Wine cellar build out with gas and water mains

I have a bit of closed off space in my cellar that I have been using to store drinkers, and now I’m looking to build it out properly and bring my off-site storage in-house. Initially, this room seemed “perfect” for wine storage. Until I read Gold’s book and the Taylor Michaels book. Now I know that the room is poorly insulated. No biggie, that can be fixed. However, of greater concern is that the water and gas mains come though the outside wall and through this room. The water main leaked last year (thus the sensor) and was repaired, but I don’t trust it enough to wall it in, which I doubt is advisable anyway. Anyone have any ideas on how to deal with the challenges of the mains and still adequately insulate the wall?

Sorry for the poor image quality, the board seems to want to reduce the image size by 90%+
2017_existing_wine_storage.jpg
Slightly better image:

What is the climate where you live and how far below grade is that wall?

In addition to Micah’s questions, Are you looking to just insulate that wall or be able to put racking on/around it? What is the ambient temperature of the space normally?

I have the water main coming into my wine cellar as well. As long as you leave easy access for the shut off valve you should be fine. The gas… Unless you are concerned about a small gas leak in a confined space of the cellar, there shouldn’t be an issue. You could put a gas detector alarm in there if you were concerned about a gas leak.

@Micah, I live in Seattle. The outside wall is on a slope. Probably 50% is below grade. I did remove some bushes on the other side of the wall, so I will be planting something to block the direct sun (faces south and gets hit hard).

@Scott, I’m absolutely going to insulate that wall as it receives sun, when we have it. I need to pull off the dry wall and probably get it sprayed. I’m just not sure how far out to build the wall to encase the exposed foundation, particularly because of the mains coming in. And that is my dilemma!

@Eric, so you’re suggesting that I close it all up, but leave some sort of gap for the water shut-off?

Thanks everyone for commenting on this. If the consensus is that I can close off the mains, that’s fine. I just didn’t think that would be wise. Leaving them and the wall exposed would cut deep into how much insulation I can install. I don’t recall the r for exposed foundation off the top of my head.

Absolutely, you need to be able to access the house main water cut-off. It’s critical. I dont actually see a water valve on that line. Is it further up? Seems strange as its usually very close to the entry of the line to the house. Regardless, wherever it is, you need easy access.

Eric, yep, it’s further up. The picture is a panorama and doesn’t show much vertical. You can just see it in this shot. Of course it doesn’t face out…
IMG_1217.JPG

I would NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES wall up those utility lines.

You are courting disaster.

Maybe not now.

Maybe not in the next five years.

But sooner or later, someone is going to be badly burned [no pun intended] by that decision.

Nathan, your concerns mirror mine. How do I incorporate these mains into the design of storage room, allowing them to be accessible and yet not interfere with much needed insulation for that outside wall?

Why not just extend/reroute the lines? I have no idea what code says, but if you routed them so the valves are next to each other you could fabricate a hatch in your cellar that you could open in an emergency.

What about Insulated access doors ?

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=insulated+access+door&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=186643465323&hvpos=1t2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2773775428595780575&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004345&hvtargid=kwd-1297916912&ref=pd_sl_7c76esmqnu_b

Mike, that might work for the shut-off valve, but those doors won’t cover the entire line, both lines. I think Nathan’s concern is valid. Without another solution, I may be forced to spay insulate the existing walls, leave the mains exposed and hope for the best. It might turn out the room just isn’t going to work…

Brian - I had a similar situation with my basement location #1, and I am happy to have found another spot… too much risk.