StafflesBrew Garage Brewery Thread

StafflesBrew · Joined: 31 May 2016 Posts: 28 Location: UK - Midlands

Howdy folks - or whatever you say on that side of the pond! In sunny UK land I have permission to convert the garage into a proper brew lab. Work has already begun to make the garage a more habitable space by ripping out all the old storage and the years of clutter. Painting and sealing the walls and floor will happen over the coming weekend - pics to follow!

At the moment I am stuck on the plan, plan and plan again stage. Because of the shape of the single garage I am having a job fitting everything in in an aesthetic and functionally pleasing way. The only thing I can't seem to fix in place is the control box - I made my own out of wood but have some concerns depending on where it will end up.

These are the two plans I have at the moment showing the top down and side elevation.

Ideally I don't want the box next to the kettle due to steam rising from boiling liquids, and I don't want it sat over the sink - I am a duck when it comes to washing up, water everywhere! But I can't seem to find a sensible place to put it, without compromising on the other storage space. I can't take up the whole garage as we have other stuff to store.

Has anyone tried mounting the control box under the bench? I can see hassle when trying to control pumps and switch hoses etc.

Any bright ideas? Mug

Ozarks Mountain Brew · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:04 am Post subject:

could you switch things around and put the sink at the very end wall, bottom of this drawing, that would allow you to put the brew rig to the right or left and control box farthest from the sink

**kal** · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:12 am Post subject:

I wouldn't want the control panel directly above a sink but in your case it looks to a bit to the left and above? (Most electrical codes don't actually forbid an outlet or similar above a sink you usually don't see it done). I would most certainly make sure that the control panel is GFI protected - that's something everyone should have and is part of the build instructions. Otherwise it looks ok. Good luck!

Kal

StafflesBrew · Joined: 31 May 2016 Posts: 28 Location: UK - Midlands

StafflesBrew · Joined: 31 May 2016 Posts: 28 Location: UK - Midlands

One of the things troubling me at the moment is how to smooth off the existing concrete slab floor. I think the plan is to use a latex self leveling compound and then finish with a polyurethane floor paint. This should give a smooth surface with a hardened coat of paint over the top. There won't be any vehicles in the garage, or any harsh chemicals, I just need it to be wipe clean and free of dust.

Conventional wisdom says that SLC isn't suitable as a top coat surface and is designed to be overlaid with tile, vinyl or carpet. Does anyone have experience of PU or resin based paint over SLC?

Ozarks Mountain Brew · Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2017 2:33 pm Post subject:

we always used concrete thin set to level then cover with flooring or paint with an oil base floor paint, although it does wear down over time, you might want to use some sort of epoxy resin as the finish coat, it really depends on your budget and time I guess

wscottcross · Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2017 5:37 pm Post subject:

I used garage epoxy from Home Depot and it worked quite well. I have one spot that is peeling up but I think I may have missed that spot with the TSP prep.

mcl · Joined: 11 Oct 2011 Posts: 155

I used garage epoxy and it is holding up fine. If your floor isn't in good shape then it might not be a good option. I put a bunch of the "grit" in to make it non slip when it gets wet. I wish I wouldn't have or at least not as much as I did. It makes it harder to wipe clean. I don't think the panel is ideal where you have it but you might not have much choice. If you keep it there make sure it is high and out of the way. I am curious if you can use one of the multi adjustable TV stands to move it to the other side (adjust it out and down when in use).

Ozarks Mountain Brew · Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2017 2:23 pm Post subject:

if you don't want anything permanent you can always just cover with a garage mat

StafflesBrew · Joined: 31 May 2016 Posts: 28 Location: UK - Midlands

StafflesBrew · Joined: 31 May 2016 Posts: 28 Location: UK - Midlands

Onto the floor

The floor by now was covered in spots of ceiling and masonry paint - if I am a duck when washing up you can imagine what I am like when painting....

A quick tour round with the pressure washer and a tornado wand attachment saw most of it lift off and a load of dirt that I didn't know was there as the floor changed colour!!

A coat of floor primer (matched to the brand of self levelling compound just in case) went down and I mixed up way more of it that I needed. The floor sucked up the water from the pressure washer as it dried so I guessed it was fairly porous. Mixed up the primer for a porous floor and actually could have used it neat. Protip: wear protective clothing (not shorts) and don't splash it on your leg.... It was such a hot day I couldn't face trousers. It's ok though, after spending a couple days looking like I was leaking green stuff out the bottom of my shorts it came off fairly easily in the bath!

I made a barrier for the door as the floor slopes down to this point. Really i should have screwed this into the tarmac or weighted it down better as of course the stuff just seeped under it to leave an interesting pattern.

There is a slight dip where the garage floor slab meets the driveway and water pools in this point. I was hoping to get the screed to level this as well but realised I had no way to control it or to make it look nice afterwards. The first bucket was a bit too wet and spread too easily, also created a mountain of air bubbles that I couldn't do anything about. The bubbles that didn't burst, despite looking like a teenager with ACNE, needed a light dusting with sandpaper to smooth them off. Also the screed didn't quite fill the voids around the edges of the wall as I would have liked.

Hoping the paint will fix a lot of issues but that might be asking too much.

StafflesBrew · Joined: 31 May 2016 Posts: 28 Location: UK - Midlands

Floor Painting

This floor paint was something else as already mentioned. The coverage was great and the finish really smooth. This will be getting a second coat tonight while the weather holds up. Certain other people are itching to reclaim the garden and to put all the stuff back in the garage.

Question for other garage owners. There is a gap under the garage door of about 1-1.5" which lets a load of dirt and weather in, and from recent experience small furry pests that like to feast on bags of grain. I can't really put anything on the ground to close the gap as I need to use this as a drain for excess liquid and have a flat floor for access so looking for something to add onto the door to try and seal it. Any ideas?

Just got a text that two items are being delivered today. Hopefully next update will be a good one Thumbs Up

Kazumichan · Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 10:02 am Post subject:

Add a weather seal to the bottom edge of your door. I had to replace the seals on my garage doors fairly recently and this place had a wide selection. http://ddmgaragedoors.com/parts/garage_door_seals_top_side_seals.html

StafflesBrew · Joined: 31 May 2016 Posts: 28 Location: UK - Midlands

Kazumichan · Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 10:23 pm Post subject:

In my experience those kind of seals are meant for a door that swings left and right not up and down. If your down goes up and down, I would think a seal like one of these would work better. http://ddmgaragedoors.com/parts/garage_door_seals_bottom_seals.html

Ozarks Mountain Brew · Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 10:28 pm Post subject:

one tip for the future at some point your going to hose it out so you should think about the path that takes outside so it will drain away and not pool up

Tennessee · Joined: 04 Apr 2015 Posts: 116 Location: Tennessee

http://www.sealeze.com/weatherseal-products/door-sweeps

StafflesBrew · Joined: 31 May 2016 Posts: 28 Location: UK - Midlands

Tennessee · Joined: 04 Apr 2015 Posts: 116 Location: Tennessee

Ozarks Mountain Brew · Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:23 pm Post subject:

you might try something like this without a threshold, or you could also have a removable like this

https://www.amazon.com/M-D-Building-Products-5090-36-Inch/dp/B00005202F/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00005202F&pd_rd_r=6TVRZJ9TGVFN2BQ8WNT3&pd_rd_w=lnPHz&pd_rd_wg=PoWJo&psc=1&refR&linkCode=ll1&tag=theelectricbrewery-20&linkId=d6703beb7f15e8f2766f1045b3035eaa