I’m in the process of ordering new racking. Pine is $ thousands less than the other two. I’m not using a finish. Besides cosmetics, are there any disadvantages to choosing pine?
Thanks for any advice.
Warren
Pine warps easily. Otherwise not really. Redwood is ultra-soft.
Pine, as I recall, can warp and worse yet mold and be weak over time. It does not last as along. Most people use redwood since in a cellar environment (humid) the material works great and last a super long time. It needs no finish and none of mine have discolored.
Search engine and google are your friend here to weight the pros and cons of each.
I’ve seen plenty of cellars with pine racking and I haven’t noticed any warping or mold.
My current cellar has alder cubes but I plan on using unfinished pine for the next.
I have had pine for nine years. No warp, mold… no problems.
We did mahogany and so far we love it. Our builder had good access to it at a decent price, and from what I’ve read it’s generally considered more sturdy than pine or redwood, but still breathable and sturdy.
I’ve had pine racks (diamonds, singles, mag singles and flat racks) for over a decade and I’ve never had any problems with warping or mold.
Plus, it’s a native renewable species.
And as far as lasting longer, both will last longer than either you or the wine. Most homes in the USA are built with pine.
If you’re worried about mold, why not just put a coat of water-based poly on them? That also makes them much easier to clean if you should ever need to. Please don’t say that you’re worried about off-gassing. And as far as warping - pine may warp if it’s left in a raw lumber state. But these are going to be shelves that are nailed to other pieces. The wood is seasoned before use and there’s not going to be much room for warping when pieces are fastened together, which is one reason your walls don’t become like a fun-house.
IMHO the only real practical difference is aesthetics.
As long as it’s properly cured and heartwood, really? Redwood and cedar also have natural anti-fungal and anti-insecticidal properties that make them a natural fit for things that have high humidity and fungal pressures.
I think cedar might be too aromatic for a cellar. It is also not particularly dimensionally stable. Mahogany I wood think is the best choice as it is strong, will hold to the humidity, fastens well, and looks good. It’s also WAY more expensive, so maybe overkill.
Redwood is the in-between. It is of medium strength, resists humidity and fungus, and I still not that expensive.
Pine is the economical choice. It costs much less than mahogany. But it IS soft. So it can warp more (especially in humidity), is not as strong/stable, and has little fungal resistance. It probably wouldn’t harbor mold, and in racks the strength is not crucial. However if one were to have vertical member of 1x2 or 1x3 that carry any load, they wouldn’t need a design that has some horizontal breaking every 36” or so, or verticals made of two pieces forming an L, or they definitely can bend under load. I have some pine racks that did exactly that and I had to install some horizontal cross braces at approx 32-36” interval. So pine sim fine but needs to be designed beyond the simplest form.
Actually mahogany racks are cheaper than redwood but more expensive than pine.
Side note, I sided the first house we built with mahogany, got a deal, a lot of splitting
When nailing but it still looks great 40+ years later.
Genuine Mahogany - IMO the best all/around furniture wood - is pretty expensive now but even a good size cellar won’t be using that much material in terms of board footage; most of the cost of custom racking will be labor. Nowadays, a lot of what’s called mahogany really isn’t. I agree woth Greg that there’s little chance of catastrophic wood failure in any reasonable time frame for any of the woods mentioned. NB, there’s yellow pine which is fairly hard but a bit splinter prone, and there’s white pine which is fairly soft but not like it would break easily.
last cellar was mahogany. New one will be alder, 25% cheaper and looks great.
Alan, was this a custom job? I have alder now and I do like it but it was a custom job and I don’t desire to spend that again for my next space.
The cedar used in cellars is western red cedar and doesn’t have the scent you are thinking of. My first cellar by apex was cedar.
We used poplar. double deep 20 slots high with bulk storage on top. totally loaded and no issues 5 years in.
yes. Being built now.
If sunlight were involved, then, over time, the pine would cure to look overwhelmingly better than redwood or mahogany.
But I’m not sure how pine would cure in total darkness.
[Old sun-stained yellow pine (Pinus palustris???) is far & away the most beautiful wood I’ve ever seen, especially if it has lots of knots in it, although be forewarned that many finishes nowadays offer 100% UV protection, so your sunlit pine won’t be able to cure properly and turn gorgeous.]
As far as pungency is concerned, the redwood & pine will produce strong [possibly offensive] odors, but [in my very limited experience] mahogany is larger odorless.
PS: It’s jaw-droppingly expensive, but Tried & True Original Traditionnel Polymerized Linseed Oil & Beeswax will make mahogany look about as nice as mahogany is capable of looking.
I had my cellar done with unfinished cypress heartwood. One of the most moisture resistant, dimensionally stable woods. Really durable. Looks great.