to slide out of the way of the BIAB pulley. Works no matter how close or far you are from a wall.

Lots of options.

Whoah....