Beer Tap Chalkboard Sign

I’m working on finishing up some lingering projects, especially in the basement, so that I can take some completed room photos.  One of the projects that has been on my mind for several months has been a tap sign for the keezer (a keg/freezer for those who don’t speak homebrew). 

Keezer

For awhile we’ve been labeling each tap by using a dry erase marker to write directly on the freezer.  But, I’ve always thought a sign would look cooler. 

There’s only a small space available above the freezer, so my dimensions were determined pretty quickly.  Also, there are a lot of light colors going on over here, so I wanted to tie in the black tap collar (the black piece that was built to mount the taps), by using a chalkboard.  The only problem was I wanted something Mike could change as new beers were added, but the depth of the freezer meant a mounted chalkboard was impractical.

That’s when I thought of a chalkboard (with a cool semi-permanent design), with removable mini-signs that could change easily as each keg was finished and different beer was added.

I drew a basic design with dimensions, and Mike built the base of the chalkboard out of plywood, a frame out of reclaimed wood, and thin mini signs out of some cedar he had stock-piled.  We used little brass hooks that I purchased for a different project and Mike drilled holes in the small signs for them to hang.

Beer-Tap-Chalkboard-Sign

I painted the plywood and mini signs with 3 coats of chalkboard paint, and used 2 coats of shellac on the frame.  I made sure to condition my chalkboards before using a projector, with a design I created in Photoshop, to draw the design in chalk ink pens.     

Beer-Tap-Chalkboard-Sign-3 

Beer-Tap-Chalkboard-Sign-4

Beer-Taps

Beer-Tap-Chalkboard-Sign-1

The little signs can be easily reached and removed to erase and label as new beers are exchanged.

Beer-Tap-Chalkboard-Sign-5

It’s not noticeable when you first walk around, which is nice because the first reaction, mostly from the guys, is awe that there’s a keezer full of beer on tap, so it takes a moment for them to notice anything else ;) 

Recessed-Keezer

Instead of looking like a freezer stuffed in an alcove, I’d like to think the sign makes it look like a deliberate “beer cave”.

Beer-Tap-Chalkboard-Sign-2

On a side note, I recently had a realtor friend of a friend, walk through and give her opinion on our house value now that we’ve completed all of our large renovations.  I asked her if this set-up would help or hinder our house when we sell in the future (potential buyers won’t always have the same interests and some will be turned off by spaces that are used for very specific purposes), and she said it was definitely help, and it would be something that sets us apart by being a memorable feature! Ha!

Also, she said if we were listing now, she gave a listing price 59% higher than what we bought it for 5 years ago.  We bought at the right time, but I’m glad to see we’ll hopefully see a good return on the things we upgraded, especially since we remodeled with ourselves in mind, not exactly thinking only about potential buyers in the future!

No comments