I’m in the process of building a wine cellar, and the idea is to have one glass wall, with a glass door on that wall (gaskets on all 4 sides). The other walls, ceiling, and floor will be well-insulated.
I’ve received conflicting advice regarding how much of a thermal problem the glass wall / door will create.
Does anyone have an opinion on whether this is a bad idea or no big deal? Also, if I do move forward with glass, what are the specifications I should make sure of.
Provided that the door is at least properly double glazed and argon filled or preferably triple glazed, I don’t see how that would be a problem. Also, make sure the outer glass pane is toughened and heat-reflective.
It would be an expensive piece though because of its size!
You could make it cheaper by making the door look like a window with multiple panels, but that would increase cold loss.
I’ve done it successfully with single pain glass, double pane is preferable but cannot be done frameless.
The real problem is keeping the adjacent space below the dewpoint of the glass.
If the room temp is 68°F @ 50% RH the dew point is 49°F, as the RH climbs the dewpoint goes down, so at the same 68°F @ 65% RH the dewpoint is 56°F and you risk condensation on the glass.
I do not recommend single pane glass unless you have a dedicated dehumidification system.
The loss of insulation should be accounted for in a heat loss to size the cooling system properly, do not use the manufacturers sizing charts.
I agree with Chris. It is going to prove very difficult for this to be done correctly to the point that you always enjoy it and it never proves to be an issue.
I have a glass door on my cellar. It was less than $300 at Home Depot. It is a 32" dual glazed exterior door. No argon. I don’t think Argon does anything without UV anyway. At 54 degrees I have never had any kind if condensation. Fingerprints though!
Never had condensation. My cellar has active dehumidification however because of the type unit I have.
Adjacent space is about 75 degrees but actively temp controlled by either heat or cooling. Humidity is thus much lower.
55 degrees F Humidity runs 60 to 70% In the summer I can get way up there if my active dehumidifier is not on.
The detail Chris mentions is single pane versus double. If you’re hoping to have a wall of glass, with a door more similar to a shower door (single pane) condensation is basically impossible to prevent. If a framed exterior door is acceptable then condensation really shouldn’t be a problem.
I’ve installed both, though would be very reluctant to install single pane ever again.
For my next house, I am hoping to build a cellar that has a open window to the dining area that is about 3 1/2 feet off the ground. Then, on both sides of the wall, there would be usable space. Inside the cellar, half – height racks would be usable, and on the inside, furniture could be placed.
I have a double layered glass door, even so, we get a lot of humidity in summer, and when it is really hot, I sometimes get condensation forming on the outside…
Thanks for the good advice. Combined with my own research, it’s clear that single pane glass is too much of a compromise in terms of thermal performance, at least in my case.
So, I’m working on a solution that involves insulated glass, with a fixed pane (wall) on either side of a door.
Good points on the trade-off between capacity and aesthetics. The glass side of the cellar doesn’t impact capacity in this case, as there is racking all the way around the rest of the cellar. However, we’ve definitely been evaluating nice touches vs. packing in as much racking as possible in other aspects of the design.
Hello All - Newbie here but old friends with Mr F R E N C H.
Not trying to Hijack the thread…but…
I was hoping for some design advice as I am planning on ripping out part/all of an old closet and making it a wine cellar with perhaps some sort of serving/buffet table.
I am also in the middle of a another giant remodel so I am trying to keep costs waaay down - plus I am cheap.
My idea is to remove all the doors and insides of these closets and have some sort of large glass window(s) or a sliding glass system.
I have attached a few pictures of what I have now and some of what I am trying to accomplish. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
The first picture on the upper right is before the initial remodel when the doors were red and the other two pictures are what the dining room currently looks like. The subsequent photos are “inspiration” of what I would “like” it to look like.
Todd already told me I was like Michael Jordan playing baseball, I was outta’ my league.
Yes some as you can see this is what the closet looks about a bank of windows. Now I do have shades, and I am not sure if the sun actually hits the closet or not
