Wine Cellars : Adding Luxury To Your Home:

Part Two : The First Phases of Installation

by: Liz Roberts

Now that you have your wine cellar planned out , and the area deconstructed, it’s now time to begin the second phase. You’ll be building and possibly even expanding your room as well as installing a door, cooler and of course wine and champagne racks. Remember to be careful and conscientious when starting this room. Do it properly to ensure a well functioning wine cellar.

You first want to expand the depth of your wine cellar’s walls as well as the ceiling to allow for additional insulation. You can increase the wall depths by ripping a 2’by 4’ and nailing it into any existing 2 by 4’s . (if not, you’ll basically have to construct the wall’s twice). Use R19 or R21 insulation. You can also double the depth nailing a second layer of 2 by 4’s onto the first. Use two unfaced insulation batts if you must to bring up the R level (usually it will add up to R22). Another way of doubling the depth is to add a second wall a few inches behind or in front of the first. For the floor, you’ll have to construct one on top of the existing concrete(since it wicks away much needed moisture for keeping wine and champagne cool). For the ceiling, you’ll have to box in the joists. This is done to limit the infiltration of heated, humid air from any surrounding insulated areas. (usually where the insulation ends under your main floor). Box in the area by creating a mini wall at the parameters of your wine room. The joists will be covered but will have enough room for the insulation and vapor barrier. Seal all seams with duct tape. Floor and wall seams between the studs should be sealed with a waterproof sealant. Use a caulk gun when doing this. For the cellar’s ceiling, you can use R-30 fiberglass with the vapor barrier facing the overhead floor.

Your wine cellar’s interior walls have to be properly insulated as well. Use rigid 1.5 inch extruded polystyrene boards. Apply these over the interior stud faces. Use this on your ceiling as well. Again use duct tape over the seams. This will bring up the wall insulation to R -27.5 and the ceiling’s up to R-35.

Once this is done you can now work on your doorway. You should have already built an opening t this point to accommodate both door and frame. The ideal door for any wine cellar would be the thickly insulated type usually used as a connecting door between garages and homes. Do not install a fiberglass or wood one. These have a low insulation factor that will interfere with cooling the room. If you have your heart set on a glass door, get one with an insert or one with the most insulation for its’ type.Your wines will suffer from heat damage with a thinly insulated glass door. Install the door and frame according to instructions and add an extra panel of foam insulation around it and then add weatherstripping around it. If it does not have a high R number then also add a panel of foam thermal insulation on the door’s inside. You can simply glue this piece into place.

Now it’s time for framing your cooler. Ideally the cooler should be placed against the wall in an obscure corner. This is done primarily for aesthetic reasons. After all, you want to show off your collection – not the cooler. Once you’ve decided where it will go, you’ll need to frame the space. This means placing a 2’ by 4’ crosswise above the space’s opening – approximately 6 inches down from your cellar’s ceiling. Install another 2’ by 4’ crosswise at the opening’s bottom. This lower board will act as the support for most of the cooler’s weight. Install it properly now or you will have major problems down the road. You may want to put a second 2’ by 4’ below the first, at right angles. This is done for extra strength.. Measure twice before cutting and frame accordingly (employ the old carpenter’s rule here – measure once, cut twice, measure twice cut once). Remember, before doing this , you have to buy your cooler to get the exact measurements for the opening.

Once you’ve done this you can move onto lighting. If you want the no frills décor then just have a overhead bare bulb with a simple metal chain or cord. However a wine cellar deserves something a bit more fancier than just a bare bones set up. Do stay away from recessed lighting fixtures. They are an escaping point for cold air. You cannot install them with or near insulation or abut them to a vapor barrier by electrical code standards. The best lighting solution is just a simple standard electrical box that is flush with the cellar’s surface. With this, you can attach any light fixture you want.

Wine cellars usually have their light switches installed on the outside. There are two reasons for this. One is an exterior switch can show off your cellar without having to actually enter it. The other is that a light switch can get in the rack’s way. The cooler’s outlet should be positioned directly above it and on a separate circuit. This is done because the cooler’s compressor will have an initial surge requirement that is better left to a single circuit.. Also you can connect this other circuit to an outside generator in case of any power blackouts or brownouts. Another suggestion is installing a second outlet for your cooler. Run this next to the cooler, running the line outside the room and again ready to be plugged into a generator. Again this will give you a continuum of power in case of any power failures. You can finish with simple track lighting or a non heat producing lamp.

These are the initial steps to creating your perfect wine cellar. Follow them to ensure an easy finish. You don’t want to have to rip your cellar apart because of a mistake that you made in the beginning. Start it correctly for a seamless project and a flawless wine cellar.