We’re building a wine cellar on the first floor in our new house. The house gets a lot of natural light (but not direct), and I’m wondering if a door with a large glass window is a bad idea.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!
For security and temperature control, use a heavy non-glass door.
If you or others wish to see the wine, just open on occasion.
As long as you’re going for the glass door, you really should consider a skylight for the wine room.
And a hot tub.
I would think it would depend on how far the light will penetrate the room. and will it affect the temperature.
Can always do window film.
A glass door will add great aesthetic appeal to the cellar. Well insulated glass doors are available, possibly with tinted glass.
By this logic, then wouldn’t every storage unit with a glass door be unacceptable?
Our contractor just finishing up my cellar this week. We used an exterior door with glass. It’s heavily insulated and just like the door to our screened porch. The contractor suggested it and picked it out knowing the needs of the cellar, so I’m assuming all will be well. The room where the entrance is doesn’t get a lot of direct light and only for part of the afternoon, so it sounds a bit different from your case.
No experience whatsoever with this stuff, but I would think that unless the sun is shining directly through the glass door, there shouldn’t be any problems.
Ok, these made me chuckle!
Party at Baker’s place!
Hot tub would be epic.
On a serious note, why not glass with UV tint?
Light penetration is one thing, and perhaps not a factor in this case, but I don’t believe that even an “insulated” glass door will insulate as well as a solid exterior-grade door. The extra energy expense might not mean much, depending; personally, I’d think that the novelty of a glass door would wear off after a while, but that’s just me.
Yes, glass with dark UV tinting would be ideal, to keep out the natural light. Of course, to be able to see the wines through such glass, be sure to install bright interior lights.
I think that’s right. I’m not sure what the objection to the door would be - I don’t think there’s any evidence that diffused light through a door poses any danger to wine. Direct heat from sun, OK. Even UV rays, OK. But other than that, I don’t see the problem, and if the glass is frosted, even less of one.
However, your insulation is going to be compromised. If you heavily insulate the rest of the cellar and then put in a door with half the insulation, that’s going to be how insulated your room is. Basically the lowest R-value wins.
I don’t see the point of glass, but that’s just me. It’s a closet after all, so I don’t really gaze at it or look inside unless I’m looking for something specific.
another option is a window into the cellar. I have a Stained glass piece from the period my house was built (1909), some dead air space, then a double pane.
Here’s a pic https://goo.gl/photos/eHff1aXXav1xP5JZ8
If I had a cellar that was otherwise properly insulated with an entry way from the main house in view of normal household activities/guests, I would consider a glass door. If a lot of indirect light hits the door, it likely isn’t a huge issue and but I might look into some tinted glass options, UV filters, etc that could leveraged for additional piece of mind.
*note this is opinion only. No facts or data went into this opinion.
Since this wine area is going on the 1st floor (vs. cellar), I have to assume aesthetics need to play a part here.
I have a glass door for my wine room and love it. I put UV blocking film on it even though it has pretty much no direct light that hits it. For $140 it was a good insurance policy. It is in view when guests are over and is always a nice conversation starter and it looks pretty for the wife so she is happy too 
When we built our wine cellar in Charlotte, it was in what had been an old coal storage area in the basement. So you walked down a flight of stairs, there was a full door at the top of the stairs, and a glass door at the bottom of the stairs.
We had a contractor custom-make the glass door, as though it was for a shower door. Thick, shatter-proof, and was fine as far as insulation because it was at the bottom of the stairs. And not crazy-expensive either.
Really looked cool to walk down the stairs and see the slate floor and mahogany shelves with the lights on.
Not sure how much less effective it would be in terms of temperature insulation if it were not at the lowest point of the house, though.
No worries as long as it well insulated and tinted and it doesn’t have direct light. I’ve had glass on two different cellar doors over the last 20+ years.
JD
That would certainly help maintain the humidity.