Wine Cellar Flooring Options

[Josh_E]

Just remember that was in your youth - you have never been this old before !! lol

[Tyler_McAfee]

I had an epoxy floor done in mine. It looks amazing. It’s self leveling. Feels soft to the feet. It’s really the showpiece of the room. Looks just like the floor in this bar at Comerica Park.

[GregT]

Actually that’s a pretty cool looking floor. They just dump it on and it smooths itself? I wouldn’t mind doing that to the entire basement - I was thinking of just having it polished or something but that might be a lot easier.

And as mentioned, we’re getting older . . .

[George_Hejna]

@Nick Ryan

If you decide to tile with real stone tiles (or ceramic tiles, or any tiles that require mortar), you will have to grind the sealant off your slab (using a hand-held concrete grinder, this is a specific tool you can buy or you can hire somebody with that tool).

That is not necessarily true. I have tiled 3 different rooms including a wine cellar directly on slab concrete. Tiles haven’t budged in 10 +years.

George

[Dick_Krueger]

We have slate tile on the floor of our cellar. We haven’t dropped anything on it, so that concern is ok.

[Nick_Ryan]

@George Hejna

@Nick Ryan

If you decide to tile with real stone tiles (or ceramic tiles, or any tiles that require mortar), you will have to grind the sealant off your slab (using a hand-held concrete grinder, this is a specific tool you can buy or you can hire somebody with that tool).

That is not necessarily true. I have tiled 3 different rooms including a wine cellar directly on slab concrete. Tiles haven’t budged in 10 +years.

George

You mean sealed concrete? Then you got lucky (or used a crappy sealant, or it wore off over a long period of time, or something). The purpose of a sealer is to chemically repel.

Tile over sealed concrete - Ceramic Tile Advice Forums - John Bridge Ceramic...

“Normally you won’t get a bond to any kind of mortar with sealer on the floor, if there were any chance with the paint, you have none with the sealer. Try a test, spill some water on the floor and see if it soaks in. let us know.”

http://www.laticrete.com/Portals/0/datasheets/lds2970.pdf

“All surfaces should be between 40°F (4°C) and 90°F (32°C) and
structurally sound, clean and free of all dirt, oil, grease, paint,
concrete sealers or curing compounds.”

Nothing in the world sucks more than to have to break up and retile a floor.

[Bob_Davis]

What’s the temperature at floor level. If it’s higher than the temp you intend to keep the cellar then insulate it if you can.

[AndrewH]

@C. Mc Cart

Black puzzlemats. About $1 per sq ft. Can be cut to fit. Cushions floor for some insulation and in case of dropped bottles.

Do you have these under the racking or is the racking straight on the floor? I’m wondering how much weight they can take without getting squished in weird ways (and possibly having unstable racking).

[GregT]

I don’t know how he did it but why would you have it under the racks? What possible purpose would that serve?

[Tyler_McAfee]

@GregT

Actually that’s a pretty cool looking floor. They just dump it on and it smooths itself? I wouldn’t mind doing that to the entire basement - I was thinking of just having it polished or something but that might be a lot easier.

And as mentioned, we’re getting older . . .

Well, it’s not quite that easy. They mix the epoxy with this colored, shimmering powder type stuff. In my floor and the one pictured above, two differently colored batches were used. They use paddle-like tools to spread it and swirl it around, but it does level itself before it cures, so the hardened floor is perfectly smooth and flat. It repels everything, so spills and stains are a non-issue. The only problem is that it’s not cheap.

I had our contractor use a product from Elite Crete Systems called “Reflector Enhancer”. They do some amazing stuff with this that you really have to see to believe. Check it out…
http://www.elitecrete.com/Elitecrete/Photo-Galleries-REFLECTOR_Enhancer.html

No affiliation, etc, etc.

[AndrewH]

@GregT

I don’t know how he did it but why would you have it under the racks? What possible purpose would that serve?

Possible reasons:

• Hiding the subfloor/concrete
• Insulation
• Holding down any vapor barrier

[Nathan_Smyth]

@Rick Dyer

I put pea gravel (about 1-2" deep) on the floor of my current wine cellar. Absolutely fabulous: !) adds character and an interesting “feel” to the cellar, 2) you can drop a bottle on the floor and it won’t break, 3) you can spill wine on the floor and it won’t show. I got the idea after visiting several cellars in France (burgundy in particular). I will never use anything other than pea gravel in any future cellar.

This sounds so cool.

1. Did you have to spend a lot of time washing off the gravel [when you buy it from a stoneyard, typically it is covered in dust and grime and yucky stuff]? Or did you have a source for “clean” gravel [like they sell for freshwater aquariums]?

2. Does the gravel retain a lot of moisture, which then results in it harboring a lot of mold & mildew or even algae* [so that, if you had allergies, you might feel the need to sneeze when you entered the wine cellar]?

3. Can you post pictures? I’d love to see what it looks like.

Thanks!



*Or - who knows - maybe algae can’t grow in the dark.

[D_Jorgenson]

I left my floor bare concrete, it’s like a swimming pool in there (old coal cellar) so very uneven. Tile, etc wouldn’t work but I’ve occasionally thought about gravel. Might give that a go at some point but I’m actually afraid that even gravel would flow towards the door in my cellar. The slope is pretty pronounced.

[John_Willison]

In our current house, we poured a self-leveling mixture over the existing concrete, and then installed some natural stone tiles. It worked well, and looks great as the room was for show/entertaining as much as storage. Also, it was in a passive cellar in the basement and it served the purpose.

We just sold our house and will be moving. My thoughts next time around are to go with something more rustic/primitive/simple/etc. My experience is that unless it is a really big space and going to really be a showpiece, then I would rather put the money in what goes in the racks as opposed to under the racks.

[Brad_Keller]

Just finished the cellar in our new house. Stained the concrete floor in the whole basement, including the cellar. Looks great and easy to take care of.

[GregT]

Thanks for the link Tyler. I like that stuff. Might solve a lot of problems with my uneven floor.

[Chris_Kravitz]

Tile it!

It will help control the humidity.
It looks better.
It can be done cheaply (ceramic tile can be had for $1 sq/ft).
It will give you a flat surface for your racking.

[C_Mc_Cart]

@A. H e i m e r t

@C. Mc Cart

Black puzzlemats. About $1 per sq ft. Can be cut to fit. Cushions floor for some insulation and in case of dropped bottles.

Do you have these under the racking or is the racking straight on the floor? I’m wondering how much weight they can take without getting squished in weird ways (and possibly having unstable racking).

In my last cellar. No, cut out with exacto knife around where the racks met the sub-floor. Racking was attached to wall studs, so that wouldn’t have been an issue, but it was easy to cut out and looked better (ie: no squish)
Was always comfy to walk into without shoes on. Miss that cellar.

[PaulM]

@Nathan Smyth

@Rick Dyer

I put pea gravel (about 1-2" deep) on the floor of my current wine cellar. Absolutely fabulous: !) adds character and an interesting “feel” to the cellar, 2) you can drop a bottle on the floor and it won’t break, 3) you can spill wine on the floor and it won’t show. I got the idea after visiting several cellars in France (burgundy in particular). I will never use anything other than pea gravel in any future cellar.

This sounds so cool.

1. Did you have to spend a lot of time washing off the gravel [when you buy it from a stoneyard, typically it is covered in dust and grime and yucky stuff]? Or did you have a source for “clean” gravel [like they sell for freshwater aquariums]?

2. Does the gravel retain a lot of moisture, which then results in it harboring a lot of mold & mildew or even algae* [so that, if you had allergies, you might feel the need to sneeze when you entered the wine cellar]?

3. Can you post pictures? I’d love to see what it looks like.

Thanks!



*Or - who knows - maybe algae can’t grow in the dark.

?1.

[NickWittman]

Have a cork floor in one of my cellars that is attractive, suspect it would be shock absorbing too. Never dropped a bottle to test. Given a low ceiling, and presumably a more utilitarian sort of cellar, why not just leave it concrete? It is a showpiece kind of cellar?