We’re planning to finish our walkout basement and I’d like to add what I believe is a small wine cellar 7x7x10 in a nice corner of the basement. That would be the max size.
I reached out to a local wine cellar company in the Boston area and they quoted $80 to $100k for the wine cellar.
Seeing this is my first wine cellar I was expecting a much lower price range. Do wine cellars really cost this much?
At that range I’m probably looking at a DIY cellar with assistance from my general contractor.
Are you looking for it to be a showplace, or do you want good storage with utilitarian looks?
Just looking for good storage. The GC we expect to hire knows some of the basic work that is needed.
That seems way too high, but right now is the slowest and most expensive time in history to do home improvement work, so I can’t really rule anything out.
For good storage that’s way too much money.
Why not attempt to determine temperature and humidity ranges over the next several weeks/months to determine what is absolutely necessary with respect to a build out?
It is an actual basement? One corner of my “finished” basement serves as my wine cellar. It ranges from 55-65 degrees through the year. Lots of stacked cardboard boxes. It cost me $0 (other than the cost of the house, of course), is fully functional, and has worked flawlessly for protecting and aging wine for the last eight years. So if you are just looking for good storage…
That is high-but based on my experience this year the contractors have plenty of work, are turning away work, and can charge what they want to see if the can get it.
I have a good friend who helped with ours. Took over 5 months to complete as there was a lot of wait time for the labor to be available, and waiting on materials.
This is 10’ x 6’ x 9’-racks hold 900 bottles. Can store more up top if we want to. $20k all in.
My guess is that Demian has to contend with significantly higher summer air and ground temperatures in Massachusetts than you do in the Seattle area.
I have a passive cellar in a house at 900 ft elevation at the edge of the Catskills, and the main basement (mostly below grade) stays in the mid to high 70s for several months in the summer. That’s pretty typical in the Northeast.
Also, the ground can get into the mid-60s even many feet down, so the exterior walls of my wine room have little cooling effect in the summer. With 10" of insulation on the ceiling, and 6-8" on the walls (batts plus 2" polyiso board), my cellar still ranges from ~51F to ~67F over the course of the year. But it takes all that insulation to keep it that contained.
Same here, except it’s mostly wooden stacks from Ikea with a few original cases/cardboard boxes.
Currently an unfinished basement. Its a walkout basement that would be almost 1,400 sq feet when finished. I’ve tracked the temperature for the past year or so and it will get into the low 70s on a hot summer day.
The corner where the cellar would go would have the foundation wall on two sides, no direct sunlight, and no vibrations.
This is the exact size/shape of what I want. Looks great.
Where are you? Near the coast in Portugal?
I put a wireless temp/humidity tag in the basement over a year ago. The humidity stays in a good range all year but the temperature gets in the low 70s on hot summer days.
The 2 back walls are underground. You could save a lot, and improve efficiency using less or no glass. Insulated walls and an insulated door would be way more efficient.
This is as much aesthetics as function for us. The cooling unit is on a lot more than I would like. But in the end it worked out great.
I just got a $10k quote to do some stone work that should cost $3k. So I think your $30k wine cellar has seen the same inflation.
Always get quotes from 3 reputable companies.
Roughly how many bottles?
You may be better off to buy a bunch of CostCo wine refrigerators, and call it a day.
And assume that only two are, in fact.
300 meters away from the sea, yes. We do have a dehumidifier downstairs, which helps with stabilizing the temperature even further (we have mild winters and cool summers).