Custom Wine Cellar - Increase Your Home's Value
If you enjoy drinking wine and you have a large collection of wine and vintages which need to be stored properly over time, you should consider installing a custom wine cellar. This will be one of your more clever investments. You will be able to store your treasured collection of wine in a proper room. And most important of all, you will surely be satisfied when you drink the wine.
You get added value when you invest in a wine cellar, both for its practicality and its desirability. Although one usually constructs a custom wine cellar to be able to enjoy it when you are in residence, it also adds to the price you can ask if you put the house on the market. Wine cellars, wine refrigerators, and wine cabinets are some of the most fashionable extras, are "absolute necessities" in deluxe homes, and are especially appropriate for mansions located in upscale areas.
When you are planning to build a custom wine cellar to house your collection of wines, it is essential that you consider how much space you can allot for the project, your budget, and the overall desirability of having unrestricted access to your fine wines. A custom wine cellar can be placed almost anywhere in your home. Make use of an empty cabinet, a forgotten corner, a pantry, the unused space under the stairs, or even an attic. However, the most appropriate site for your project is a basement area.
A custom wine cellar requires enough space for placing racks and other mechanical structures. You might also plan a small storage space for crate, bulk, or tub wine. Cellar walls may need insulation to keep the room at a constant temperature. Moreover, to avoid condensation on cellar walls and to maintain its humidity, the room must have a vapor barrier.
Seal the cellar's entrance around its borders with climate stripping and insulation. This will help your cellar retain cold, moist air. In addition, for controlling its climate, the cellar will require refrigeration and humidity systems. You should also install electrical wiring for lighting the cellar room.
Setting up custom racking is the final step in designing your wine cellar. Racks should hold your wine collection within the cellar's dimensions. Remember that some odd-sized bottles may not fit into an off-the-shelf wine rack. Other considerations include: what finishing trim to use (baseboards and crown moldings); whether lighting is needed; countertops and cabinets, if necessary; a door; and any other amenities. A carefully designed home wine cellar will give you and your family great pleasure for years to come.
A custom wine cellar is a sensible investment that you can install if you have a large, or increasing wine collection and vintages that require aging and suitable storage conditions to fulfill their complete potential. Giving your treasured collection an appropriate room will add to your satisfaction in drinking the wine. A wine refrigerator and wine cabinet are also trendy additions and 'must haves' for luxury homes. These are particularly appreciated in large homes situated in upscale neighborhoods. You can plan and build a custom cellar chiefly for the store of wine, taking into account the space, finances and the free access to your wine.
Published June 23rd, 2008
Filed in Hobby
