What to put on ceiling above vent hood for basement brewery?

[Spydre]

So, I'm upgrading from brewing out of my garage/driveway to a permanent setup in the basement for my electric brewery. I installed a floor drain, hookups for a utility sink, and all the power I need. My only question is what should I put on the ceiling above the vent hood to avoid potential condensation buildup over the long term in the fiberglass insulation? I was thinking some sort of cheap vinyl product, but wanted to get other opinions.

Also, I'm going to likely epoxy the floor and paint the walls with UGL Drylok unless anyone can advise against that.

 

[jtratcliff]

Ceiling cat:

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Unless you have or get a serious hood and vent it outside your gonna have a significant amount of steam... i brew in my basement and do 15 gal batches, needless to say i am in the market for a steam condensing lid for my boil kettle. i get by with hood vent for now but not happy with it. as for what to put over your insulation, i would definitely go with something that will resist moisture. and lots of light, the hood i got came with 2 lights on it and they are worthless. got some led tube style shop lights to put over my set up and made me much happier. i have no doubt you will love your new setup, when i switched to eHERMS and started brewing in my basement it makes the whole process even more enjoyable, now i typically brew when it rains or its crappy out instead of the other way around.

 

[Spydre]

The vent hood I've got is the one suggested by Kal from his electric brewery and I got an 800 CFM fan to go with it along with an air makeup vent. Someone in another thread suggested the steam condenser, too, so there's a chance I may invest in one of those even though it may be overkill with the vent hood.

As for the ceiling, I'm thinking I should add a vapor barrier over the fiberglass insulation then moisture resistant drywall and possibly FRP panels, as well.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

vapor barrier wont hurt. i keep a dehumidifier that runs most of the year in my basement, sounds like you should be set. i cant recommend a specific type of panel but i have the moisture resistant drywall in mine and even with my sub par hood vent setup i have not had an issue in 2 years of brewing down there. my humidity level peaks to about 75% according to the hygrometer i have and drops back to 50 within a couple hours. if its dead of summer and humid outside ill run an oscillating fan to help keep it at a minimum.

 

[day_trippr]

I would insulate and rock first then attach a sheet of FRP panel, then hang the hood...

Cheers!

 

[Valve1138]

I would insulate and rock first then attach a sheet of FRP panel, then hang the hood...

Cheers!

Yes, this.

FRP is what's commonly used on the walls, etc, of commercial kitchens. It's not expensive.

 

[Swarhol]

Steam condenser 100%... You can buy pre-built weldless solutions to add to the BK or you can piece one together. There are pros and cons of course but it completely eliminates the steam in an enclosed basement for $100ish and maybe a couple gal loss in the kettle if you have to put it on the side. Or you can go the lid route... worth every penny.

 

[Deadalus]

Maybe you have already finished this but if the insulation has paper on it, the paper is a vapor barrier. So you don't want to add another vapor barrier as it would trap vapor in the fiberglass. Same idea in an attic where if you add insulation, you want to use unfaced fiberglass as the bottom layer will have the paper facing.

I would consider rocking it, probably use the purple (bathroom) sheetrock. I personally would move those two pex lines into the joists (or bring to the wall and around) and move that angled 2" line to run to the wall first then turn. You could raise it up into the joist bay and run it to the wall. I think it's a vent line as the other piping run goes to the floor, but I can't tell what you have going on in the left back corner as the sink blocks the view. Eventually you could hide all the wall pipes behind a wall but the pex and that one pipe would be interfering with the ceiling sheetrock. Nothing to do about the ducts but those couple of pipes would annoy me.