Brewery Moving into old auto garage

[BornB]

Can anyone provide any resources on techniques on cleaning up oil and break dust in an old auto garage. We are moving production and are looking for advice.

[brewmaster 2011]

Gas power washer with a reservior full of car was detergent.

[dick murton]

Unfortunately, I don't think power / steam cleaning will be enough.

Oil really soaks into the concrete and tends to surface even if the top micro layer is cleaned up. I have never put a brewery onto oil soaked concrete, but I fear you need to lift the concrete slab, or lay a waterproof / oil proof impervious membrane and lay thick new screed on top. My preference, though it will undoubtedly cost more is to lift the old slab and start from scratch. If the walls are soaked in oil then again, I think an impervious barrier then dry lining or fresh blockwork lining.

You cannot afford the new brewery to smell of oil, let alone risk oil contamination of any sort.

[beerguy1]

glass bead the concrete and then I would consider having it professionally painted

[mashpaddled]

Will your state/local health agencies even let you manufacture or store anything consumable in that building and if so, what might they require to be satisfied the building is safe from residual toxins? There is no reason to start investing money into the building only to find out you have to implement a different approach or worse that you will never be licensed for brewing in that building.

[TGTimm]

Old school brake pads were made of asbestos (old being sometime before the late '70s). If you have asbestos contamination, just turn your back and run away from that building.

[BornB]

Thanks everyone. All agencies involved have no issue our operating in a old auto garage. It is quite common for restaurants to occupy this type of space. We ended up using 300 lbs of Soda Ash (6600 sq ft space) and a floor buffer with a bristle brush head to agitate and create a paste over the floor. The soda ash penetrates the concrete and pulls out the oil. We are letting it sit for about 3 days and then tomorrow it gets pressure washed away. As for the roof and walls, they are getting replaced in about a week.

[TiminOz]

Check out the Garage Project in Wellington New Zealand. Great use of an old service station!

http://garageproject.co.nz/

[Junkyard]

Our floor had some oil spots from old trucks that were parked inside (old loading dock) we ground down the concrete and layed down a poly aspartic floor sealer for the brewery. The floor sealer ended up peeling away quickly, because of what I believe was residual oil deep in the concrete. It's not really an issue for the brewing process itself but our next step is to put down quarry tile to have a more permanent solution for the floor covering.