Busting at the seams and my wife is not happy with the boxes of wine cluttering our basement. So to quote Wallace…“Let’s get organized down there”
I have a narrow closet that I am converting to a second cellar for longer term storage. To make the most of the space, I want to go 2 or maybe even 3 bottles deep and using 4" PVC pipe cut into 2 or 3’ lengths and just stacked up on top of each other.
Thinking of going 7’ high but I could go all of the way to the 8’ ceiling.
I know folks do this in their storage lockers. Any advice would be helpful.
Thinking of using silicone caulk to “glue” the successive rows and lend some stability…Do you think this is overkill?
Thinking of using a small whisperkool or N’finity to cool the space (100 ft3, 75% below grade and shaded) so any thoughts on that would be appreciated as well.
I use wire shelving. Heights, widths and depths are variable, just order what you need. The ends need something the block them off to keep bottles from rolling out, but if the unit fills your storage space the room walls would serve that purpose. Fourteen inch depth works well. Figure two bottle stacked up as the height for each section. Superior Shelving and a few other places have a big selection: http://www.superiorshelving.com/
I just use the standard flat shelving, but they have pleated shelves to accommodate wine bottles
Three bottles deep might be a bit inconvenient, but contact board member L Goldsmith (formerly Leslie Fisher); she’s the font of all knowledge about storing wine bottles in tubes.
Chris, I suggest you use cardboard tubes instead. They are very sturdy - not flimsy at all. 4" PVC wastes a lot of space. You can have them made to a smaller dimension and fit a lot more wine. I filled a small space with them and got 81 bottles with 3.5" tubes versus 52 with 4" PVC. And there is a company in the southern burbs who makes these, so you can go pick them up sometime instead of paying for shipping.
I would use 3.505" as the diameter - that fits almost everything. Once in a while you’ll find a crazy bottle that won’t fit but very rare. I used a thicker wall thickness of .160" and now I think it is unnecessary. I also don’t think its necessary to glue them together.
What I bought from custom tube company : 3.505x.160x8", qty. 100: $1.34 ea., qty. 200: $1.09 ea.
I just added a section for half bottles to my cellar using paper (cardboard) tubes. Just stacked them in a wood frame, no glue required – works like a charm! Tubes from Custom Paper Tubes in Cleveland, OH.
Another option, go to a local carpet store and they might be willing to give you tubes from carpet rolls? Should be easy to cut down to size. Be careful the tube is not too small however, have to get your hand in there to reach the back bottle.
As Larry said, it’s the 4" diameter that is the problem. Now, I saw that they make 3.5" PVC, but it is very uncommon. I couldn’t find any when I was doing my project. If you can get some of that, then go ahead and use 3.5" PVC.
I used the same cardboard tubes as Leslie did. Loose some space vs bottle stacking, but worth it. Don’t go three deep unless you have a mechanical grabber that fits in the tube and can reach the back
I use the cardboard tubes in my locker as well, and they work great. I also have a friend who uses cardboard tubes with wire shelving (from Costco) in his cellar at home.
Get stainless-steel storage racks from any kitchen-supply store, or Bed Bath and Beyond. Bolt them at the
top into the wall, for stability. Fill with plastic milk crates, facing each top outward, allowing slide-in,
slide-out bottle access. Use wooden or plastic shims to tilt each crate upward slightly, to prevent bottles
from slipping onto the floor.
The results are just like me…strong, stable, and cheap.
I use a combination of the cardboard tubes and these jkadams modular wine racks for my locker:
Both are double deep. I got both used, but in great condition. I like the tubes better. Fu and I cleaned out Leslie Goldsmith of her tubes when she built her home cellar. The jkadams are like tinker toys, you can build them to whatever size you need. They’re kind of a pain in the ass to build, hence my preference for the tubes, but very stable when assembled. I think PVC piping would work well if you can get the 3.5" diameter piping that everyone recommends above.
I did the PVC pipe in my space in the basement, and really like it. I had thought about cardboard, but I was worried about moisture since it’s directly on the concrete slab and against the foundation. I also like the bright white of the PVC against the deep red wall around it (will post pics once I find them) To maximize space I used thinner walled drainage PVC on the top few rows to get the top row flush up against the top. Holds about 350 bottles, which is more than I’ll ever need to store long term. I keep the ones I want to age the longest closer to the floor which is cooler, and put them on the back row so I have to really think about what I’m reaching for before I pull it out and pop the cork.
Definitely don’t want to do more than double deep unless you have very skinny arms. Also be sure to put in some sort or boards on the side to get the tubes to line up flush with the opening, otherwise you will have dead space to fill with tubes you can’t access.
