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GENERAL BOARDS => DAIRY FACTORY - Butter, Cheese, Ice Cream Making => Topic started by: MiaBella Farm on August 18, 2009, 08:38:51 PM
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I am getting ready to build a new cheese room and wanted opinions...
What do you think of this lay out?
New Plan:
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d140/nitrors4/Justthecheeseroomver3.jpg)
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I think you cut and pasted the wrong layout, this one has hay storgae, feed troughs and hay racks in it.
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I think you cut and pasted the wrong layout, this one has hay storgae, feed troughs and hay racks in it.
Fixed it...hubby's fault! He sent me the wrong link ;)
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Where are you brining the pressed cheese? How about drying them afterward at a moderate humidity and temp environment before moving to the cave (this influences rind formation)? Also, where are you packing the aged wheels for retail? All on the table next to the freezer?
How is milk getting to the vat for heating? Manually?
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How is the vat heated? In my cheeseroom in the states the inst. heater, valves etc. took up considerable space. If you get the commercial RUDD you can run your sink and vat off it with an isolation valve. Is it a combo pasteurizer (even more wall space needed)?
You are, in my opinion, better off putting the presses against the wall and the vat in the center of the room so you can work around it and a second person can assisit.
Packaging etc, depends on what cheese you will be making. With an aging room I assume you will be doing some hard cheeses. It also depends on how you are allowed to sell it (i.e. cut form wheels at market or prepackaging required). All in all ok, it's the finishes etc. that are important for durability.
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Looks like you have plenty of space to fool around in but As Francois mentioned - presses can go almost anywhere vats and brining areas should be your first consideration. I'd put the brining area close to your aging room if I where you make it easier to wash your cheeses. Maybe even in the same room. Cheese on one side and brine on the other?
Good luck!
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Depending on your volume, you can use the 5-8 gallon plastic rectangular tubs (make sure they are food grade) to brine and as brine storage for washing. You can put these tubs on the lowest shelf in your aging room so they're easily accessible and movable if need be. They fit really nicely on most shelves, and as an added bonus help with the humidity a little.
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Brining will be done in the chest freezer...I saw this done at another cheese place over the weekend, they just filled the chest freezer with brine water and from what they said, you never have to change it...it gets better with age...but you do have to add more salt when the levels are low. I supposed I could move it into the cave, you see any problems with doing so?
The vat we don't have yet, just made space for future use. I will start out making cheese on the stove and then get the vat at a later date. Still looking for one that has a reasonable price tag. But when I do get the vat, the milk will be put into the vat using a specific hose powered by the vacuum pump that is outside the building (covered of course). The milk will be heated by water that is also pumped into the vat.
Since the presses will not be permanently affixed to the table they are on, I can move them and then I can do my packaging there for the market...I will be vacuum packing them in approx. 8 oz packages. OR I can do my packaging in another room that I already have available where I currently make soap and process the milk.
I will have some shelves in the main area that the cheese will sit on to form a rind, before going into the cave and I will also have a humidifier in that room.
THANKS for all the feedback! This is very helpful!
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You have to boil your brine occasionally. It's a contamination vector for listeria.
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I don't know what the regulations are like in your state but my inspector (in NC) would require a central floor drain.
What material are you using to build it (bloc, poured concrete, framed etc)?
Any idea of cost you expect for this?
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We are going to have a floor drain, it is not required by our County, but we are putting one in anyway, just in case.
The building will be on a concrete slab with 2x6 lumber walls, lots of insulation because my husband is an energy saving freak...and washable smooth surfaced interior walls. The bathroom is a requirement as well...even though the building is about 20 ft. from my house!
We expect it to cost around $11,000. We will get a break on the concrete slab because my father-in-law will be finishing it, as he used to work for a local concrete company and they give him a discount! ;)
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Kewl! Can't wait to see it!
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A construction project that i am envious of....
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"We expect it to cost around $11,000. We will get a break on the concrete slab because my father-in-law will be finishing it, as he used to work for a local concrete company and they give him a discount!"
That is a real deal. Can he build on like this in NC for me for that cost?
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".and washable smooth surfaced interior walls."
Can you tell me exactly what you are using for the walls?
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Wayne, you are welcome to come over and help! :)
Siegfriedw: The interior walls are made from PLAS-TEX® PolyWall, but you can buy some stuff at Home Depot made for bathrooms that is a bit cheaper.
As for building this for you in NC...it would depend on local lumber/concrete prices....but hubby will not come there and build it for you...he really hates building stuff! He is an IT guy...but he does it FOR ME! Also, he is too cheap to pay anyone else to build it! LOL!!!
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Funny you mention that.
I spent the summer helping my neighbor build a 24X32 out building.
15 foot tall walls.
2X8 stud walls.
Sewer, water, electricty.
We dug/poured the foundation, laid the block, built the walls, stood them up, put up the trusses and and roofed it.
Put the siding on and the doors on .
We put the concrete floor in 2 weeks ago.
At this point he is weather tight and has running water.
Will spend the winter fitting out the building from the inside.
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Thanks for the answers on the walls. It is funny -- I am sort of an IT guy too - I work for a large software company and that's what pays the bills for the farm.
Wayne - any idea on what that building cost? I know quotes I was getting for a similar sized building were 3 times what is mentioned above.
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IT? - same here. I do IT security work.
The bare building cost about 8k-9K total. (perhaps 10k) We did all the labor. So there is zero labor costs there.
I mean, that is digging the foundation, trenching the sewer, etc. That was all us.
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My hubby is doing all the work himself...other than his dad helping out now and then (he is in his 60's) and I do what I can too...so no labor cost here. Although some days he wishes he had rented a machine to dig the trenches for the slab...he had to manually pick through 6 inches of waste concrete before he hit dirt, which is mostly clay on our land! So, back breaking work for sure...but his "cheap" side did not want to spend the $200 to rent anything when he is perfectly able to do it himself...crazy person!
I don't know if I mentioned it but the $11k includes the foundation, building and all the stuff inside (tables, a/c, sink, etc) Hubby is a good on-line shopper so gets the best deal he can on everything!
What is up with all you IT guys building stuff??? Must need a break from that computer huh ???
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Funny,
I think there is a thread on that somewhere here.
Something like, "why do we make cheese"
Anywhey. It comes down to this for me. At the end of the day, I merely make electrons. Electrons that stored neatly on a magnetic disk, housed in a computer room somewhere.
Professionally I make nothing tangible. I sit at my desk all day making electrons. (kinda like now)
Making cheese, wine, equipment, whatever, is my connection to the tangible world. It will be my visible mark on things.
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I think Wayne hit it on the head.
I have always wanted a farm but was not born into it so I had to work hard to be able to afford to buy the land.
IT seemed like the way to make the money to afford it, plus I can work from home which allows me the time that would otherwise be spent commuting to take care of the farm tasks. I dont know how I would be able to do this if I had an hour plus commute like many who work in the big cities..
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Let me tell you, it is not easy!
Both hubby and I have "day jobs". We ride to work together, and then we both run the farm after work and on weekends. We live on 22 acres and have 35 animals (plus 7 puppies). LOTS to do!
The goal is for me to quit working and just run the farm while he continues to work so we have insurance. I have 4 years left on my 5 year plan...so we need to get cracking! :)
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Wow,
So what I am hearing is that you do not plan on any two week vacations any time soon,
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Yea, that is a negative! The kids are not super excited about that either...but they will live...we take mini-vacations, day trips and stuff.
Hubby's mom lives about 10 minutes down the road so in a pinch she can come milk for us and will do so gladly! She used to have goats many years ago, but now she just visits with ours :)
She has helped out a couple of times when we have gone to shows that we had to drive several hours to get to.