Tricks to increase cellar storage capacity

[PaulMills]

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

@PaulMills

This is our regular cellar.
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…

you should store your corked beers on their sides.

They were until I built this rack last weekend. I put them vertical to get them out of the way but I know I need to turn them. I just have more wine on the way so I need the horizontal space for it.

[Markus_S]

@Paul Marquardt

(East Coast, so I don’t have to worry much about a massive quake.)

I wouldn’t be so sure of this. A couple of the most massive earthquakes have happened in New Madrid, MO & Charleston, SC previously, and you must have remembered the one that cracked the Washington Monument a few years ago? There have been lots of little earthquakes in Quebec recently as well, so they can happen, but there are fewer warning signs than the West Coast ones. Just sayin.

[AndrewH]

@Markus S

@Paul Marquardt

(East Coast, so I don’t have to worry much about a massive quake.)

I wouldn’t be so sure of this. A couple of the most massive earthquakes have happened in New Madrid, MO & Charleston, SC previously, and you must have remembered the one that cracked the Washington Monument a few years ago? There have been lots of little earthquakes in Quebec recently as well, so they can happen, but there are fewer warning signs than the West Coast ones. Just sayin.

Indeed, there was widespread damage in DC from that quake:

[Scot_H]

@AndrewH

Indeed, there was widespread damage in DC from that quake:

1. Never forget. 2. I actually lost 2 bottles of wine.

[Howard_Cooper]

@Scot Hasselman

@AndrewH

Indeed, there was widespread damage in DC from that quake:

1. Never forget. 2. I actually lost 2 bottles of wine.

Wasn’t that just Kenny taking them???

[s.nellessen]

@Ian Sutton

I look at these photos and get scared at the high-stacking and open side-stacked boxes. I hope there is no sprinkler system if the fire-alarm goes off. Cardboard doesn’t hold up too good when wet!

For added support, insert the cardboard boxes into empty port boxes turned on their sides. The typical larger chardonnay/pinot cardboard boxes fit nicely. Also, add lateral support to the rows to support the btls by doubling or tripling the horizontal cardboard inserts and just force-fit them into the vertical members. Or just use the port box cardboard arranged as 4-btl shelves, and add horizontal cardboard support.

[Tom_Wheltle]

This bin was designed to hold four wooden cases.

It holds a lot more now.

[Ed_Steinway]

Slightly off-topic, but we had a small 3.5 earthquake this morning, around 12:30AM. The epicenter was a few miles away from us. No reported damage, but it does keep top of mind the need for the bottles to be secure in earthquake county, at least from my vantage point.

At this point, my best strategy for creating more room is to drink some bottles with family and friends.

Thanks,
Ed

[Chuck_Miller]

Let’s just say that Warren now has (theoretically/practically) unlimted storage as of this afternoon.

[Dav1dZ]

@Markus S

@Paul Marquardt

(East Coast, so I don’t have to worry much about a massive quake.)

I wouldn’t be so sure of this. A couple of the most massive earthquakes have happened in New Madrid, MO & Charleston, SC previously, and you must have remembered the one that cracked the Washington Monument a few years ago? There have been lots of little earthquakes in Quebec recently as well, so they can happen, but there are fewer warning signs than the West Coast ones. Just sayin.

Sigh.

• New Madrid were major earthquakes but certainly not among the “most massive” earthquakes, whatever that means.
• Quebec has known seismic zones with higher earthquake risk - the Charlevoix and the the West Quebec Seismic Zone. If you live in those areas, you need to assume material earthquake risk. If you don’t, you dont.
• There are certain places on the east coast with higher earthquake risk; the coast from Boston to midcoast Maine , NYC, far upstate NY (NY side of the Champlain Valley and the Adiorondacks), central Virginia, Charleston. The risk here is still very low.
• There are lots of places on the east coast with minimal earthquake risk; east end of Long Island, DC, Philly, North Carolina, Florida, most of Georgia.

[Chris_D1]

Thanks Warren. I had been procrastinating scheduling my wine on our homeowners policy since I moved it into my cellar last fall. No offense intended, but seeing those pictures struck fear in me and compelled me to call my agent. Turns out, coverage was much cheaper than I had imagined.

[Warren_Taranow]

@Chuck Miller

Let’s just say that Warren now has (theoretically/practically) unlimted storage as of this afternoon.

[AndrewH]

@DavidZ

• New Madrid were major earthquakes but certainly not among the “most massive” earthquakes, whatever that means.

The thread’s already drifted, so no guilt on my part in saying that those earthquakes, if they happened today, would likely be among the most devastating that have happened in the United States. But in 1811-12, the population in the area was small and the construction fairly simple.

Regardless, there’s risk on the east coast for earthquakes, but history has shown they are much less frequent than in California, and tend to be less severe. Thus the need for earthquake reinforcement and protections is much less (or the benefits of it are less) than in California, where they are more frequent occurrences.

My protection is storing valuable bottles low, and in the back of a double deep rack that’s screwed into studs. If the racks tip over and the bottles break I’m guessing other problems will be a higher priority than a 2000 bordeaux.

[Joe_G_a_l_e_w_s_k_i]

For the first wine rack I ever built, I made the slots large enough to hold magnums. My logic was then any bottle would fit. I also made the dimensions rather lenient all around. This was back when I thought a 60 bottle collection ought to do it. Years later, with 3 magnums to my name and several more racks built, I decided to retrofit this one, putting bottles on top of each row. Plus I did little cut outs on each end to put a ½ bottle. I can now fit 110 regular bottles + 18 ½ bottles instead of 60.