# New wine and beer making room



## RaginCajun (Dec 30, 2017)

It’s finally happening! I’ve looked at most of the posts in this portion of the forum. There are some great ideas here. 

A corner of my basement will be made into my new making and storage room for wine and beer. The room will be 12’x13’, will have two mop sinks, has a floor drain and lots of storage. I’m gonna make a 5.5’ section of X wine storage with 5.5’ of shelves for beer storage. I’ll have primary and carboy wall racks that will hold 4 primaries and 8-10 carboys. 

The pics show what I started with and where I’m at after day 1. The tape outlines where the cabinets will be and a rough idea of the layout of the room. 

Any ideas, suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. 

Chris


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## RaginCajun (Dec 31, 2017)

RaginCajun said:


> It’s finally happening! I’ve looked at most of the posts in this portion of the forum. There are some great ideas here.
> 
> A corner of my basement will be made into my new making and storage room for wine and beer. The room will be 12’x13’, will have two mop sinks, has a floor drain and lots of storage. I’m gonna make a 5.5’ section of X wine storage with 5.5’ of shelves for beer storage. I’ll have primary and carboy wall racks that will hold 4 primaries and 8-10 carboys.
> 
> ...




Day 2. Insulation put up, one block wall painted and a good bit of framing complete.


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## Boatboy24 (Jan 1, 2018)

Well, you're not wasting any time. Nice!


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## RaginCajun (Jan 1, 2018)

Boatboy24 said:


> Well, you're not wasting any time. Nice!



No rest for the weary plus I need to strike while the wife is up for spending the money! Day three in the books. All the walls are framed, the electrical is roughed in and can’t do much more until I stain the floors.


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## Johnd (Jan 1, 2018)

Looking good and making nice progress! Are you planning to insulate inside all of the walls or just the new stud walls?


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## RaginCajun (Jan 1, 2018)

Johnd said:


> Looking good and making nice progress! Are you planning to insulate inside all of the walls or just the new stud walls?



Just the stud walls. The black wall is under my garage so no direct sunlight. I’ve checked the wall temp over the past few months and the wall is always about 60 degrees. I hope to use the wall for some radiant cooling. My racks will be along the black wall. 

Thanks for your comments and question.


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## Johnd (Jan 1, 2018)

Do you have need to do any temperature / humidity control, or are you fortunate enough to have conditions that don’t require it?


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## RaginCajun (Jan 1, 2018)

Johnd said:


> Do you have need to do any temperature / humidity control, or are you fortunate enough to have conditions that don’t require it?


Luckily my basement is really dry, we live on the top of the hill so no drainage issues. I’m hoping with one exterior wall and three walls well insulated that will keep the room cool.


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## Ajmassa (Jan 1, 2018)

I absolutely love reading along a wine room build. Great progress already. Keep those updates comin! 
I notice you re-used an old rough door frame. Often it takes 2x the labor to salvage old material. Hope that went smooth. 
And kudos to you on the garage opening. You did it proper with the cinder. I opted for wood on a recent similar job. 
Good luck


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## RaginCajun (Jan 1, 2018)

Ajmassa5983 said:


> I absolutely love reading along a wine room build. Great progress already. Keep those updates comin!
> I notice you re-used an old rough door frame. Often it takes 2x the labor to salvage old material. Hope that went smooth.
> And kudos to you on the garage opening. You did it proper with the cinder. I opted for wood on a recent similar job.
> Good luck


Thanks for the comments! We put a pool in the back where that garage door was, and that was a big project! I had a pro block that up. 

Reusing the door wasn’t too bad, my basement had a half a$$ed room built by the previous owner with lots of good material that wasn’t built very well! I’m using some cedar tongue and groove but gonna use the back side of it. Removing the nails from that was tedious but my labor is free.


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## RaginCajun (Jan 3, 2018)

Well my real job got in the way of progress yesterday and today but I still managed to get some stuff done. I didn’t buy enough insulation but got a chunk of that done. 

I’ll be reusing some suspended ceiling from my supply of building materials, but I’m gonna paint the tiles and ribs black to give the room a cellar feel. 

I’ve also, I mean my wife, has decided I should stain the concrete floor a mottled blue which I will happily do! I actually think it’s gonna look really great. 

The base and top cabinets will be painted black and I’m gonna make base cabinets to fill in the rest which will also be black. All other wood will be stained and polyed. The counter top will be pennies glued down and covered with self leveling epoxy. 

I have decided to move forward and finish the tongue and groove walls before staining the concrete. And will soon be building the door jamb and hanging the door. 

My main unknown at this point is what type of shelving on the black wall. I need to store beer and wine so need vertical and horizontal bottle orientation. I’m leaning toward the x type but I really like the goat wire racks. The goat wire seems way easier and I’d have to build the x racks out of 1by material instead of finished plywood because I can’t get the sheets of plywood down the basement stairs. Decisions decisions. 

I hope 2018 is going well for everyone so far!


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## bkisel (Jan 4, 2018)

You da Man! I'm very impressed and a bit jealous of your work ethic and design and building skills.


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## mainshipfred (Jan 4, 2018)

You're lucky to have such a great space to work with and I too am jealous. If I might make one recommendation, depending on the configuration of your pool outside the old garage door, you may want to consider installing a sleeve for a room AC unit before it gets too late. Not only will your insulated room keep the cool air from the wall under the garage in it will also keep the heat generated by the room in. You will be cooking your beer creating a heat gain and if you were to decide to put any refrigeration equipment in the room it will aslo produce heat. Also, you said you took readings on the wall at 60 degrees but I assume you are in Louisianna and that is a November/December reading. Just a thought, hope I'm not stepping out of line.


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## RaginCajun (Jan 4, 2018)

mainshipfred said:


> You're lucky to have such a great space to work with and I too am jealous. If I might make one recommendation, depending on the configuration of your pool outside the old garage door, you may want to consider installing a sleeve for a room AC unit before it gets too late. Not only will your insulated room keep the cool air from the wall under the garage in it will also keep the heat generated by the room in. You will be cooking your beer creating a heat gain and if you were to decide to put any refrigeration equipment in the room it will aslo produce heat. Also, you said you took readings on the wall at 60 degrees but I assume you are in Louisianna and that is a November/December reading. Just a thought, hope I'm not stepping out of line.


Fred, thanks for the tips. I am a transplanted coonass now living in wild and wonderful West Virginia. The readings on the wall was throughout the summer and fall. 

I plan on actually cooking my beer in the kitchen to avoid raising the temp in the room. I’ll probably have a small hot plate to heat up sparkalloid but that has not been decided yet. I plan on putting blankets in my carboys to keep fermentation temps up. I am keeping a backup plan on place to vent a portable air conditioner later if need be. 

Thanks for your advice, it’s my first time and i appreciate any tips provided!


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## mainshipfred (Jan 4, 2018)

Great project and as AJ said, keep us posted.


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## RaginCajun (Jan 4, 2018)

Well I am obsessed! I played a little hookey from work this afternoon and got some work done. I finished the insulation which I am happy to be done with. I have a little spray foaming in some cracks but I’ll get to that later. 

I started putting up the interior walls today. One pick shows what the tongue and groove siding looked like before I took it down, yucky orange stain! I removed the nails and flipped them over and voila! I ran out of boards and need to go pry more off the walls. I really like the natural blond color of the wood, it’ll look nice with the black, stained wood racks, and penny top counters. 

I’ve decided to do a combo storage rack system with x racks, goat wire racks and regular shelves for the beer. 

Oh, I realize that I’m installing the tongue and groove backwards, from top down. I’m doing that so I can hang my suspended ceiling tomorrow. My wife is painting the ceiling tiles and I want the spars in place so after they dry i can install them.


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## stickman (Jan 4, 2018)

I painted ceiling tiles black for my theater room , and found out that getting the paint into the deep dimples required spraying from all angles. I diluted latex paint with distilled water until the spray pattern was fine enough to get into the dimples.


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## ceeaton (Jan 4, 2018)

RaginCajun said:


> I plan on actually cooking my beer in the kitchen to avoid raising the temp in the room.


You are a very fortunate man to have a wife who will put up with brewing a beer inside. When my wife first moved in (before we were married) it was made clear to me that any brewing would be done outside in the garage...that was after the first kettle hop addition for bittering. Good luck with your almost finished project.


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## RaginCajun (Jan 4, 2018)

ceeaton said:


> You are a very fortunate man to have a wife who will put up with brewing a beer inside. When my wife first moved in (before we were married) it was made clear to me that any brewing would be done outside in the garage...that was after the first kettle hop addition for bittering. Good luck with your almost finished project.



Ha ha, my wife is the one who wants me to brew the beer. She hates the fermenting wine smell but stands over the beer brew pot huffing in smell of the brew.


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## RaginCajun (Jan 4, 2018)

stickman said:


> I painted ceiling tiles black for my theater room , and found out that getting the paint into the deep dimples required spraying from all angles. I diluted latex paint with distilled water until the spray pattern was fine enough to get into the dimples.




Thanks for the tip, I’ve already purchased water based so I’ll see how it goes. Fingers crossed!


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## Boatboy24 (Jan 5, 2018)

You are moving fast! Head into N. VA when you're finished, will ya!


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## bkisel (Jan 5, 2018)

I also like the natural wood look over the stained side. Will you be putting a clear finish or an oil rub on the boards?


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## Redbird1 (Jan 5, 2018)

RaginCajun said:


> Ha ha, my wife is the one who wants me to brew the beer. She hates the fermenting wine smell but stands over the beer brew pot huffing in smell of the brew.


Sounds like a keeper right there. Hold her tight.


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## RaginCajun (Jan 5, 2018)

bkisel said:


> I also like the natural wood look over the stained side. Will you be putting a clear finish or an oil rub on the boards?



No finish I’m just gonna leave them rough cut and unsanded was my plan. Have you used an oil rub on? I’m unfamiliar with that product, how is the install?


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## bkisel (Jan 5, 2018)

RaginCajun said:


> No finish I’m just gonna leave them rough cut and unsanded was my plan. Have you used an oil rub on? I’m unfamiliar with that product, how is the install?



What I was thinking with regards to an oil finish was some protection for the wood but still allowing for the natural look. There are a number of oil finish possibilities... https://www.wikihow.com/Oil-Woodwork.


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## RaginCajun (Jan 5, 2018)

So I got the ceiling in today after work. I will not be quitting my day job to start a ceiling tile installation company any time soon. I’ll be spraying the ceiling black tomorrow and begin to prime and paint the white cabinets. By Sunday I hope to also work on the walls or stain the floor. I’ll decide after the painting session.


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## Ajmassa (Jan 5, 2018)

Lookin good buddy. Definitely save the floor for last.


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## stickman (Jan 6, 2018)

Just be careful when painting the ceiling tiles, they can become soft if you get too aggressive with a heavy coat.


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## mainshipfred (Jan 6, 2018)

You're wasting no time and seem to be having fun. I have a feeling you are going to be disappointed when it's finished. Better start thinking about the next project.


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## RaginCajun (Jan 6, 2018)

stickman said:


> Just be careful when painting the ceiling tiles, they can become soft if you get too aggressive with a heavy coat.



Stickman, thanks for the tip. I’ll keep my coats thin.


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## joeycannoli (Jan 8, 2018)

Looks great! Love following these types of threads


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## RaginCajun (Jan 8, 2018)

So the weekend was successful but I ran into some issues as well. My plan was to basically make a paint booth of the room, prime my cabinets, then after some dry time paint the ceiling flat black, once that was done I was gonna spray the cabinets a semi gloss black. Well, that didn’t work out too good. My sprayer, which is not pro quality but not a cheapo deapo either, spitted the primer and did not give me a good coat. I was able to fix those by brushing out the splatters. 

I got the sprayer ready for ceilings and a good mist, for a short while. I was getting an uneven coat which caused me to spray a little heavy along the taped edge. Heavy paint meeting yard edge equals tape release and falling drop cloths. Falling drop cloths equals overspray on walls. Then the dog gone sprayer wouldn’t hold a prime. I finished the ceiling and it didn’t turn out too bad, luckily the spots with a little overspray will be covered with racks. 

My wonderful wife ended up rolling the cabinets which she did a great job with. She’s more patient than I with painting. 

This evening I continued putting up the walls and I hung the overhead cabinet.


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## RaginCajun (Jan 14, 2018)

I had to go out of town last week for work so nothing happening in the evenings. I’ve got the walls all up, roughed in the countertop and have the sinks just temporarily in place. I plan on leaving the space under the counters like it is for storage of large items. 

I need to put up a little bit of trim, put on countertops and build the bottle and carboy racks. I need to really clean the sinks out, Hook up the water and drains and get new faucets to get my water supply done. 

My wife is going to make a really cool painted epoxy countertop which is gonna looks really nice. 

Oh and I have to stain the floor!


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## Johny99 (Jan 14, 2018)

Looking real good. I left most of my under counter open as well. Works great for kegs or 50l barrels on dollies, they just roll in and out.


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## RaginCajun (Feb 11, 2018)

Well work has really been a hassle lately and has diverted my attention from the wine/beer room. I was also tied up with the annual pinewood derby race for scouts, but it was totally worth it. I was able to put some time in today and got the racks started. I plan on having X style racks in the 2’ section with empty bottle storage at the very bottom. The two sections on each side will have a total of 4 shelves each for six pack and champagne bottle storage (bottles will have beer). I mostly make belgian style doubles and triples so i try to use champagne bottles. 

I’m having trouble getting my miter saw to cut good cuts for the x racks. I may do something else there. 

I made it in three panels for ease of construction. Lots of sanding and staining ahead of me. I’m still undecided on using iron on edge vineer or to put 1x material facing to cover the plywood edges. Now I’m wishing I hadn’t use oak!


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## RaginCajun (Feb 18, 2018)

So I had to use low VOC stain due to working in a closed basement, oh and that stain is very expensive and only available online. As you can see I ran out but I did get the last of the carpentry done except for a little trim. Once I get the stain and poly done the three panels will be connected and attached to the wall. Also, I ended up with enough wood to make my carboy/primary racks. Still have to sand and stain it before attaching to the wall. 

The stain ended up more purple than expected but it looks like wine so maybe it’s serendipity. 

Hopefully more stain will arrive this week and by the weekend I’ll have bottles in the cellar. 

After that only a little finishing of lighting and counter tops/sink install.


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## sour_grapes (Feb 18, 2018)

In addition to your fine storage units, I also especially like the tongue-in-groove!


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## RaginCajun (Mar 4, 2018)

Well I finished the wine racks and carboy storage! Room is really coming together. Only thing left is the countertops and hook up the water/drain to the sinks.


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## kevinlfifer (Mar 6, 2018)

Looks really great. I used the goat feed mesh as well. You gain rows & columns of storage because it is 1/4" dia. vs 5/8" thick. In my case I gained 84 bottles of storage by using the goat wire.

Some of your corks look a little out there. Time for a floor corker?


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## RaginCajun (Mar 6, 2018)

kevinlfifer said:


> Looks really great. I used the goat feed mesh as well. You gain rows & columns of storage because it is 1/4" dia. vs 5/8" thick. In my case I gained 84 bottles of storage by using the goat wire.
> 
> Some of your corks look a little out there. Time for a floor corker?


Ha ha yes about the corks. I had a batch that was completed with a corker that broke after the first bottle or two. I have a floor corker now, it’s so awesome.


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## RaginCajun (Mar 11, 2018)

This weekend I built the door jamb and hung the door. I finished the back side of the wall of the cellar. Also, I bottled some cherry wine, a batch of Belgian IPA beer and a Chimay Grand Reserve Clone. 

I’m starting to think I didn’t build enough storage. Doh


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