Example Wine Cellar Projects in San Marcos, Texas

Scope of work

Framing the back wall and ceiling inside the corner, insulation and a continuous vapor barrier on the solid walls and ceiling, the slab under the room sealed, black steel-framed insulated glass on two sides with a sealed glass door, racks on three walls with a low display shelf at the back, low-heat lighting, and a ducted split system sized for the glass and August, with its own circuits, a drain and the city's mechanical permit.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 2010s house want their collection on show in the great room, which guests cross from the front door to the dining area by the covered patio. The corner beside the limestone wall can take a glass room about 10 by 9 ft.

Here the hard part is heat and humid air. Two walls of glass let in a lot of heat on summer afternoons, so the cooling is sized for the glass and for August, and the glass is insulated so the room side stays warm enough not to fog. The slab under the room is counted in the cooling too, and a split system sends the heat outdoors instead of into the house.

The goal

The goal is a glass room off the great room that holds about 700 bottles near 55°F through a Texas summer, with clear glass and no machine noise.

Process

1. Design Room size, glass layout and racks settled, and a heat-load check that counts the glass, the slab and August afternoons.
2. Ordering Steel frames and glass built to order, eight to ten weeks.
3. Weeks one and two Back wall and ceiling framed, slab sealed, power and line set routed, insulation and vapor barrier in.
4. Weeks three and four Finishes, racks and the low display shelf.
5. Week five Glass and door set and sealed, split system started under the city's mechanical permit.

Planning right

• An outdoor part in full afternoon sun works harder. The shaded side of the house is the better spot.
• Humid air fogs a cold pane. Insulated glass with sealed edges keeps the room side clear.
• The mechanical permit for a split system is applied for by a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor.
• Seal the slab before any flooring goes down inside the room.

Scope of work

A heat-load check from the remodel drawings that counts the glass, the slab and August afternoons, before the glass size is final, the refrigerant line route and drain run before the ceiling is closed, a ceiling-mounted split system made for wine cellars, the outdoor part on a shaded pad, two circuits, a wall control, the city's mechanical permit, refrigerant lines connected by a licensed technician, and a start-up check that the room holds about 55°F. Framing, insulation, glass and racks belong to the remodel, not to this price.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 2000s house are remodeling the great room, and their builder is framing a corner glass wine room between two limestone piers. The builder insulates and seals the room; the cooling is a separate job that has to be planned before the walls close.

Timing matters more than the equipment here. The heat load is worked out from the drawings while the glass can still change, because a bigger pane means a bigger unit. The refrigerant lines and the drain are run while the ceiling is open, and the indoor part goes in the ceiling so no grille or unit sits among the racks.

The goal

The goal is a new glass room that holds about 55°F from its first summer, with the cooling planned in rather than added later.

Process

1. Drawings stage Heat-load check from the plans, with the glass size settled against the unit size.
2. Before drywall Line set, drain and wiring run through the open ceiling; the pad for the outdoor part poured.
3. After the glass is in Indoor part mounted in the ceiling and the outdoor part set.
4. Final visit A licensed technician connects and tests the lines; control wired and the system started.

Planning right

• Bring the cooling in at the drawing stage. Adding it after the drywall is up costs more and limits the choices.
• Every square foot of glass added late in the design raises the size of the unit.
• A ceiling-mounted indoor part keeps the racks clear but needs an insulated, sealed space above it.
• Keep the outdoor part out of afternoon sun and away from the patio seating.

Scope of work

Taking out the buffet and the two wine fridges, framing an insulated, sealed cabinet about 2 ft deep with a vapor barrier on the warm side, a walnut-stained surround with a long grille at the top, black-framed insulated glass doors with gaskets, pegs and a center column, LED strips on a dimmer, and a split system made for wine walls with its own circuits, a drain and the city's mechanical permit.

Project overview

In this example, the owners of a 2010s house keep their wine in two under-counter fridges in a dining-room buffet. The fridges are full, noisy and too warm on summer evenings, and the owners want about 400 bottles on show in the same room.

A wall 10 ft wide and 2 ft deep is a cellar with a lot of glass for its size. The cabinet behind the doors is insulated and sealed, the glass is insulated so it stays clear on humid evenings, and a split system sends the heat outdoors, its cold air coming in through the grille above the doors. The two fridges and their warm exhaust leave the room.

The goal

The goal is a dining-room wall holding about 400 bottles near 55°F, on show at every meal and taking no floor space.

Process

1. Design Bottle count, door layout and the grille settled, with the heat load checked for the glass and the summer.
2. Ordering Doors and pegs built to order over about nine weeks.
3. Week one Buffet and fridges out, cabinet framed, insulated and sealed, wiring and the refrigerant line route.
4. Week two Surround, grille, pegs and center column fitted.
5. Week three Doors hung, split system started under the permit, temperature watched for a few days.

Planning right

• Wine fridges give off heat into the room. Taking them out helps the house air conditioning too.
• Keep spotlights off the glass. A pendant over the table is fine.
• The grille above the doors must stay open. Do not close it in with trim or decor.
• A center column breaks up a long run of glass and gives the doors a solid edge to seal against.

Scope of work

The outside wall furred out for deeper insulation, insulation and a vapor barrier on that wall, the end walls and the stair underside, every outlet sealed, insulated glass along the racks and a wood-framed glass door, wood slot racks stepped to the slope with diamond bins low down, stone veneer on the back wall of the walk-in end, a small split system with its own circuits and a drain under the city's mechanical permit, and a low-heat LED strip.

Project overview

In this example, the stair of a 2010s house runs along the west outside wall, and the owners want about 280 bottles in the space beneath it and in the small room at its tall end. Afternoon sun heats that wall all summer, and the garage sits behind the short end.

That rules out the easy route. There is no large air-conditioned room behind the space for a through-the-wall unit, and the garage is too hot to take its warm air. The outside wall is furred out so it can hold more insulation, and a small split system sends the heat outdoors from the shaded side of the house.

The goal

The goal is a cellar under the stair that holds about 280 bottles near 55°F through August, in spite of the west wall.

Process

1. Design Wall, stair and garage side measured, and a heat-load check that counts the west wall and the glass.
2. Ordering Glass and the framed door made to the stair, about five weeks.
3. Week one Outside wall furred out, insulation and vapor barrier on every side, line set and wiring run.
4. Week two Racks, bins, stone veneer, LED strip and glass fitted.
5. Final days Outdoor part set, lines connected by a licensed technician and the system started.

Planning right

• An outside wall facing west carries the most heat. Give it more insulation than the inside walls.
• A wall shared with the garage counts as a hot wall in summer.
• When no large cool room sits next to the cellar, a split system is the practical choice.
• A strip light under the stair should be low-heat and on a switch.

Scope of work

Attic side first: the hatch and every ceiling gap sealed and deep insulation laid over the closet ceiling. Then the closet walls insulated behind a vapor barrier, an insulated panel door with full weatherstripping in place of the hollow one, a quiet through-the-wall unit high on the back wall venting into the living room, a wall control by the door, wood racks with a waist-high shelf, a low-heat light, drywall and paint.

Project overview

In this example, a 1980s house has a guest bedroom with a reach-in closet full of boxes. The owners want about 120 bottles kept cool there instead of in a wine fridge in the kitchen.

The attic above the closet is the main problem, since it is far hotter than the house all summer. The ceiling gets more insulation than the walls, and every gap into the attic is sealed. The living room behind the closet is air-conditioned and much larger than it, so a small through-the-wall unit high on the back wall sends its warm air there and away from the bedroom.

The goal

The goal is a closet that keeps about 120 bottles near 55°F through a San Marcos summer, in a guest room that stays quiet.

Process

1. Design The closet, the wall to the living room and the attic above checked, then the racks and the unit chosen.
2. Days one to three Boxes out, the opening for the unit cut, wiring run, insulation and vapor barrier in, attic gaps sealed.
3. Days four to six New door hung, then drywall and paint.
4. Days seven and eight Racks, shelf, light, control and unit go in, and the unit is switched on.

Planning right

• Never vent a closet unit into the attic or the garage.
• Venting into the room behind, not the bedroom, keeps the unit's noise and heat away from guests.
• A waist-high shelf gives a place to stand a bottle while you look for the next one.
• Seal the attic hatch and any light boxes in the ceiling. Hot attic air finds every gap.