Step-by-stop photos of
building a wine cellar in the basement area under our house
Because our house is built on a sloping
block in Sydney we had space underneath a section of the house. We
cut through from the lower level of the house into this space.
Fifteen tonnes of clay and rubble were removed from this area before
the wine cellar construction began.
We didn't strike rock until we were
within 15cm of the floor of the lower level of the house. So that's
where we stopped excavating! The house is too old to bring in
jackhammers to excavate rock so the wine cellar is just one easy
step up from floor level.
The wine cellar is now complete. Our
wine collection now has a home and all wines have been catalogued in
a cellar management system.
[click on the photos to enlarge ... then
click the back button on your browser to return to this page]
We've cut
through a wall on the lower level of the house to gain
access to the space behind the wall.
The brick walls that are
visible here are the footings and also the exterior of
some of the internal house walls.
The
formwork is in to pour the concrete floor and the lower
portion of the walls which are underground. The upper
walls will be constructed of brick.
The brick
walls visible here are part of the footings of the main
house.
Our
builder, Mark, is pouring the concrete floor.
The floor
has been smoothed. It doesn't stay looking this pretty
for very long!
The
formwork has been removed and you can see the concrete
walls which will form the lower portion of the cellar.
The first
course of brickwork is in place. The black plastic
that's hanging down is the vapour barrier which will go
between to the two rows of brickwork.
After the
first row of brickwork was in place we added 30mm
extruded polystyrene insulation.
The insulation is being
held in place by the wall ties.
The vapour
barrier is now in place. I'm not sure if we needed a
vapour barrier because the extruded polystyrene
insulation will not rot if it gets damp, unlike
fibreglass or rockwool insulation.
The second row of brickwork
is going up.
Both rows
of brickwork are now in place on top of the concrete
footings.
The new
brick walls have created new footings under the house.
One of the old footings was removed during the
excavation.
Chris
installing rockwool insulation in the ceiling.
The
brickwork is finished and the rockwool in all in place.
The
electrician has been in to run the wiring for the
lighting.
The brick
walls have been cement rendered. Possibly unnecessary
but it gives a smooth finish to the walls.
Extruded
polystyrene insulation has been added to the ceiling in
addition to the rockwool insulation.
The wall near the entrance
door to the cellar has had insulation added.
The old dog
isn't very happy with all this building work!
A fibrous
cement ceiling has been added to conceal the insulation.
Fibro has also been added to the walls near the door
that had the exposed insulation.
The door
frame has been built and door has been hung. This is an
exterior grade cedar door with double laminated tinted
glass.
I've given
it three coats of oil and it has developed a rich warm
lustre that is very attractive.
At last the
wine racks have arrived! It took longer than planned to
find a suitable supplier at an affordable price.
We chose
modular kit racking from Wine Cellar Designs.
The racks
were delivered in flat packs and were relatively easy to
assemble.
Most of the
racking provides space for individual bottles although
we've also added a section of diamond bins for the
everyday quaffers and several cardboard case racks.
(In this photo the racks are
partially assembled but have not been installed on their
bases.)
There are some photos
missing here. They'll be added soon.
The bottles
are now all in the wine cellar. Very few glasses fit on
the glass rack but the small work bench beneath the
glasses is useful.
All the bottles carry printable cellar tags from
Vinoté
and I'm using cellar management software from
Uncorked Cellar.
The diamond
bins are not as practical as we thought they'd be. Each
bin will hold 9 bottles, however, with more than 6
bottles they feel a little unstable.
The cardboard case racks are
ideal for storing case lots that I won't want to open for
some years.
The complete wine cellar construction process is described
in full detail in my e-book available for immediate download
through Clickbank!
