How To Build a Wine Cellar
When building a wine cellar, the wine cellar must be constructed like a refrigerator. Installing a cooling system in the wall without converting the room correctly will not work properly and could cause damage to your walls, ceiling and most of all your wine.

The room conversion is very straightforward. Please feel free to contact us for any additional information. E-mail or call 800-876-8789

Walls: All walls must have a vapor barrier and insulation. The interior walls must have a minimum of R-11 insulation and exterior walls must have a minimum of R-19.

Ceiling: The ceiling must have a minimum of R-19

Floor: concrete ground floors need a vapor barrier only (sealed with concrete sealant). Any above ground floors need to be R-19 with a vapor barrier.

Vapor Barrier: The vapor barrier (6mil polyethylene plastic sheeting) must be on the warm side. The warm side means that the vapor barrier is protect from wine cellar (cold side) by insulation. The vapor barrier put on the wine cellar side will cause the humidity to condensate on the barrier and could cause damage to your walls.

Typical Wine Room Conversion

1. Seal concrete floor with water base sealant (Make sure if your going to tile floor that sealant is compatible with tile adhesive). Install vapor barrier on walls and ceiling.
2. Fur out walls using 2” x 2” strips or 2” x 4”. Use 1 ˝” rigid (Cleotex/R-max type with foil on both sides) for interior walls, 3” for exterior walls and ceiling. Using fiberglass type insulation will require 2” x 4” and 2” x 6” fir out to achieve the required R factors.
3. The door must be solid core or insulated type. Glass door must be dual pane insulated glass type and cooling system must be sized correctly. Door must be weather-stripped and air tight. Check for air leakage in room, switches, pipes, vents, and other sources. The use of recess lighting isn’t recommended. Use low voltage track type. Remember you can never over insulate or seal your wine cellars.
4. Finished wall surfaces: Drywall (preferable green board), Redwood and other rot and mildew resistant woods. All paints and/or stains must be water base type and air completely to rid wine cellar of odors. Once cooling and humidity is done smells will only get worse, be careful.
5. We size your refrigeration requirements by room volume, where you live and total R-factors of your wine cellar.
6. To calculate volume: Width x Depth x Height = cubic area