Having built my sugarhouse in 04 and thinking it would be big enough forever, we are designing an addition. This will be mostly kitchen. We are pushing one wall out 10' to make the basic size 26 x 24, but it's not over yet. I am also adding an extra 10 x 14 on the northwest corner, which will have a cellar for syrup storage. From the kitchen I'm making a freight elevator (about 30" x 30") to raise and lower barrels. Then I'll have a stairway from outside to walk down. The elevator will be run by a small electric winch. The elevator will be inside an insulated shaft to help keep the cellar cool. In the cellar (concrete block) I'll use an old plan from Mother Earth News to cool it, with air vents able to open and close both from ceiling level and floor level. This will allow cool air in and warm air out. Because of my water table this part will only can only be 4' in the ground. I'm making it with perimeter drain tile and about 6" coarse crushed stone under it. The trench for the drain tile was dug last year, it goes out 300' to a lower spot with water flow. This spot is at the top of the water flow and has never flooded more than about 4". My last build is to redo my elevated tank platform. It will still set in the same spot but will be turned 90 degrees, (it will but up to the outside wall and be open in the sugarhouse to run the valve from inside) and will be set on poles, with an insulated RO room under it. I am also going from a 415 gal head tank to a 200 gal. After getting the RO I was never concentrating much ahead. One time only I concentrated 150 gal and then ran that again until I had about 60 gal concentrate. I found I would rather just go to about 12% max. It ran real nice at 1@12% but when I went to about 18% it made me rinse my RO before I could continue. Lastly, I'll have some storage over the cellar part, like cases of jugs and empty syrup barrels.
Between this and my new pans I ordered it will be like a whole new set up.
Dave