Wall material

[Craig Dhonau]

I read the thread about wall material in regards to humidity and ease of cleaning. Anybody have experience with wooden walls and ceiling and fire code compliance? Planning a small brewhouse(~5 bbls) and I think with adequate ventilation the humidity would be ok if the walls and ceiling in the brewhouse area were clad with the appropriate material. Not a fire guru, but it seems a steel stud, steel clad wall with an air space would provide enough cooling prior to the original wood wall. Could go electric, but the building already has gas.

Any tips appreciated,

Craig.

[mmmatt]

They will likely make you do a 5/8" X-rated drywall for firecode and then wrap that with stainless or frp. They will also make you vent the humidity.

Matt

[TGTimm]

The humidity in a brewhouse is incredible. No amount of venting can eliminate this problem entirely. If you are in an area where heating is required for a significant portion of the year, you really need to seal those walls. Humidity from the brewhouse will penetrate the walls and condense within the insulation, resulting in (inappropriately named) dry rot of the wooden members. We've had to replace several walls due to this.

If you use steel studs over the existing wooden walls, spend the extra bucks to have sprayed foam insulation, preferably closed-cell, installed between the studs. This is your best bet for a truly impermeable vapor barrier. Avoid wall penetrations whenever possible. Surface mount your plumbing and electrical runs (which also makes modifications and repair much easier and cheaper) using Uni-strut to hold the runs off the walls for easier cleaning.

When applying drywall over the studs, use what drywallers call "hot mud"--chemically setting drywall compound--instead of the usual drywall compound which simply dries and does not set. The normal drywall compound will eventually fail with the humidity.

FRP or stainless cladding looks good and is easy to clean--but don't fool yourself into thinking it's an effective vapor barrier. Even "greenboard" drywall--the moisture/fire resistant stuff--will eventually fail if the walls are not super-insulated.

[mmmatt]

I don't have any of those problems but I have a small electric powered 3bbl brewhouse. I have a steam vent on my kettle with a 260 cfm centrifugal fan and that is it. I also have my brewery ceiling open to the bar room. If it is an enclosed space then the steel studs, hot mud, and foam is pretty good advice. I'm sure every situation is different. For me, electric has about 5% boil off and I keep my hlt covered and my mash ton capped up when I fill, I also don't really hose things down.