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Building a basement wine cellar is the ideal way to store and preserve your wine collection. The importance of planning your cellar cannot be overemphasized. Commit your plans to paper before you rush to the lumberyard. Planning in advance will help you avoid problems later. These are the things to consider at the planning and drawing stage: Cellar capacity. The space you have available for the cellar will limit the number of bottles you can store; however, most cellars become too small for their owner’s needs so plan for the largest cellar you can manage. Electricity. Your cellar will require lighting and, if you will be adding a cooling unit, it will require a power outlet. Place the power outlet above the cooling unit where it will be out of sight and it won’t interfere with bottle storage. Cooling unit position. In your particular cellar you may not have a lot of choice in where you place your cooler. Coolers are generally mounted between studs so consider its placement at the planning stage. Walls. Stud walls should be constructed from 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 lumber spaced 16 apart. Follow your local or state building code. Using 2 x 6 construction will allow for 6-1/4 thick R19 insulation. Types of insulation. Fiberglass or extruded polystyrene insulation is commonly used in wine cellars. Sometimes blown-in insulation can be used. The minimum level of insulation for interior walls is R-11 or R-13. The ceiling and exterior walls require a minimum of R-19 insulation. Vapor barrier. A vapor barrier is required if a cooling unit is to be installed. Six mm polyethylene sheeting is applied to the warm side of the cellar walls. The vapor barrier must be applied either to the outside of the walls and ceiling or, if it is impossible to get to the outside, then the plastic sheeting must be applied from within the cellar. Ceiling. The ceiling will require insulation in the same manner as the walls. Depending on what’s already in place you may be able to add insulation between existing ceiling joists. Floor. The floor needs to be insulated, too. However, if the floor is concrete – as is commonly found in basement areas – additional insulation may be unnecessary. Although concrete has a near zero R-value, in conjunction with the earth underneath it provides thermal mass which should prevent heat seeping into the cellar or coolness escaping. Door. Plan on whether the door is to open to the left or right and to open in or out. If the door opens outward you’ll have more room in the cellar for wine. However, an outward opening door isn’t always possible. Make sure your door isn’t going to bump into a sloping ceiling and buy or at least choose your door before you begin construction of the stud walls.. The door must be solid core, exterior grade. Any glass inserts in a door must be at least double-pane insulated and tempered. Lighting. Lighting is an important part of the overall wine cellar ambience. Recessed ceiling lights are popular but should be avoided unless you choose newer “air lock” models. In any case, recessed lights will take up ceiling space that is better filled with insulation. Low voltage track lighting can work well in cellars and this can be wall mounted in a low ceilinged cellar. Wine Cellar Cooling. The capacity of the cooling unit depends on the size of the wine cellar. A properly constructed cellar should allow you to use the smallest possible cooling system for the size of the cellar, although owners of cellars with glass doors may need to purchase a larger capacity unit to compensate for the lack of insulation in the door. Wine Racks. There are many options here. Check out wine rack manufacturers and get the specifications of their racks. If you are building a large capacity cellar you don’t have to purchase and install all the racking at once. |
Confirming what other people have said…
Not happy
Good value but a bit tight on space