A wine cellar is an essential component to your wine collection. The first step of collecting wine is proper storage and taking the need good storage of your fine lightly will inadvertently stun the complicated aging process of your wines or worst turn to them to vinegar. A wine cellar is the common term used to refer to the storage space for your wines, but does not necessarily mean you need to spend thousands of dollars or take out a second mortgage to fund the creation of your cellar.

Many companies now offers affordable packages for custom made cellars to fit any budget and area space. Whether your home has a basement or not, these custom made cellars provide the best solution for your wine collection. The most basic ‘cellars’ for most homes are simple components range from building blocks that will allow expansions as your collection grows. You can also create a cellar simply with some simple modifications to the space under a staircase, converting a closet space or simply purchasing a self contained wine cellar that can be plugged in virtually anywhere in the house.

 

The first step for a custom made cellar for your home is to determine the amount of space you have available followed by the volume of your wine collection and finally deciding on whether you need a specially designed wine cellar door and type of door needed according to your space environment.

Most companies specializing in custom cellar designs will have experts that makes house calls to give an overall detailed evaluation of the space and make recommendations according to their evaluation and your budget.
Knowing in advance on what you are looking to achieve for your cellar will help immensely during the process of choosing the best design. You might want to think about whether you want the room to be purely functional and provide only wine storage or are you thinking of making your wine cellar as a showpiece and a focal point to your home for entertaining.

You also need to determine whether or not you would need special permission from local authorities or property owner before going ahead to build your cellar. For a fully functional cellar, you need to keep in mind that there is a need for rewiring to your electrical outlets as well as adding or removing elements to the existing heating or cooling system.
Below is a basic but essential specifications needed for the construction of your wine cellar, you need to compare these specifications to any restrictions outlined in your building code.

• Framing Walls: 2" x 6" @ 16" on center
• Framing Ceiling: 2" x 8" @ 16" on center
• Vapor Barrier: 6 mil polyethylene on warm side of walls and ceilings.
• Refer to your local building codes.
• Insulation Walls: R-19 minimum
• Insulation Ceiling:R-30 minimum
• Sheathing: ½" moisture resistant green board with mildew resistant
• Paint or tongue and groove wood paneling such as mahogany
• Flooring: Moisture resistant material such as brick, tile or stone
• Wine Cellar Door: Exterior grade insulated door with complete weather
• Stripping or Double insulated glass exterior grade door.

Wine Article From: Wine-Blog.Net - Information About Fine Wine
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