Building Our Wine Cellar

Step-by-stop photos of building a wine cellar under our house

Because our house is built on a sloping block in Sydney we had space under a portion 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 cellar is now complete. Our wine collection now has a home and all wines have been catalogued in a cellar management system.

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building a wine cellar 1 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.

building a wine cellar 2 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.
building a wine cellar 3 The brick walls visible here are part of the footings of the main house.
building a wine cellar Our builder, Mark, is pouring the concrete floor.
building a wine cellar The floor has been smoothed. It doesn't stay looking this pretty for very long!
wine cellar footings The formwork has been removed and you can see the concrete walls which will form the lower portion of the cellar.
building a wine 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.
insulating a wine cellar 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.
building a wine cellar 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.
building a wine cellar 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.
insulating the wine cellar ceiling Chris installing rockwool insulation in the ceiling.
building a wine cellar The brickwork is finished and the rockwool in all in place.
building a wine cellar The electrician has been in to run the wiring for the lighting.
cement rendered walls The brick walls have been cement rendered. Possibly unnecessary but it gives a smooth finish to the walls.
insulated walls and ceiling Extruded polystyrene insulation has been added to the ceiling in addition the the rockwool insulation.

The wall near the entrance door to the cellar has had insulation added.
building our wine cellar The dog isn't very happy with all this building work!
the ceiling goes in A fibro ceiling has been added to conceal the insulation. Fibro has also been added to the walls near the door that had the exposed insulation.
wine cellar door 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.
modular wine racks At last the wine racks have arrived! It took longer than planned to find a suitable supplier at an affordable price.

 

 
individual bottle racks and diamond bins We chose modular kit racking from Wine Cellar Designs.
wine diamond bin plus cardboard case rack They were delivered in flat packs and were relatively easy to assemble.
wine rack corner unit 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 Vinote 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.
   
Build Your Own Wine Cellar book cover Grab your  copy of "How To Build Your Own Wine Cellar" now for only $27.95

 

 


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