My German inspired brew shed

[Dunkelholz]

Hi all,

I posted on here begining of December my plans for this yeat, well...none of it has really gone to plan. But I wanted to create a post blogging my shed adventure.

So, the title of this thread is My German inspired brew shed. Well, It is slightly that, Or going to be atleast. I've been wanting to document this, however not had the time till recently. It began in Febuary, when I was told I'd become a Parent in October, so that has put my Oktoberfest party on hold for a year or two. But in all seriousness. It made me realise after the excitment settled down I'd need to make space for this little being.
So with a few beers in me, I asked the wife if I could spend my upcoming bonus money on a shed to moved all my gear out the house. Surprisingly, she said yes with the exception I keep the kegerator in the house(probably so I don't fall asleep out there).

I found a Shed I liked from Screwfix, planned where it would go and ordered up the materials for the base.

The Slabs were heavy, alot heavier than I thought and I had to call my Brother in Law around to help. I also ordered one too many slabs.
Once in the garden, it was pretty much myself getting them into place. That was interesting as I had to dig up the lawn and lay them down. I've never done anything like this, so in my traditional sense, I just winged it.

I selected this area next to the house as I didn't have the budget for the armoured cable required to run down to the bottom of the garden. Nor would I have had any drainage for water. Here there is a access port for additional services. I had consulted with a friend who worked on the site previously when the houses were being built. He advised that I'd be fine to use it as I intended to, which is for liquids. However, when anyone in the house runs water or flushes a toilet, you can hear it through the open port. Luckily, there is another port by the fence next to my house, and in the neighbors garden which is linked to this as confirmed by blueprints of the houses.

It took me 3 or 4 days to get to this point. where I stopped and awaited the delivery of the shed. I made an error with the measurements and couldn't fit the last lab in. My friends Dad was going to come round and help build and install the electrical's to the shed, but ended up with pneumonia and had to reschedle. He was going to bring a cutting tool with him so we could lay the last one. But again, I winged it and made it work...with a Hammer.

I took a week off and on the Tuesday 16th of April, a man turned up with my shed. But the glass windows were smashed.

Here's the shed waiting for painting, Unfortunately I don't have any photos of that.

I'm going to leave this here for tonight. I'll post some more up tomorrow as I would like to keep this as a build for anyone who is also looking to so something similar.
I'm happy to answer any questions also, and I'm open for suggestions.

 

[ChicoBrewer]

Good luck on the shed. I just built one from a Costco kit. 10x14. It's a hell of a lot of work ...

Did you put together the walls or did they come assembled?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I think that's knotty pine if not that's some nice looking wood there be careful that warps very bad sometimes

 

[Dunkelholz]

Good luck on the shed. I just built one from a Costco kit. 10x14. It's a hell of a lot of work ...

Did you put together the walls or did they come assembled?

It came assembled, instructions were fairly straightforward with exception of the window beading. That was a bit of a nightmare.

 

[Dunkelholz]

I think that's knotty pine if not that's some nice looking wood there be careful that warps very bad sometimes

I don't quite know the material, however I've got a 15year warranty from the manufacturer who I checked in with on best way to prevent any damage from weather and they advised to paint prior to building. It does look good if I say so myself. Been sitting on the patio in the sun having a beer the past few weeks admiring my hard work.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

keep it flat until it dries to the point you cant smell it too bad, I would suggest a polyurethane clear coat for best looks otherwise follow their advice, it's a real sappy wood and hot and cold snaps will warp it

 

[GFHomebrew]

And remember to paint them end grains that's where itll get the most problems with rot. uncoated pine is like a sponge and doesnt take much for rot to set in. You wouldnt want to build with that in Queensland Australia termites would make quick work of that juicy pine Lol. But I do envy you being able to just plonk that stuff on the ground.
Have you got a bit of clearence below the deck for ventilation. Fungal Decay will be your biggest challenge me thinks.

Second Ozarks on a good quality paint even 2 pack marine grade epoxy its exy but itll keep that wood dry and protected.

Look forward to the rest of your build looks great!

 

[Dunkelholz]

Hi all,

So the Shed was delivered on a Tuesday, I painted it twice over the following 2 days and took a Break on the 19th of April for my Birthday.
It was treated prior to getting delivered, but I felt painting it myself to make it my own was better than leaving it plain.
On the 20th my Friend came over(Minus his Dad) to help build the shed. He was only really there to hold the walls and drink my beer. Prior to him coming over I built the frame the shed was going onto.

I then fitted the drainage.

And then I wrapped the base frame in a DPM and fitted it into place on the bricks I managed to pick up free locally.

This is when things got exciting. I got to put the floor/base down and cut a hole where the waste pipe would come through.

As you can see, My Cocker Spaniel Toby is eager for a new place to sleep on warm days(Which in Scotland, we don't get many of). We took a little break here for a Coffee and to check the instructions as they weren't the best. But proceeded to line things up and they began to make sense. And like that, 3 walls were up in about 5 Minutes.

Then the front wall went on and I couldn't help but smile.

I'm coming to the end of my lunch hour. So will add more tonight and try answer some more of the questions I missed.

 

[Mase]

Oh you are a tease!

She’s looks awesome and yep... I’m officially jealous. Gotta show these photos to the wife so I can convince her we NEED one!

 

[Dunkelholz]

Oh you are a tease!

She’s looks awesome and yep... I’m officially jealous. Gotta show these photos to the wife so I can convince her we NEED one!

Sorry, I didn't intend to make you jealous. I found the that when I said "All my stuff will be out the house" she became more and more forth coming with the idea.

 

[Vallka]

Wow! that is looking great, I have a workshop that I built years ago.....before brewing, if I did it again it would be a whole lot different. Great work.

 

[Dunkelholz]

Continuing on.

With all the walls up, we set about the roof and on it went. It was a big pannel and required two of us man handling it into place but we got it there in the end.

Unfortunately when I took delivery, all the glass pannels for the windows were smashed. The company I bought it off set me out new glass a week later, which I'll cover shortly. My next step in the morning was to get the bench that came with the shed built and in place where I wanted it. As I wanted to utilise the windows on the side that opened for venilation, I had to cut it down and make it fit.

The reason for the gap was so I had space for my Grainfather and I could use the work top for when brewing and as a place to put my beer when not. After this, I couldn't do much as the shed wasn't water tight. upsetting, however not the end of the world. I was back at work and that kept me distracted. A week later and the Glass was delivered, and despite the over cast weather, I set about putting them in. I've sealed them with a silicone sealent thats weather resistant, I should opefully be able to get a couple of years before I need to re-seal.
Just as I finished, the rain set on, so I moved inside to get the LED strip light up.

The LED's were cheap, and will last a while. My friend who built his shed last year has 2 strips of these running the length of his shed which is 7.5m long. Originally he planned to install strip lighting, but was so impressed by these he's kept them up. For my small 2.4 X 2.4,(8ft), Its more than plenty.
The weekend came next and I decided to do something about the floor. It was made out of the same thickness wood on the walls, and thats fine, but for walking on, I just wasn't comfortable with it. Or the weight I'll have in it when I have kegs and Fermentors in it.
I went down to my local B&Q(like home depot in the states, So probably paying slightly over) and picked up 4 floor boards, I layed these oposite the boards to increase the strength.

(sorry for the format)
We'd had the same temperature over the week when I fitted these, and the thermometer within the shed the next morning read 5c higher than the day previously. So I'm happy to say I should be okay over the winters in the UK, but that still wont stop me putting a heater in there.
My next goal was to add more seating area out the front of the Shed, a sort of Beirgarten it has been dubbed by the wife.
Before:

After:

I've since pressure washed the slabs and moved the ones at the side of the house down to the bottom. A few drinks have been had out here, and the Pizza oven has been on also. I'm enjoying my Garden more now knowing the majority of the hard work has been done. My next aim for the garden next year is some decking at the bottom that get sun from about 10am till 7/8pm in the summer. But back to the shed.
I visited my parents a few weeks later and they were throwing out some laminate flooring they had spare from their livingroom renovation. Its a beautiful Walnut colour and I couldn't resist. It was free and they just asked I put it to good use. I done the math and was about 2 boxes short, but after looking online, I found the stuff was discontinued and places were selling them for £20 a box. I opted to not purchase them and thought I could use them as some work top or something. Then the Wife said "Why not just use them where you'll walk. You're putting in kitchen units, no one will know". So that is exactly what I did.

You can see I used off cuts, but its less than 60cm away from the walls, and any unit I buy will cover this. I'm fairly happy with the results. I also moved around the workspaces as I plan to build a bench to the left of the door for seating and storage of grains underneath in sealed bins. It also gives me much more room to move and is less crampt this way, allowing me to bring in a extra seat for friends when over helping brew.
My friend(Lithgow, I mention him a lot, good egg, always willing to help and vice versa) and his wife(Jenn, Introduced me to him about 10 years back) brought me a Birthday gift when building the shed. "Whats a brewery without a sign?!". Its a great sign, makes me smile seeing it.

That's me so far. This weekend will be the install of the electric consiting of a 30amp line from the house, and then a seperate line for the lights and the brewing equipment. I'll also be building in the work top and the fitting the sink(not the plumbing it in yet). So I should hopfully get some more photos up next week. I plan to complete it's maiden brew on Monday and see how things go. A lovely German Pils is on the tables.

Thanks!

 

[GFHomebrew]

Awesome Stuff looks like things were really falling Into place for you on this build. That timber just makes it looks nice and warm in there a place where youd be happy to spend a few hours brewing and drinking and what not. Smart move from the missus keeping the keggerator inside otherwise you just mightnt ever come inside.

 

[BilltownBrewingCo]

Love this!!!

 

[thunderwagn]

WoW man! Beautiful unit for sure. I like the name also!

 

[Dunkelholz]

WoW man! Beautiful unit for sure. I like the name also!

Thanks man, it's a Tribute to my Dad who was in the Royal Artillery. I spent the first 6/7 years of my life in or around and Army Garrison and I have fond memories.

 

[Dunkelholz]

I forget what day I'm on with this build, but I'll continue anyhow, Unfortunately I didn't get many photos, but I'll post a few that I did get. This weekend seen us putting power into the shed. Aside from myself not having a few things done, it was pretty much uneventful. Started around 10am buy drilling a hole through the outside wall for the 25mm armourd cable. I took it underground to the shed, which is only about 4 feet(if that) from the house. So the cable may be overkill for the distance, but I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to electrical. I'm feeding out 32amp, which for what I have planned, will be plenty. Here's a photo of how its coming out the house, I cleaned it up a little after the photo.

Once we had the cable in place and into the shed, we installed the consumer unit and installed the cable. I ordered a unit that was IP65 weatherproofed for the obvious reasons that its in a shed, and I'll be brewing near it. It came with a 40amp RCD, a 32amp and 6amp MCB. Using the 6amp for lighting and the 32 for power to the 5 sockets.
We run the loop for the sockets and connected them up minus the one in the brewing area, I had planned on building a worktop before the weekend but thought best to leave it till the power cables were in. Once this was connected and tested, we ran the loop for the lights. I bought a double light swtich for exterior light which I might add later, alternatively, I'm now thinking it might be best to use the spare light switch to turn on an extractor fan.
At this point, my friend and his Dad left, leaving me to clean up the mess they made. Which wasn't too much, I appreciated the help and for me to get this done buy a tradesman would have cost more than I could have budgetted for. Prior to leaving, they helped me cut some work top down to the sizes I needed and I started building my worktop.

I'm not great with joinery, so this took a while. Longer than I would have wanted to take, but its looking nice. I used 18mm ply as it was less than half the price of a kitchen worktop. I'm going to stain this and seal it with an epoxy(however I'm open to suggestions.)
I mounted the support beams on the back and leveled them. When I build the shed I left the ground with a little run off to the back corner, I forgot to account for this when I built the shed, so its not completly level. This is fine for me, its a shed after all.

I'll cut to the end just here, it's easy to see where I'm going from here. For clarity, I think 8 sockets here was the correct amount. i've got 1 for my Kegerator, one for my Ferm chamber. and 2 free underneath. I'll use one for the amp and have a spare for anything else I may need to use later on down the line like a heater. The 4 above is just so I have enough. Realistically, I'll only have a stir plate on at any given time.

Finished! so to speak. What you're not seeing is 2 shelfs behind the banner and the storeage space in the back corner. I've also built a suport on the right side as both worktops sagged when I installed the sink. I have about 55cm space free next to my Ferm fridge(not in pick) which I'm goint to build shelfs and drawers to store small misc stuff and books, as well as an area for my Amp. It will also provide additional support for the work top.
On the far left is the brew area, I fitted an IP65 weatherproof socket here. Again, water and electricity is not a good mix. The end of the unit is also panneled off with the same material as the worktop. It looks great for someone who has no idea what they're doing.

I finished later sunday night and thought I needed a treat, so I cleared the schedule for Monday with the Wife and planned a brew whilst sipping this.

Realising I had L17 Harvest in the fridge, I sat at the PC and tinkered with my Helles recipe adding 500g of Munich and 50g of Melanoiden. All Mittlefuh for the hops, the wort tastes great and I think this should turn out a great first beer for the Shed. Its sitting in there now fermenting away at 12c.

Next up will be guttering and water into the shed. Hoping to sort that this weekend. Then It's save save save for the winter time. Insulation will probably be needed ASAP. I think going wall by wall might be the best way forward.

Thanks again all, Will get some better photos up shortly on this. I'm also considering possible youtube brewdays, Not sure however.

 

[Maguire]

That's a wonderful shed set up! Can't wait to see the final looks. Enjoy

 

[ukbrewer@gmail.com]

Nice brewshed.

 

[Dunkelholz]

Firstly, sorry for the likely bad formatting. I'm on my phone relaxing after a day of work and some shed work.
Last week was a bit dreary with constant rain, meaning I couldn't get out to put the last coat of paint on. I have noticed that the rain water has been running off the back of the shed and falling onto the wall. Not so bad when there was no electricals in the shed, but something that needed resolved asap. I managed to get a small shed guttering kit from my local hardware store and fitted it yesterday. Without help I didn't get any photos of me installing it. Here it is completed however.

I turned the hose on the shed, and was pleased that it worked! Today has also had a fair bit of rain, not so much yesterday. Feeling the back wall of the shed and it's dry, which is great!
Yesterday I also completed fitting the waste pipe.
I haven't got a photo of this unfortunately, but it's also working.
Getting water into the shed was causing some difficulty. I'm not a plumber so I'm going at this the best way I can. So I've been using push fit fixings. Using a 20mm to 1/2" thread, I drilled a hole in the side of the shed and fitted a 1/2" hose connector to it. This allows me to attach a hose directly to the shed.

I used silicon sealent to seal from the outside.
Here's a shot from the inside.

I used the same fitting with exception of a female 1/2" fitting for the tap. This worked exceptionally well. Once on and an end cap on the other side I measured up the MDPE pipe, cut the ends straight and offered it up. It fit almost perfectly, when I tested it, it leaked slightly. I adjusted this and no leaks.

I have a video of the water running, but unsure what site to load it to. I plan to change the tap over to 2 individual taps and connect them up in the same way, which will allow me to use tap for cooling as well as one for cleaning. However I may use the hot water from the heat exchanger to provide hot water for cleaning.

I'm calling this phase 2.5 completed. I'm looking at adding an extractor fan and insulation next, and cladding to the extractor wall which is where the sink and Brewing wall is.

My next post might be in a few weeks, I'll hopefully post a photo or video of my first brewday. A Hefe or Kölsch I think.