Ah, yes! The day had finally come. I’m building a Brew Shed! I’m very excited to be able to do this. As this will be the single biggest project for the ‘brewery’, it will also be the one that takes the most time.
After researching the sizes I was able to build without permits and EPA studies, the 12′ x 12′ was the largest. Once that was determined, I had to choose the shed. Would I have it built and delivered? Built on site? Build myself? After checking in to all of these options, I determined that I could save about $3000 by building it myself – and I could build it myself.
Be prepared though. The shed kits that you can purchase do not normally come with a floor. That is your responsibility. Luckily, I found one with a floor kit included. Also, roofing is not included. The roof panels are, but the roof fabric, drip edge, shingles, and roof nails are not.
I found what I needed at The Home Depot. Lowe’s was about $400 more for the same shed.
This is the shed upon which I decided:
I also purchased these at the same time:
Roofing
Finishing
Electrical
Service
Environmental
Once ordered, the shed company called me to schedule the delivery of the shed. Once the truck showed up, I noticed there was no lift gate. Oh, and there was only the driver. I helped him unload piece-by-piece, otherwise, he may still be unloading.
We stacked everything on the driveway in piles separated by the pallets from which we were taking.
I used the Pressure Treated 4x4s to create a level surface for the shed. I had some thick square pavers left over from a patio project that I used as levelers.
I built the floor frame and squared it onto the 4x4s
Once this was done, I rented a trencher from Home Depot for $75.00. I used this to dig two trenches so I could bury the 2″ PVC from the house to the shed. These will be used for the electrical and water runs.
First, I laid out the PVC for the electrical and cut the lengths to fit what I needed. I then strung two electrical lines through the PVC and then cemented pipes together. I then dropped it into the trench and buried. I did the same for the water hose.
This picture shows the pipes buried
This is the entrance to the crawl space to give access to electrical and water. The pipe on the right is the electrical.
The view of the trenches from the house end
Once the flooring was installed, I wrapped the electrical conduit end and wires so that it is water tight. I don’t want any rain water in there.
Staging the pieces for the first wall.
Two walls up two to go
All four walls up and in place!
Sorry, no pictures of the rafters or roof panels going up. Here, I laid the roof felt and installed the drip edge.
Shingles are on! I also painted the shed. Once the shed was painted, I installed the door hardware.
I cut this out to put on the front of the shed
Painted it to match
Then applied the vinyl decal. It’s adhesive backed and went on nicely. No wrinkles or issues at all. I ordered the decal from stickeryou.com.
Here’s a shot of my hand in the picture to show the scale of the graphic. It’s 38″ x 26″
The one stipulation that was given about hanging this on the front of the shed was that it’s to be removable. OK, I can do that. (Honestly with all the crap that I do and all the projects I come up with, this has so far been the only stipulation. Hard to argue with that)
Ready for installation.I found the center point of the front of the shed and installed a 1.5″x1.5″ cleat that was 6 inches long. I had three others of the same size. On the backside of the wood cutout (prior to adhering the decal), I found the center and measured up .75″ and installed the first cleat. 10″ above that, I installed another and the last was installed 11.5″ below the center one.
To hang, I rested the center cleat on top of the one installed on the front of the shed. Once the sides of the cleats were flush with one another, I screwed into the three cleats on the cutout from inside the shed.
This installation gives it quite the unique look as it is not directly attached to the front of the shed, but adds a third dimension to it. You can see in the following two pictures how it really pops.
Installed. During all this, I caulked all the seams in the walls where the 2x4s met the exterior wall. I then installed the electrical, pegboard and lights.
As you can see there is a little addition on the right side of the shed. I decided that while I was clearing my Brew Equipment out of the garage, I may as well find a new home for all the yard and garden tools. I didn’t document this part of the build as it has nothing to do with the “Brewery”. It’s a 3’x6′ standalone tool shed that I leveled and placed against the side of the Brew Shed. I attached it with screws, caulked the sides where they met and painted it. Honestly, with as good as it looks, it’s hard to tell it wasn’t from the same kit.
Then I started moving the brewery out to the shed.
Brew area
Storage
Full panoramic inside view:
This corner is the Lagering/Cold Crash fridge and on top of that is the Yeast Bank Fridge
This is the fermentation chamber/bottle conditioning chamber. The cooler houses the glycol that is run through the hoses to both sides of the chamber.
Mash paddle and small pats storage. Pegboard is super functional and makes it easy to take advantage of wall space
Gotta have Brew Tunes. This is a remote controlled sound bar we are no longer using in the house.
Ventilation fan installed. The fan has a thermostat built in. It is set to turn on at 80 degrees
Here, you can see the louvered shutter to keep animals out
The start of a metal brewery sign collection
Grain storage area
Wet area. Hose storage. Bus basins on the floor catch any drips
We have our very own Ales of the Dead metal sign!
Let’s not forget Wi-Fi. It’s hard to stream Pandora or Spotify with a weak signal! I use Meraki Access Points throughout the house and this one is the shed. It can act as a repeater when connected to only power, so long as it is in range of a fully connected Access Point.
Lighting. I had the fluorescent from an upgrade. The others are the Beer Bottle Hanging Lights.
I used computer power cords and old extension cords for the wire
Close up of a bottle light
View of bottle light from underneath
That about does it for the shed. It was a big undertaking and we have brewed in it a few times now. It’s amazing the amount of equipment I was able to get in it with plenty of room to move around and brew. For a brew setup like ours, I think the 12′ x 12′ shed was the absolute minimum size you can go with.
Surprisingly, the total cost of the components listed at the top of this post (plus the cost of renting the trencher) only comes to $3524.95. For less than $1000 more than the cost of the shed kit, I was able to shingle it, run electrical, and add a lot of extra stuff to finish it out. Most places that sell sheds were quoting more than $5000 for just the shed alone.
Here’s to many more Happy Brew Days!
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Nice work CMo!!