Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Brewery Floor Weight Issues?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Brewery Floor Weight Issues?

    Hi all,

    I'm planning a 10bbl brewery in a small downtown area. The building we found is roughly 60x80', 2 story with a basement. The building was built in 1897, is in good shape, but I am concerned about the floors being able to hold the weight of the vessels as well as how to deal with drainage.

    Option 1: I reinforce the floors and tile with drains
    Option 2: Install a steel and concrete floor with drainage

    Hoping some of you have experience in with this type of situation. Open to recommendations.

    Steve

  • #2
    We just dealt with this exact issue... and unfortunately, the answer is probably not the one you want to hear as we had to have our architect work with a structural engineer to determine whether the slab floor we had would support our tanks (30 bbls as a max). The engineer will have to look at what kind of concrete it is, what the soil under it is, and the per square inch load the full tanks will put on the floor and then determine whether the floor will support it.

    if the floor won't support it, the engineer will be able to tell you exactly what kind of floor you'll need and how thick the concrete would have to be poured.
    Brian
    Co-Founder/Co-Brewmaster
    Bog Iron Brewing
    Norton, Ma

    Comment


    • #3
      structural engineer

      We just dealt with this. We brought in a structural engineer because the building owner wanted to make sure the floor would support the brewhouse. It is only a 7bbl stout kettle and tank system with 2 fermenters. We had to have all the tank weights and volume so they could figure total weight when filled. We thought our floor would hold, but he was worried about point loads between joist. Our brewhouse sits on steel joist between the foundation wall a steel beam that is about 15' from wall. joist are about 12-16" apart. the floor is wood flooring with sub floor all about 2-3" thick. We still had to install 2 lally columns with a 10' beam across the joist.

      I would recommend a structural engineer as much as it may suck. they will at least suggest whether or not you need support and if you do where you need it. just make sure you have a drawing of where the tanks will be so he can support that area and and not over support the floor.

      Justin

      Comment


      • #4
        Floor Suport

        Thanks for sharing guys. My other thought is should I decide to simply support he wood floor based on engineer advise, how does one deal with the water from spillage, cleaning, kegging etc?

        Did either of you keep your wood floor? Or did you have concrete installed?

        Steve


        Originally posted by JustinL View Post
        We just dealt with this. We brought in a structural engineer because the building owner wanted to make sure the floor would support the brewhouse. It is only a 7bbl stout kettle and tank system with 2 fermenters. We had to have all the tank weights and volume so they could figure total weight when filled. We thought our floor would hold, but he was worried about point loads between joist. Our brewhouse sits on steel joist between the foundation wall a steel beam that is about 15' from wall. joist are about 12-16" apart. the floor is wood flooring with sub floor all about 2-3" thick. We still had to install 2 lally columns with a 10' beam across the joist.

        I would recommend a structural engineer as much as it may suck. they will at least suggest whether or not you need support and if you do where you need it. just make sure you have a drawing of where the tanks will be so he can support that area and and not over support the floor.

        Justin

        Comment


        • #5
          This is on a small scale but it should translate up to 10bbl pretty easy. I installed wood posts from the bottom of the foundation to underneath the wood subfloor under each leg of the tanks. I still have a wood floor, sloped to a floors rain and covered with an epoxy floor system. So far so good all around.


          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

          Comment


          • #6
            Only our brewhouse and 2 fermenters are upstairs. We kept the wood flooring and had this stuff put on top: http://www.protect-allflooring.com
            It's a great seal around all edges and so far has held up great. We did put luan down so that the matting has something to adhere to. We didn't slope the floors but have a 4" drain center in the brewhouse. It is a pain in the ass, but we are in a multi-shop building so the idea its all show but functional. We retrofitted a bucket with a tri-clamp on the side and a pipe in the bottom, so when we drain tanks and such we attach to the bucket that sits in the floor drain. We don't get much of a mess and working with the stouts system there are a lot of hoses to deal with for cleanup. Anything that spills a dry-vac works great.

            You can always have a framing built to create the sloped floors and layer the flooring on top. I wanted to do that but we plan to take over another shop, so the framing plan would have to be redone anyway. Heres a thread from before, scroll down to Old Forge's comment. He dealt with an old building and flooring support


            Our BBT's and kegging are in the basement where the slab wasn't an issue. Though we had a trench and sump pump put in to eject everything out. Check our Facebook to see the floors, our website pictures were changed and the angle isn't good to see the floor

            Justin
            Doylestown Brewing Company

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Crosley View Post
              This is on a small scale but it should translate up to 10bbl pretty easy. I installed wood posts from the bottom of the foundation to underneath the wood subfloor under each leg of the tanks. I still have a wood floor, sloped to a floors rain and covered with an epoxy floor system. So far so good all around.


              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
              you should post a photo of that

              Comment


              • #8
                BeerBred.
                Sorry for the bad photos, it is a crawlspace and all!!
                Click image for larger version

Name:	uploadfromtaptalk1426042186859.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	96.0 KB
ID:	190679Click image for larger version

Name:	uploadfromtaptalk1426042229164.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	100.3 KB
ID:	190680

                Comment

                Working...
                X