Good question, and honestly I was trying to remember exactly what I did as well.
I think I started with some adhesive (you could use spray, a good tape, the right kind of glue), and held it in place with clamps.
Then, I went to overkill mode. I used a long (4-5 inch?) heavy-duty structural screw, with a very large washer. You need to make sure the screw is the right length to go through your chosen amount of insulation, and a small amount through the door, but not too much. Obviously, it goes through the insulation like butter, and the metal door takes a bit of effort.
The washer keeps the screw from going too far into the insulation (and through the door). I believe you can see one in action in the photo I posted.
What direction does it face? I ask because mine is on the northwest corner of the house, and a deck shades part of the west side of the foundation wall, so Iām hoping it stays a little lower than yours in the summer, though I wonāt lose sleep if itās in the low 60s. Iām at the edge of the Catskills, so the nights are pretty comfortable there in the summer, which should help.
Thanks for the pointers on the door. It is your typical outside door that has insulation in the core but as stated, a low R value.
Thought I havenāt completely conclude I will do this, the entrance to the wine room is off a large room. I am thinking of using the inlay of the door from the large room side to create a bookshelf that hides the cellar door. The door to cellar opens into the cellar and the bookcase would open into the large room.
I will have to determine how much space I have but I could place some additional insulation in the back part of the bookcase, hidden, to help give the door more R value. The only reason I was thinking about this strategy is the door is just your basic ugly looking panel door. So this basically hides that I have a wine cellar.
I went to a school in NYC that occupied a couple of older townhouses that had sub-basements (directly below the regular, normal depth basements), down in that sweet spot of constant ideal cellar temp shown in the Gold chart that John posted. If I was a millionaire thatās what Iād do, have the builders of my dream home excavate for a sub-basement.
Cool idea. I have thought about having a double door, since I shrank the wine space by moving a wall and still have the old framing there. Youād let some air in each time you pass through, but it would be a good temperature barrier the rest of the time.
Most sites that say no to track lighting are because of the heat they were known to put off. With LED bulbs now that seems to be solved and you can use them to highlight racks or just direct light. Anyone have any negatives to LED track lighting?
is the cellar for show or function? Do you want drama or visibility? My cellar is functional so my lighting is on the ceiling and for visibilityābut built before LEDs existed.
LED lights are great (either track or can), but they DO give off heat, just a lot less than incandescent.
There really is no better solution than LED, but for a passive cellar, you should not plan to leave the lights on all the time. It would materially raise the temperature.
The difference in actual wattage for the same light output (lumens) is pretty much directly correlated to the heat output, because most of the energy consumed by incandescent lights goes to heat, not light. So a 10W, 850 lumen LED light that is roughly equivalent in light output to a 75W incandescent bulb should produce about 13% the heat.
That said, a 10W LED light can still run at 87F, which in an enclosed wine room is enough to raise the temperature over time. Itās the Suzie Homemaker Oven Principle (you can bake cupcakes with a lightbulb).
LEDās can are installed. The LED fixture allows for the color temperature to be adjusted. Any suggestions? I have it on 3,000k which is a soft white. Donāt think I want the blue daylight look, but any reasons to go higher on the K scale?
I think it is pure preference. I would agree with you though, I would keep it at a warmer light (even 2,700 if that is an option). But again, I think it just depends on what you like.
with the forthcoming cooling unit.