How to build a wine cellar

Wine is the subject of a ling-term international love affair. From the legion of wine tasting societies across the globe to the evergeen wine gift for someone special, the appeal of wine never goes away.There are a number of ways in which anyone can create a wine cellar out of unused space. There are three options:

• a basement or cellar
• a spare room or closet
• a wine cabinet

Wine Cellar

Not everyone has a basement or cellar in their house and, even if they do, this space might be already used some other purpose. With this in mind, there are a number of other choices that are within reach of everybody.

Wine cabinets are an excellent option for those that do not have the spare room. These cabinets can be kept at a controlled temperature and can store large quantities of wine. Some are so big that it might be difficult to get them through your front door and so do check the dimensions before you purchase them.

It's possible to turn an unused closet into a wine cellar as you do not have to store your wine underground. The main issue with this is that your house will often have a higher temperature than is ideal for wine and your spare room may well have central heating that will cause fluctuations in temperature. If you can overcome this, you can have a wine cellar without having to go downstairs.

The following things need to be taken into account when building a wine cellar:

• Your climate
• Construction method
• Insulation
• Lighting
• Racking
• The door
• Temperature and humidity

Without an understanding of these, it is possible that your wine will lose its quality of taste due to temperature fluctuations.

Your climate

Ideally, wine should be stored at about 14°C in a room with controlled humidity. This will allow them wine to remain drinkable almost indefinitely.

The closer you live to the tropics, the more the temperature and humidity will have an effect on your wine and degrade it over time.

Construction method

There are a number of things to consider in terms of the construction method of your wine cellar. If you are putting wine in a basement, this will need to be waterproofed using tanking slurry or tanking membrane that will form a waterproof barrier.

Insulation

If you're selling is using internal brick walls, it is not necessary to insulate them but you should insulate the other walls in your cellar. Create a stud partition on these walls and where the door will be & insulate the void. It is also important to insulate the roof of your wine cellar.

There are a number of kinds of insulation that can be used to maintain an even temperature but, if you are looking to build a wine cellar on a budget, you can use polystyrene sheets. The sheets have excellent insulating properties as they contain a lot of air. Many grocery stores and supermarkets throw their boxes away along with the polystyrene sheets that they used insulate them. This can form a free insulation layer for your wine cellar.

In addition, use some expanding foam around the corners and joints of your cellar to prevent as much airflow as possible.

Lighting

In a small space, lighting can cause significant shifts in temperature. When choosing the lighting your cellar, choose the lights to give the least temperature variation. In this respect, LED lights and low energy light bulbs can prove an advantage. Although many homeowners don't like low-energy lightbulbs, they can have a well-earned place in your wine cellar.

Racking

It is best to store wine horizontally to the cork does not dry out. If you cannot afford to buy large quantities of racking, you might consider buying one rack and using it as a template from which you can cut your own timber and create duplicate racks.

You should consider screwing your wine racks into the wall because they will hold a lot of wine and, by knocking them over, you will potentially cost yourself a lot of money.

An average wine rack holds around 60 bottles. When you consider that each wine bottle might weigh 1kg (2.2lbs), you can see the weight that each wine rack will bear & so a firm fixing can be essential.

The door

The door is an important part of the wine cellar because it opens and enables the wine cellar to be affected by the elements. One important consideration for the doorway will be the use of a step. Without a step, then you can move freely a ground level under the door and through the doorway when the door is open. As colder air is found at floor level, much easier for colder air to get into your summer if there isn't a step. As it is often difficult to see you around door, a step can provide a cost-effective solution.

It is important to insulate the door because this will form another barrier to the outside elements. You can consider an insulated or double glazed door or you could add insulation to a cheaper door depending on your budget.

Temperature & humidity

If you cannot afford to maintain the temperature and humidity using specialist equipment, it is possible to use the thermal mass of brick in order to help you out. Ensuring that wine is not place against an outside wall will help maintain a more even temperature. If you have wine placed against outside walls than the sun will heat those walls & cause changes in temperature.

A concrete floor can have a similar effect of brick walls in that it can take a lot of it in order to change the temperature of the concrete floor.

These are the main considerations that you will need to make. We hope this helps you build your own collection of wines and gives you inspiration as to where to put it.

This post was written by Asgar Dungarawalla of Champagne Gifts 4 U.

Here is another question asked by a member of the public relating to timber treatment. We hope that it and the answer, which we include below, are useful.

Could you tell me what the best option would be to treat rising damp in an > old solid stone wall house, and how would I calculate how much product to order.

Here's our answer:

The best way is to use Envirosafe Injection Cream. Calculate using the information on the product technical datasheet on the website with regard to wall width but I've included a screenshot of the application information below to save you time.

For Large thickness walls you might consider tanking as an alternative as it may be difficult to get a continuous band if the walls are random. Go to our website and look for Tanking Slurry.

If you have a question, that you'd like us to answer, please email John Oxley: john@constructionchemicals.co.uk

Construction Chemaicals offer a free 'Ask John' service and he will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Here is another question asked by a member of the public relating to timber treatment. We hope that it and the answer, which we include below, are useful.

I have woodworm in the underside of the floorboards and floor joists of the ground floor of my house.  There is a cavity under the house in which I can just about crawl to every part.  Please can you recommend a treatment, bearing in mind the difficulty and health and safety concerns of applying chemicals in confined spaces.

Also the amount I would need to treat a floor space of approx. 5m x 7m.

Here's our answer:

For this application I would suggest Micro 8I. This comes in a 1L container that is diluted to 25L with water. Try to ensure you have as much ventilation as possible and wear a nuisance mask. If you can remove a few boards this will help.

If you have a question, that you'd like us to answer, please email John Oxley: john@constructionchemicals.co.uk

Construction Chemaicals offer a free 'Ask John' service and he will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Here is another question asked by a member of the public relating to timber treatment. We hope that it and the answer, which we include below, are useful.

Would Pro-bond 2000 (clear) be suitable for sealing acrylic windows to GRP substrate, namely boat windows? The windows are applied from the outside and secured with stainless steel screws/nuts. I have heard it is a good idea to place some nylon washers between the acrylic and the GRP to stop the sealant being completely squeezed out.

Here is our answer:

Pro-bond 2000 is used for this application. Ideally you need a gap to prevent the sealant being sqeezed out to give 1mm thickness.

If you have a question, that you'd like us to answer, please email John Oxley: john@constructionchemicals.co.uk

Construction Chemaicals offer a free 'Ask John' service and he will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Here is another question asked by a member of the public relating to timber treatment. We hope that it and the answer, which we include below, are useful.

I cleared out my garage after 15 years or so. I found my old fishing creel – willow I think – "eaten" away so as bits of it were crumbly and a fine powder was evident along with tiny round holes.

This was no problem as I just threw it away, but I am now wondering if I should treat the bench it was standing on as there are a few holes evident. Also, could it spread indoors? Would the insect attack a painted surface like the door into the  house which was close to the creel?

It is only a small area at risk, but any advice would be helpful.

Here's our answer:

It sounds as if the creel has been attacked by Powder Post Beetle. Take a close look at timbers near where the creel was stored and check for bore holes. If necessary treat these areas with Micro 8I. As regards the door again check for bore holes. It is unlikely that you will find any on a vertical painted  surace. These beetles do not fly too far so I think the house will be safe.

If you have a question, that you'd like us to answer, please email John Oxley: john@constructionchemicals.co.uk

Construction Chemaicals offer a free 'Ask John' service and he will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Here is another question asked by a member of the public relating to timber treatment. We hope that it and the answer, which we include below, are useful.

We have a large barn with quite badly damaged timbers with woodworm, dry rot and some areas of wet rot on the main A-frames and trusses. Would you reccommend the Timber Paste – 10 Litres or the  Insecticide/Fungicide Wood Preservative – Dual Purpose – 25 Litres?

Here's our answer:

For general spraying of timbers I would recommend you use Micro 8F/I. This is a water based concentrate which dilutes to 25 litres for use. If you have large cross section timbers that are affected then Timber paste gives you the deepest penetration of preservative.

If you have a question, that you'd like us to answer, please email John Oxley: john@constructionchemicals.co.uk

Construction Chemaicals offer a free 'Ask John' service and he will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Here is another question asked by a member of the public relating to woodworm treatment. We hope that it and the answer, which we include below, are useful.

I am in the middle of a self build barn conversion in Cornwall. I have all the old floor boards which I removed at the beginning and stored. I want to treat them for woodworm but I am not sure what to use. I want to sand the floor when it is installed and use a water- based lacquer to finish. The area is approx 20 sq m.

Here's our answer:

I would spray or brush the timber with Micro 8I. This product dilutes 1 to 24 with water which will easily cover 20 sq.m

If you have a question, that you'd like us to answer, please email John Oxley: john@constructionchemicals.co.uk

Construction Chemaicals offer a free 'Ask John' service and he will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Here is another question asked by a member of the public relating to cement tiles. We hope that it and the answer, which we include below, are useful.

We have stripped paint from our staircase around 6 to 8 inches each side of  the treads and risers back to bare wood. The problem we have is where the  carpet was layed; the bare wood is much darker in colour. Despite long periods  of sanding we can't seem to get an even colour across the stairs so the staining  must run deep into the wood. Where paint has been removed the wood looks almost  new. The area in the middle has never been painted just carpeted.

We are not trying to achieve a new wood look overall rather a stripped pine  affect but the contrast between the previously painted and previously carpeted  is very bold even after extensive sanding and washing. The staircase is constructed from softwood we think pine and we wondered if  it were possible to perhaps bleach the colour lighter or chemically remove the  staining somehow.

Here is our answer:

I think you will have a problem obtaining a uniform colour. When staircases were carpeted with a runner down the middle the remaining timber was stained usually with a dark colour. Over a period of time this might have been repeated several times and will be impossible to remove. The only alternative is to try and achieve the same colour by staining the timber in the middle of the treads.

If you have a question, that you'd like us to answer, please email John Oxley: john@constructionchemicals.co.uk

Construction Chemaicals offer a free 'Ask John' service and he will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Here is another question asked by a member of the public relating totreating timber trusses. We hope that it and the answer which we include below are useful.

I am converting a cow shed into a house and I have two pitch pine trusses that I am retaining.

They seem to be in an OK condition but have been exposed to the elements over the last 8 months.  A roof is now on and things will slowly start to dry out.

We are looking to either sand or grit blast the trusses as they need cleaning up; in some areas the water has caused a green residue to form.

Please can you advise if I should sand / grit blast first or treat and then sand etc.  Please also advise on the best treatment bearing in mind that it is in situ; someone suggested a paste.

Here's our answer:

Do all the cleaning of the trusses before you treat. For maximum penetration of the timber preservative use our deep kill Timber Paste

If you have a question, that you'd like us to answer, please email John Oxley: john@constructionchemicals.co.uk

Construction Chemaicals offer a free 'Ask John' service and he will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Here is another question asked by a member of the public relating to treating concrete roof tiles. We hope that it and the answer, which we include below, are useful.

I am looking to treat my roof (concrete tiles) after I have removed all the moss thats up there! Is Super Seal Water Repellent the best stuff for the job?

If so, what is the best method of application? Access is pretty easy and I also have a Backpack sprayer (perhaps not the best option as the product is solvent-based).

Here's our answer:

You can use Super Seal Water Repellent for this application but make sure that you block off the gutters when applying to prevent the excess running into the surface water drainage. You can apply the product with a sprayer with a coarse nozzle. Clean after use with white spirit.

If you have a question, that you'd like us to answer, please email John Oxley: john@constructionchemicals.co.uk

Construction Chemaicals offer a free 'Ask John' service and he will be happy to answer any questions you have.