The Cellar Conversion Begins

[stevela]

So I've finally given in. After doing a number of kits, some good BIAB (and one terrible terrible BIAB) I've decided it's time to go AG mainly as I'm sick of the lifting giant bags of grain and the mess I make doing it.

At the moment I have a 27L Cygnet boiler which will pull double duty as HLT and Boiler until I can afford a new one of each and have ordered a shiny new 50L mash tun.

One of my requirements for the house we recently bought was to have somewhere with a cellar that I could claim as my own. It's not pretty and needs some work but has plenty of space, water and power for everything I need.

The first things to do are:

1. Remove the giant woodworking bench that was left there and the shelf above, whilst it's a wonderful bench it's not much use with a valley running the length of it.
2. Repair the cellar walls and repaint walls and ceiling
3. Fit some cheap Wickes kitchen units to give me the layout below:

Given how slowly I do everything else around the house this won't be a quick project but will get there in the end!

I'm sure I will have plenty of questions when it comes to getting everything running!

 

[stevela]

Apparently I can't enter more than one link in my first post.

Planned layout:

Second cellar view:

 

[PD]

Now thats a cellar with potential..... :party: :party:

Take your time start with the basics of renovating the walls etc its a lot easier while the BREWERY is empty ! Then the electrics.
Get a space cleared where you can do little brews as needed and it will stop you rushing the rest of the build.

 

[pittsy]

I would love to have a cellar , have you thought about just putting a cheap worktop onto the bench as is ? Give the walls a scrub with a wire brush and then use some masonary paint . Will you be brewing with gas or electric ? if you have no extraction then how about a sheet at an angle above the brew kettle so when the steam hits the sheet the condensation will run down the sheet and not drip into your boiler . Have fun .

 

[stevela]

Pittsy,

I thought about just doing a cheap worktop and use some legs I had spare from the desk I built upstairs but I'm also in need of storage so figured it would be sensible to put the kitchen units in. The whole lot comes to just over £200 from Wickes which isn't too bad.

I'll be brewing with electricity, there is gas already down there but I'm happier with electric (the gas bills are high enough as it is anyway on a 30 year old boiler) and am looking at going for a control panel down the line.

The consumer unit is behind the wall in the picture in the old coal store so can easily get someone to run new feeds from there.

I like the sound of the sheet for the condensation as extraction is something I haven't really thought about at the moment other than maybe going to the comet refurb store in Manchester and seeing if I can pick up a cheap 1100 mm extractor but fitting it would be beyond my current DIY skills.

I'd just need somewhere for the condensation to run to from the sheet.

Piddledribble,

I'm definitely going the slow and steady route as tempting as it is to start putting everything together, fortunately the MT is on a 3 - 4 week lead time and the other half has two holidays booked over the next few weeks so I have plenty of time to get things started and even if I'm not ready I can still use the kitchen if I get the brewing urge.

 

[PD]

In an enclosed space like the cellar, some form of extraction is definitely required, even if its a small fan unit with plastic tubing you can put thro the door. Nothing worse than a room full of steam.

Can the space beneath the existing bench be sub divided and doors added ?

 

[Darcey]

Looks good! I wish I had some natural light in the cellar. I have come up at 2am wondering where why its not light any more! Id get the walls done first. I built a bench out of an old pub table and a bargain worktop from Ikea in the 'clearance' or 'broken' section by the tills. £6 and its a lovely shade of red.

Get some wire brushes on the walls then its up to you how you treat the walls. I spent money on some 'tanking' paint which is surposed to last 10 years but its starting to show age after 2 years. I am tempted to get some plastic sheeting to cover the walls at least half way up where the moisture is getting in the most as its much cheaper and quicker than painting and you can wipe it clean.

Looking good!

:thumb:
D

 

[BIGJIM72]

At the moment I have a 27L Cygnet boiler

Got one of the Steve-just swapped out the tap for a 22mm ball valve (15mm was just too small for the massive hole from the original)-makes life a lot easier

 

[stevela]

In an enclosed space like the cellar, some form of extraction is definitely required, even if its a small fan unit with plastic tubing you can put thro the door. Nothing worse than a room full of steam.

Can the space beneath the existing bench be sub divided and doors added ?

Definitely agree that it's needed, especially as the front room is directly above and you can see into it from down below. I don't think the lady of the house would be too pleased if the front room started to resemble a bad 80's disco.

Building doors would be a fair chunk of work and after I'd done it a few times would probably cost more than getting rid. I have a friend who is interested in the workbench for their allotment shed so I'm happy to part with it.

Looks good! I wish I had some natural light in the cellar. I have come up at 2am wondering where why its not light any more! Id get the walls done first. I built a bench out of an old pub table and a bargain worktop from Ikea in the 'clearance' or 'broken' section by the tills. £6 and its a lovely shade of red.

Get some wire brushes on the walls then its up to you how you treat the walls. I spent money on some 'tanking' paint which is surposed to last 10 years but its starting to show age after 2 years. I am tempted to get some plastic sheeting to cover the walls at least half way up where the moisture is getting in the most as its much cheaper and quicker than painting and you can wipe it clean.

Looking good!

:thumb:
D

Thanks Darcey, it was your cellar conversion shots that finally inspired me to do this. I was looking at tanking paint for the external walls and masonry paint for the "internal" between cellar sections and the other houses to save a bit of cash. A lot of the walls are missing large chunks of mortar so that needs to be addressed before I can start painting, I'm dreading how much more a wire brush will take out.

Got one of the Steve-just swapped out the tap for a 22mm ball valve (15mm was just too small for the massive hole from the original)-makes life a lot easier

I got this from a member over at JBK and it's done me proud so far (after the fateful BIAB where i didn't realise the thermostat had been bypassed and mashed at around 90C!!)

It will live on as boiler and then HLT until it's finally retired.

 

[stevela]

So the first part has been accomplished, with some assistance the bench and shelf are gone, the walls have had a quick brush down and all the spiders evicted:

Getting the bench out wasn't as difficult as I first thought the only thing that caused any grief was the beast of a vice:

Mortar is purchased for the walls along with two switched double sockets to replace the singles there already however I forgot to pick up a wire brush so it's back to B&Q at some point for me.

On top of all this I managed to bottle 15 litres of my last brew so productive day all round.

 

[matchles1]

Very lucky to have a cellar, wish i had one :thumb:

 

[stevela]

No actual cellar movement so far this week but I did receive a nice surprise when my new shiny mash tun was available earlier than I thought it would be:

Shiny false bottom

This was put together superbly by Mark at http://homebrewbuilder.co.uk and I can't wait to give it a test run soon!

 

[BrotherMalice]

Looks like a nice shiny there :)

 

[chrig]

This looks like a great project, I look forward to seeing it come alive :)

 

[stevela]

So today I have learned a few things

1) Don't let me ever do any pointing where it matters. Mortar is not my friend.

2) Twin plus neutral cable isn't what I expected it to be. Pay attention to the pack when it says bare earth!

The major missing chunks of mortar have been "repaired", first time doing this so I'm not massively disappointed with my work. Just need to make sure that it doesn't fall out of the wall tomorrow:



Whilst waiting for that to dry I have finally got around to wiring up the STC-1000. I cut the box and fitted the components a few weeks back. Sadly I didn't realise the cable I bought had a bare earth so had to temporarily take some from a lamp flex until I can scrounge some matching cable:



Fired it up and everything worked the first time which is a first:



So between all this and creating version 2.0 of my stir plate I think it's time for a few well deserved beers down the local :drink: Although not too many as I'd like to get a coat of paint on the walls tomorrow

 

[pittsy]

looking good there :thumb: if you like you can use a normal floor brush (broom) on the wall when the mortar is drying , still wet but dry ish , it will improve the look , easy to do . Wish i had a cellar :mrgreen:

 

[stevela]

looking good there :thumb: if you like you can use a normal floor brush (broom) on the wall when the mortar is drying , still wet but dry ish , it will improve the look , easy to do . Wish i had a cellar :mrgreen:

Thanks for the tip unfortunately it was mostly dry by the time I got to try this. I gave it a bit of a going over with the wire brush which removed some of the excess.

I've given it two coats of B&Qs cheapest masonry paint and swapped out the old single socket for a double switched socket. I'm planning to take another run off to the left with a double socket on that once the paint has dried.

I realised part way through painting the bottom of the wall that none of this would be seen once the units were in place hence the slightly odd looking paint job.

Sadly one outcome of this is that I've now realised how shabby the rest of the walls are so it's going to be a complete repaint for the whole cellar, although that can wait until after the units are in and I've been to the tip so I've got space to move things around.

 

[Vossy1]

Good work s , bet you can't wait to get the first brew on.

 

[stevela]

I am definitely getting the brew itch! If finances allow I will go get the kitchen units this week. If not then I may have to set up a temporarily in the kitchen just so I can try the new mash tun out :)

I've told myself I won't brew any more until I get a fermentation fridge though as I have no temperature control at the moment and the cellar is still a bit cold so that's another thing on the list.

 

[guyb]

looks interesting, I am about to embark on a similar project myself, also recently having moved house.

I was going to add I thought you could get a lot cheaper than wickes, but having looked, it does seem very cheap!

Good luck with the build, I'm using a couple of industrial shelving units to make mine out of in the garage :thumb: