New brewshed build

[JamesF]

Didn't get much done today other than getting the insulation in place in the walls. We're supposed to have a calm day tomorrow so hopefully I can get some work done on the roof, but it's well below zero here at the moment so I might yet wimp out and do the wall lining instead. Have to find time to help my son with his potato cannon too, and partly thanks to his marksmanship with the air rifle we now have at least half a dozen pheasant to pluck and butcher for the freezer. It's a right party time here

James

[JamesF]

Managed to get the roof covering in place yesterday, though it isn't fixed down yet. It's a single piece EPDM membrane (supposed to last much longer than felt). Once I'd got the membrane across the ridge it was fine and lay out really nicely, but trying to get 40kg or thereabouts of roofing unrolled from the top of a ladder whilst gravity has other plans was a bit hairy at times.

For the time being I've hung some timbers over the ridge to weigh it down and stop the wind picking it up, but I'm going to leave it a few days for the creases to fall out before attempting to fix it.

On with the wall lining next...

James

[JamesF]

I now have most of the walls lined. Certainly enough to allow the cabling to be done. The cables are going to be in trunking fixed to the walls as the load de-rating for cables inside insulated walls is quite hefty. And it does mean that if I find I've forgotten something later it's just a question of popping the trunking open to add cables.

James

[themadhippy]

The cables are going to be in trunking fixed to the walls as the load de-rating for cables inside insulated walls is quite hefty.

but then you have the grouping factor for muliple conductors in trunking to take into account.Great game this electrickery aint it

[JamesF]

It is, but I think there's only going to be one ring and two radials so there should be plenty of space around them. Given that it's a potentially damp environment and that I might be hefting large stockpots around I don't really want them completely exposed so trunking seems like the best compromise.

Hmmm. I do need to think about how I power the extractor. I've wondering if it might be better not to go with the hob extractor I'd planned on, but to use a plain extractor fan combined with an enclosed cabinet for the boiler. I might even have a play with a chimney to see if I can get enough of a natural "draw" to remove the steam.

James

[JamesF]

I'm now pretty much done with the internal cladding for the walls. Just got a couple of small bits to fix and then the ceiling which hopefully should be pretty easy, at which point I can splash some paint around and it'll be time for the electrics.

Still haven't glued down the roof covering because the weather has been totally unsuitable for that. At least it's still all there and undamaged after the howling winds last night. As long as it's not getting damaged I guess it can wait.

Looking forward to having all the electrics in. At that point I might actually be able to get a brew under way using my existing kit even though there's still more work to be done.

James

[BenB]

Not sure if you've decided on paint but well worth considering Dulux weathershield products. The primer/undercoat requires a spirit based thinner and it's not the cheapest but it sure is good. Makes the surfaces very easy to wipe down, doesn't require many coats, leaves a good finish and is pretty impermeable to moisture and water. The ventilation in my brewshed is far from adequate to the extent that when brewing I have to remove my specs(!) and when I've finished there are great big condensed globules of water on the underside of the roof! But it doesn't get into the wood. Worth getting a good caulk to any corners etc to seal it properly.

If I was building my brew shed again I'd just have a simple manifold on the inside of the shed and have the extractor buisness outside (with a simple roof to weatherproof it). I carefully built in my extractor fan only to find it's too small. If I added a second one on the outside I reckon the small internal one would prevent the outer one from having much impact. Removing the small internal one would be a PITA....

[Pinto]

Not sure if you've decided on paint but well worth considering Dulux weathershield products. The primer/undercoat requires a spirit based thinner and it's not the cheapest but it sure is good. Makes the surfaces very easy to wipe down, doesn't require many coats, leaves a good finish and is pretty impermeable to moisture and water. The ventilation in my brewshed is far from adequate to the extent that when brewing I have to remove my specs(!) and when I've finished there are great big condensed globules of water on the underside of the roof! But it doesn't get into the wood. Worth getting a good caulk to any corners etc to seal it properly.

If I was building my brew shed again I'd just have a simple manifold on the inside of the shed and have the extractor buisness outside (with a simple roof to weatherproof it). I carefully built in my extractor fan only to find it's too small. If I added a second one on the outside I reckon the small internal one would prevent the outer one from having much impact. Removing the small internal one would be a PITA....

If you have a trade paints or C Brewers close, then I'd suggest going with an anti-fungal emulsion paint - just as durable, but with the added advantage of preventing the growth of moulds and mildew - which in a brewing environment is a fat plus

Zinzer Permawhite is dear, but good although I prefer Glixstone's Anti Fungal from Brewer's - cheaper, and better obliteration.

http://www.glixtone.com/fungi-shield.php

http://www.zinsseruk.com/product/perma-white-interior/

[JamesF]

Mostly thanks to the weather it's taken longer than I planned to get this far, but I'm finally done with the walls and hopefully by the end of the coming weekend all the electrics and lighting will be sorted. Here's how it looks now:





I have more paint for the floor ready to go as soon as the weather allows, and then I'll be able to start moving stuff in.

James

[JontyR]

That looks fantastic James. I'm currently moving house and have had planning approval for a 6mx3m brew shed in the garden of the new place. I'll be pinching a few ideas from your thread. Thank you!

[JamesF]

I think the important thing is to make sure you have enough height for whatever design of system you'd like to use. I have just over 2.1m headroom which should be sufficient for a three-vessel gravity-based system, but in fact I'm still dithering over what I'll go for eventually. At first I was planning on three tiers, but then I got to thinking that it would be good to be able to drain the boiler into the FV by gravity, meaning that the mash tun and boiler should go side-by-side. Later on it occurred to me that it might be nice to be able to put the empty FV into the fermentation cabinet and pump the boiler contents into it, allowing me to go back to a three tier system. But actually I'm not sure I want the boiler below waist height, so perhaps I should go back to side-by-side.

Oh, it's all so complicated!

James

[JamesF]

Well, all the electrics are now in and working. Unfortunately I discovered during the process that the cable I was going to use to supply the power is actually wired back to a 20A fuse in the main consumer unit. I'll have to get that sorted out soon, but for the time being I will at least be able to make some beer as long as I don't go overboard on the power consumption.

I have an old 2m x 900mm breakfast bar worktop that I shall cut down for the pots to go on (and I'll need to make some legs for it), but I have unfortunately discovered that the upright freezer I was hoping to use for a fermentation cabinet has shelves for the drawers to run on that incorporate the cooling pipes, so using it would mean ripping out the cooling system. If I'm going to go to the point where I'm losing the cooling facility then I think I might as well build a bespoke insulated ply box for a fermentation cabinet and have done with it. I can then at least make it a useful size rather than compromising because things don't quite fit the way I want. And I can use the top to carry the HLT. And perhaps it might even be possible to engineer some sort of cooling system if I'm desperate to brew lager during our blazing hot summers.

James

[JamesF]

Last weekend I got the worktop sorted and made some legs so that is now in place, and this weekend I started work on the fermentation cabinet.

Unfortunately I made a couple of errors with the fermentation cabinet, in particular not realising quite how much height the levelling feet would take up. I also failed to notice that the handle of the pot lids does not fold over and is in fact welded permanently upright. This means that there's room for the HLT to go on top, but not enough room for the lid as well

Happily it's not going to be too much of a problem to reduce the height by about four inches, which will leave me with enough room above the pot whilst still having it high enough for sparging the mash tun.

James

[JamesF]

Progress is slow but sure. But for the door (which I have yet to settle on a design for) the fermentation cabinet is now structurally complete and in place. It's a shade under five feet high externally and two feet square. The internal and external walls are 12.5mm ply and there's 50mm of insulation between them.

To earn some brownie points today I have moved everything brewing-related out of the house and into the shed. That has meant the shed has become a little cramped, particularly as I didn't really appreciate quite how many pint bottles I have accumulated over the years (I reckon there are somewhere between 600 and 700). I might have to sacrifice some in the name of sanity. Just the odd one or two, you understand. No need to go overboard.

Next step is to get the fermentation cabinet finished, at which point I can start brewing even if it is with my old kit and a bit rough and ready. I think the space under the worktop is probably going to have to be shelved and used for bottle storage. Crates and boxes just take up too much space.





James

[Fil]

Looking good, any plans to seal and paint/varnish the interior?
the door and seal would challenge my woodworking skills but by the looks of things your more than capable..