# This must be catching!



## JohnT (Apr 18, 2016)

A good friend of mine, and fellow wine maker, always had stored his wine in case boxes (stacked sideways). For years, I have offered to build her a wine rack in her cellar. Out of the blue, she called me up and took me up on my offer. 

Seems like rack building is reaching epidemic proportions amongst the members of this forum..  

I arrived at 8:30am to do some measuring and to draw up a materials list. Inner dimensions of the unit is 8' X 7'6". The cubes have an inner dimension of 24" and a depth of 11.5". This rack should be able to hold up to 800 bottles!! 

This rack was to be placed in a cellar that was mostly used for storage and not overly finished. She wanted it built with a budget in mind and it did not need to be too pretty. With that in mind I decided to make it out of 5/8" plywood sheathing. I picked it up at Lowes and had them rip each sheet into 11.5 inch wide strips (the do this for free).

Once back with the materials, it took 5.5 hours to build with the help of another friend. The best part is that the materials only cost $142 (not including a new electric drill and an extra sheet of plywood). 

In the end, she was impressed by the size of it. Once the job was done, we pulled a couple of corks and did some sipping. We ended up christening the rack with the name "Rack-a-geddon".

My friend was very appreciative. Not only did she grill some fantastic hot dogs for lunch, she made her sunday sauce for dinner (tomato sauce with sausage, meatballs, and baby back ribs). I can not tell you how tasty that was! She also opened a 2004 Stags Leap cask 23. Very yummy. We followed with a bottle of my 2014 Chilean cabernet. Not to toot my own horn, but my 2014 tasted awesome and truly held its own against the Stags Leap. MAN, I LOVE THIS HOBBY. 

All five of us had a great time. The wife ended up driving home. I was exhausted (in a good way), Stuffed to the gills with delicious food, and a bit tipsy from sipping fantastic wines. It was truly one of those "Thanks God for the gift of life" days. 

Here is a picture of the final product....


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## TonyR (Apr 18, 2016)

Good job, always nice to help others that appreciate it.


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## bkisel (Apr 18, 2016)

Very nice!

[I betcha half the cool tools I own were bought because it was _needed_ to do some project on my wife's honey-do list. ... Gees Janet, I'll need to get an impact driver to do that job. ]


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## AZMDTed (Apr 18, 2016)

It looks great. You have more guts than I do making it out of 5/8ths sheathing


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## dcbrown73 (Apr 18, 2016)

If I wine and dine you (Boone's and a Big Mac) will you build me one too?


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## JohnT (Apr 19, 2016)

AZMDTed said:


> It looks great. You have more guts than I do making it out of 5/8ths sheathing


 
Why do you say that?? The stuff is strong enough to frame a roof...




dcbrown73 said:


> If I wine and dine you (Boone's and a Big Mac) will you build me one too?


 
Why sure! For that kind of meal, I would spare no expense. Here is an artist's concept of the rack I would plan for you...


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## bchilders (Apr 19, 2016)

Looks great. Simplistic and functional, great job.


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## mrramsey (Apr 19, 2016)

Nicely done! Nothing better than diamond boxes for bulk storage. I agree 5/8" is plenty heck you really could do 1/2" cabinet grade ply. Attachment to the wall / ceiling are a must when loading up a storage bin with that much weight.


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## JohnT (Apr 19, 2016)

The top nailer was screwed up into each joist with 3" star screws. The bottom is secured to nailers that were fastened to concrete using anker bolts.

dat sukka ain't going no place!


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## DoctorCAD (Apr 19, 2016)

JohnT said:


> The top nailer was screwed up into each joist with 3" star screws. The bottom is secured to nailers that were fastened to concrete using anker bolts.
> 
> dat sukka ain't going no place!


 
It can double as an earthquake shelter! Just sit under it and start drinking!


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## AZMDTed (Apr 19, 2016)

JohnT said:


> Why do you say that?? The stuff is strong enough to frame a roof...



John, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, it's just my personal comfort level. As I read what you built I saw 800 bottles and my mind did the math to say that we're talking about 2400 pounds of load in total. I'm not sure how that load is distributed on the diagonals and the sides, but it will be carried somehow. In 'my' mind I'm thinking 3/4 hardwood cabinet ply, maybe doubled up for the sides. 

Anyway, like I said, my comment was about what my comfort zone for this would be, not that yours is wrong. As an engineer I tend to shoot for overkill on most things. Plus, I grew up in Southern California and lived though the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake, so visions of things crashing down is burned in my mind. 

As I said, it looks great.


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## Natrix (Apr 19, 2016)

Well done and looks great !


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## JohnT (Apr 20, 2016)

AZMDTed said:


> John, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, it's just my personal comfort level. As I read what you built I saw 800 bottles and my mind did the math to say that we're talking about 2400 pounds of load in total. I'm not sure how that load is distributed on the diagonals and the sides, but it will be carried somehow. In 'my' mind I'm thinking 3/4 hardwood cabinet ply, maybe doubled up for the sides.
> 
> Anyway, like I said, my comment was about what my comfort zone for this would be, not that yours is wrong. As an engineer I tend to shoot for overkill on most things. Plus, I grew up in Southern California and lived though the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake, so visions of things crashing down is burned in my mind.
> 
> As I said, it looks great.


 

My bad.. Actually, it was 3/4" roof sheathing. I believe that 5/8 is for walls (but could be wrong).


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## JohnT (Jul 5, 2016)

My friend just sent me this pic. The rack has been stained and loaded....


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