We are planning to building a cellar at our San Francisco home, for 1500-2000 bottles. Could members here please share experiences and tips? We are not DIY-smart, but don’t want to go bankrupt on this…Would would be the most cost-efficient way to build? Any recommendations for contractors?
I suppose with “DIY-smart” you mean you cannot Do it Yourself … (which would be the cheapest solution).
2nd cheapest way: make at least a plan of the construction yourself … take measurements of the available space (I guess it is already there), work out the bins/racks for 12, 6 or single bottles and full cases … and let it build by an able wood worker.
I would use cheap wooden laths/bars … those used for roof bricks (2"x2" and 2"x1") … that´s easily sufficient … and also no varnish/impregnation is necessary … I have mine for 26 years now, and all is in best shape …
remember that bottles don´t care if they are lying on cheap wood or luxury mahogany …
Sorry, no further recs possible, I´m in Europe …
Hi Yang,
I guess this all depends how much understanding and ability of overseeing the building process you might have. Building a wine cellar normally involves a multitude of trades which will need some degree of coordination. There is potential savings by sourcing out and contracting individual parts of the project by yourself but it requires profound knowledge if you desire a perfect end result.
If you don’t have the knowledge or time you will need to find a contractor which will be able to offer you a finished product to your satisfaction based on your budget. Normally you can apply the standard formula “You get = What you pay for” but its a wild world out there when it comes to trades and I strongly suggest that you base your decision on referrals (which you are already doing) and consult web sites like Homestars and Angies’s List to find a local contractor of your choice. Do your due diligence and check out provided references to see if the contractor delivered as promised and in no case allow yourself to be in the situation to prepay any services you haven’t received yet. Rather work out a payment plan which is based on completion of defined stages of the project.
And don’t forget to post some pictures.
Peter
Start with your solution for earthquake/tremor-proofing your bottles, and then work BACKWARDS from there.
Point being that you don’t want to build a wine cellar and then a year or two later try to retro-fit an earthquake/tremor-proofing system onto that existing cellar.
Instead, first decide out how you’re going to protect the bottles from the various Richter-magnitude tremors, and then “retrofit” the rest of the cellar around the protection system.
I’m assuming someone will build this for you. One way is to find a contractor who does it all - framing, insulation, racking, etc. My guess is that will be expensive. Another option to look into is to get a contractor just to do the framing and insulating, and hire someone else to install racking. That could be cheaper, because the framing/insulating part any contractor can do, so you have more competition and options. Of course, you’ll need to do some research to make sure the person is doing it right - there are plenty of threads on here about how to build a cellar, and I’d suggest starting with those.
Closed cell spray foam insulation, as much for vapor barrier as insulation. Get professionals to do it, not the stuff in the cans from the hardware store. Wish someone sprayed ours before we moved in the wine. Your cooling unit will run much less and inexpensive for such a small space.
Get two cooling units. A primary one (should be a split system) and a secondary one for when the primary one does not work for some reason. Remember the #1 reason for a wine cellar is temperature control. Economize on shelving, etc., if need be, not on cooling or insulation.
Hire someone experienced in building wine cellars, not someone who is a general contractor or who does basements, etc.
Yang - I would just do it myself but you’ve already nixed that idea. However, you are kind of lucky - I know people in SF who have passive cellars that have been satisfactory for years. A lot depends on where your cellar will be. You’d be surprised how cool northern facing walls can stay all year round. You may not get ideal cellar temps, but you can keep your wines pretty cool.
Next thing would be as they said, figure out how you’ll protect from earthquakes. One way to do that is to use netting, some kind of barrier, or simply tie the bottles down somehow. Then, if you’re not worried about convenience, go with bins rather than individual racks. Next cellar I build I’m making individual racks, because bins are a pain, but they are a lot cheaper. One thing you can do to make them more convenient is slightly angle them so they’re not storing the bottles perfectly horizontally. Then things are less likely to crash to the floor.
You can save a lot of money by not worrying about cosmetics. Even the light can be a bare bulb. Construction costs in the Bay Area are pretty high because there’s just so much work for everyone they’re not inclined to be competitive.
I may be more of a do-it-yourself person, but when I built my cellar I found contractors for the trades individually. One did the framing, then returned to do the drywall (I used a fiberglass coated product called Densarmor) and painting. After the fram8ng was done, I caulked every seam in the framing, then had an insulation company do closed-cell spray foam. We had an electrician do the wiring. Once it was all done I installed the cooling unit myself. The racking came from Apex via Costco. Apex did the racking design as part of the purchase.
The cellar design was mine, based on a lot of research and the experience a lot of folks here have shared.
Serving as my own general contractor saved a lot of money. It was more work, and I had to work with the city on the inspection, but it was worth it.