Good afternoon, everyone. After many. many years of apartment living in the city, I am moving to the country. My wife and I are purchasing a house with a mostly finished basement, including a wet bar, a full bath, and two rooms to choose from for my electric home brewery. The basement floor throughout is sealed concrete and the walls are drywall. I’m looking for recommendations on affordable treatments for the floor and (if necessary) the walls. The floor will not have any sort of center drainhole. On a related note, I am moving from city water/sewer to a septic system. Is there anything I should avoid using/putting down the drain? Thanks for your help!
I’ve been on a septic system for 29 years. In terms of brewing, there’s nothing I’ve put in it that’s casued any problem at all.
Thanks, Denny!
Septic system and well water brewer here too since 1995 with no issues.
Not problems here with septic going on 17 years. Well water may be perfectly fine, or it could have problems. Best to send it out to get tested.
Another septic user for 15 yrs. with no issues
Septic owner here, but are you draining all cooling water into it? That might be a bit much for your system, if you brew a lot…even so, I doubt it will be a problem with just occasional brewing.
As to walls in a finished area, make sure you can vent out the steam or consider using a lid with a steam abating set up.
Cheers!
This is a great point, water damage, especially mold, is more likely to come from the humidity heating all that liquid will create so ventilation is more important than protecting against water on the floor in this case. That being said if you are going to have plumbing in this room there are a couple areas to watch, behind a sink and where drywall meets floor. You can get a plastic backing that foodservice kitchens use and make sure it’s caulked where the sink meets the wall. You can also get a flexible plastic baseboard trim that prevents liquid from getting to the drywall from the floor.
Redoing the drywall in my garage right now and adding just that to keep the dry wall from getting all squidgy
I would not dump any old yeast into the tank especially if the system is not vented. Ask me how I know. Get some Rid-X and treat it monthly.
Reuse cooling water in the garden or for the grass and dump old yeast in a compost or can be used in the garden.
I am curious what happened when you put yeast down the drain.
You can also put fibre-reinforced-plastic (FRP) on the walls which will keep the drywall from getting wet. Seal it at the floor with a good caulk or flexible baseboard and you are good to go.
Regarding putting yeast into a septic system, although it shouldn’t cause problems with the amount of bacteria in the system, I err on the safe side and never put yeast down the drain. I have a septic system here and have lived here for 36 years. Everything but the yeast and spent grain goes down the drain (i.e. PBW, caistic, acid rinse, etc.).
I have an old house that has been added onto several times. Have a 1/2 bath added later on that has no vent. One time I got up in the middle of the night to pee like old men do. I went to the 1/2 bath and didn’t turn on the light as not to wake the Mrs. I had to sit with no light on and that’s when I felt water on the seat. The yeast produced enough co2 to vent through toilet, gross. :o That’s my, don’t do that story.
At least you got a good story out of it!
I’ve been doing for 25 years without a problem.
One of my first jobs outr of high school was septic repair. The quality of septic systems varies dramatically. some could handle a ton, some can handle almost nothing.
Sealed concrete floor shouldn’t be an issue, not that much liquid should be hitting the floor. I’ve heard that excessive liquid is bad for septics, so if you’re using a lot of water, try to reclaim cooling water for irrigation. IMHO the most concerning issue is water vapor, be sure you have adequate venting to help prevent condensation and mold.
Unless it was improperly hung, the drywall should not be in contact with the floor at any point. SOP is to hang the board ~1/4" to 1/2" off the floor to prevent it from being damaged by minor flooding, I.E., a toilet backing up or excessively sloppy mopping.
Making a bold assumption about the amount of properly hung drywall out there! 
I’m discovering fun new things about my garage from 1925, like yes - the drywall is all the way to the floor. The walls are framed out with absolutely gorgeous douglas fir and redwood that you’d never find anymore. (seems a crime to cover it, but services and insulation… sigh). And surprise, they used old fence pickets attached to the narrow edging of the frame boards as erstwhile furring strips and drywall mounts.
Also whoever designed the plumbing was quite probably drunk or insane… or both. good lord.
In wet areas, it is advised to use treated lumber as framing, using double 2X4 plates and holding the drywall off the floor by about an inch, then attaching trim base boards or plastic base as sacrificial pieces in the event of a backup. Worth consideration, though the OP’s basement is already finished.