Post your CELLAR PIC time…..

[MChang]

@Jozef.P

I have a 5mx6m part of the cellar that will be converted into a refrigerated wine storage room. Looking to do this as efficiently as possible, and I came across this set-up from Mr Audouze:

François Audouze on Instagram: "This is a view on my main cellar. Each box has a depth of two bottles. So the front is not full in order that I can grab bottles behind what you can see. At the end of the video you see the bottles prepared for the Academy of ancient wines, standing on the tables. There is no space designed for a specific wine. I put any wine where there is space to put it, but of course there is an inventory."

I like the system with the cellular concrete blocks, but wonder why he uses wooden planks instead of reinforced concrete to put the wine on? Any insights?

Probably for customizability for areas to stand things up, I guess.

I do think that setup is really only efficient if there’s only one wine or producer in each bin, and if the bottles stack efficiently.

[Reg_Brown]

Decluttering at home and in storage. It’s all relative.

[Rich_Brown]

Sometimes i feel like i have too much wine…but then i see posts like this and all of my fears are immediately eliminated, ha!

Looks like an amazing collection @Reg_Brown - Cheers!

[Jeff_Bryant]

@Rich_Brown

Sometimes i feel like i have too much wine…but then i see posts like this and all of my fears are immediately eliminated, ha!

Funny you mention this. Just yesterday my wife was helping me in the cellar and said "We have a lot of wine how are we going to drink all of this? “

I told her not to worry… Now today I see pictures of others cellars and breathe a sigh of relief

[Terry_H_a_r_r_i_s]

@Terry_H_a_r_r_i_s

My cellar is the original “coal” room of my house built in 1922/23. The work table and the wooden cabinet were already in place when I bought the house in 1989. I used cedar planks, offsetting the neck and bottom-end-bottle half-circle cuts in the wood for the space under the table and between the cabinet and the exterior wall. Used two-inch strips of balsa wood to keep bottles in place within the cabinet. As best depicted in second picture, rows there and under the work table alternate between one rack and two racks, to better allow access to back rows. A poor man’s cellar:

Not even seven months . . . and all I can conclude is that you guys - all of you - are terrible influences.

Oh, and that damnable Berserker Day!!

[Andrew_W1]

I use the same ones! Would also recommend

[CJ_Beazley]

I assume you’re passive? What’s your high summer temp down there 62-63ish?

[Terry_H_a_r_r_i_s]

@CJ_Beazley

I assume you’re passive? What’s your high summer temp down there 62-63ish?

Give or take. My basement is 2/3 below ground, poured concrete foundation walls, crawl space filled 2/3 with dirt under the front dining and living rooms (so, coal room is adjacent to that crawl space under the dining room. As a result, the basement stays fairly cool most of the year (it was only this week that I switched on the central air - although with the cold front moving through I actually returned to heating today). Because the exterior wall of the coal room/wine cellar gets afternoon sun, I open the cellar room door in the summer, so the air-conditioned air can circulate into that room. So, temps stay pretty good (in winter they drop down to about 55 degrees and I keep the door to the cellar closed most of the time.

My bigger issue is humidity. Passive humidity drops to about 45% in the winter and never gets above 55% in the summer. No history of leaking corks, however!

[ChrisJames]

@CJ_Beazley

I assume you’re passive?

Terry only seems passive until he gets a corkscrew in his hand.

[Terry_H_a_r_r_i_s]

Well, Neal keeps reminding me that I need to drink more, not less, wine.

[cepotts]

For anyone with first-hand knowledge, does the Richard Gold book instruct on how to handle existing vs. new construction? I am starting my journey on a new cellar in our existing basement and would like to know how much of the infrastructure can stay or needs to be retrofitted.

Thanks!

[Charles_Perry]

There is a chapter on using an existing crawl space vs building an addition, if that’s helpful.

I have the Kindle version of Gold’s book on my iPhone. If you can explain exactly what question you have or what info you are looking for, I can look it up.

But honestly, if you are contemplating building a cellar, just buy Gold’s book. It’s immensely helpful, and frankly its cost won’t even be a rounding error compared to the other expenses you’ll have.

[Victor_Hong]

[cepotts]

Hi Charles,

Thanks for the reply and offer. Yes, I’ll buy his book for sure. Just wanted to know if he talks about how to treat existing construction areas. I’m building in a back room of the finished basement. The floor is 1’ ceramic tiles on concrete. One wall is exterior, partial below grade. One wall backs to the crawl space. The third wall is interior. I’ll be building the fourth wall. I am planning to just keep the same flooring and build onto it, assuming it is its own vapor barrier. I plan to open all other walls and ceiling to insulate and add barrier. Was hoping Gold’s book is instructive in these matters.

I’m also planning to use a solid mahogany door, which probably isn’t the best insulator, but sure is pretty!

I look forward to sharing my build experience here, much as you did, to the enjoyment of this community.

Cheers,
Craig

[Pau1_M3nk3s]

Gold’s book discusses these topics.

[Charles_Perry]

Here is the table of contents and index for the 4th edition (which is the latest) of Gold’s book. It should give you a pretty good idea of the topics covered.

[cepotts]

Very much appreciated. Thank you!

[JLuch]

Forgot to post this back in the spring. Had a passive cellar in my basement. It was an old canning cellar that was built by the Italian mason that built my house in the 50s.

4 inch’s of rigid insulation (ceiling and walls) a floating somewhat insulated LVP flooring and a cellarpro unit later, my cellar is now active and a crisp 55 degrees year round.

Didn’t have all my racking done when I took this, but you get the idea.

[Anton_D]

Lovely.

[JLuch]

Thanks. And for educational purposes. I’m in northern NJ. All but 1 wall is adjacent to conditioned space as well as the ceiling. It’s a concrete slab that’s about 4 feet or so below grade. It’s roughly 5-600 cu feet and the cellar pro is rated to around 500 or so cu feet.