Can I do this?

[jmyers63]

I'm looking into converting a room in our basement (cellar) into a multipurpose wine/beer room, but I'm not sure how well this would work.

I'm starting with an OLD damp basement where the walls are known to seep and the floor sweats all summer. Winter temperatures can run as low as 55° and in the summer it may approach 68°. I feel with a little well placed insullation I can drop that summer number down a few degress, and can obviously control the humidity with a dehumidifier.

My questions start to come in when looking to use this area for storage and production. I don't plan on making batches larger that what would fit in my carboys, so I feel I could create an insullated "closet" for fermentation that could hold much of my efforts while there were bubbling. However, when everything is transfered to secondaries, am I going to have problems.

The area is 9x13 and I plumbing nearby, so it should be a nice size to work in, but I want to store finished bottles as well and I'm not sure if everything will work - or how to make it work.

What would you do???

 

[ibglowin]

Sounds like it would work as long as you can get the humidity under control. You could have problems with mold growing into things if it is not under control. Usually around 50% is a good target humidity. See if you can get some readings as a starting point. If you can't get the humidity down I would not close it in to a closet by any means. That would make matters worse IMHO!

 

[jmyers63]

I currently hold the humidity around 60% throughout the basement in the summer months, so I know that's doable. My biggest concern was having enough temp for fermentation without having too much heat for aging.

Mold hasn't been a problem in the workshop I constructed in a similar area. For that room, I built 2X4 walls out from the brick and lifed them off the floor about an inch. Then in the ceiling, I sprayed the floor joists black and hung white lattice. Between the gap at the bottom and the lattice above, I think I'm betting good airflow behind the wall and discouraging growth.

My thought was to do the same here, but to insulate the ceiling and actually put soffit vents at the top of the walls to accomplish the same. It should help with balancing the cooling in the room as well.

 

[ibglowin]

Supply heat only where needed via a brew belt. That way the rest of the room can stay cool. My cellar is 55 in the Winter and they work great on primary and secondary (glass carboys). Just use common sense when putting one on glass. Never put heat on glass that is freezing cold!

 

[jmyers63]

Sounds like I may have a good spot picked out at this point. Thanks for the input and reassurance. Now it's time to finish cleaning out the area and getting my plans finalized. Looks like I have a new project!

John

 

[Affe]

Good luck with your cellar! Keep us updated and toss some pics our way when it's where you like it!