Beer Forum

Im trying to figure out the best solution to sharing the garage with the pesky people I live with, I call them my family. As I devote more time and planning into my brews, I realize the need for devoting a brew area. I live on the west coast, so we dont have basements. There is no room to build a brew shed outside. Currently, my brew area is in the front of the garage, so the little boogers have to walk by my stuff everytime they take their bikes in and out. Basically, most of their items make it half way back to where they belong, so they are left in the brew area. Ha, I just realized how I sound...wah, me, me, me...anyways. Im going to move my brew area to the back of the garage, it is a tandem 3 car garage setup to there is an extra space back there. I have a dust problem, because the area I live in has an afternoon breeze 10-15mph that you can set your watch by. Im going to add some weather stripping to the doors and do a major cleanup next week. Im putting in a sink, and I got a stainless steel prep table for Fathers Day! No cars are parked in the garage. We have a makeshift man cave area in the front with a couch and TV that the kids and their friends use. So Im asking if anyone has tips on sharing space with the family, cutting down on dust, etc...I use a propane burner for my boil, how much ventilation do I really need? Any info on what has worked for you all is greatly appreciated.

Definitely invest in a couple of CO monitors.

My $0.02.

crashlann wrote:Im trying to figure out the best solution to sharing the garage with the pesky people I live with, I call them my family. As I devote more time and planning into my brews, I realize the need for devoting a brew area. I live on the west coast, so we dont have basements. There is no room to build a brew shed outside. Currently, my brew area is in the front of the garage, so the little boogers have to walk by my stuff everytime they take their bikes in and out. Basically, most of their items make it half way back to where they belong, so they are left in the brew area. Ha, I just realized how I sound...wah, me, me, me...anyways. Im going to move my brew area to the back of the garage, it is a tandem 3 car garage setup to there is an extra space back there. I have a dust problem, because the area I live in has an afternoon breeze 10-15mph that you can set your watch by. Im going to add some weather stripping to the doors and do a major cleanup next week. Im putting in a sink, and I got a stainless steel prep table for Fathers Day! No cars are parked in the garage. We have a makeshift man cave area in the front with a couch and TV that the kids and their friends use. So Im asking if anyone has tips on sharing space with the family, cutting down on dust, etc...I use a propane burner for my boil, how much ventilation do I really need? Any info on what has worked for you all is greatly appreciated.

Check with someone who does commercial HVAC on the exhaust and make-up air requirements for a propane burner with the BTU rating yours has. Also, many SoCal homes have 240V in the garage for hot water heaters or electric dryers - the house I grew up in had both a natural gas line and 240V socket behind the dryer so you could use either. If there is a 240V socket you are not using, consider getting a hot water heater element and go electric! If there's a gas line in there, you may be able to change your burner out to run on natural gas, but you will have to change orifices (snicker) and will still have to account for exhaust and make-up air. I have had my eye on one of those stainless prep tables for the screen porch where my brewing stuff (and a bunch of my kids' toys) lives. Let us know how it turns out and post pics when you are done!

What is on the back side of the garage? If it doesn't butt up against anything, you could put in a door to be able to move just outside the garage, but not interfere with the rest of the stuff in the garage...

Another good thing to add is barbed wire.

Thanks all.

Ozwald wrote:Another good thing to add is barbed wire.

thick German accent.. "Introoda! HALL-T!"

i have a major dust issues as well.. my mentor told me once in response to the open rafters of my last garage that Belgians have never dusted or thought of disturbing the surfaces in the monasteries and still make damned fine beer. i recommend avoiding using dusty equipment.. try to store it in cabinets or plastic containers. for things like keggles.. i throw a trash bag over it.