DIY Wine Cellar

Has anyone here built a DIY wine cellar?

I helped a buddy build one. We just tore a whole in his basement wall and dug out a cellar into the ground and framed it all in with treated 4x4 and 2x4's. Bam root cellar. It stays around 52-54 deg all year round. Just make sure that your not breaking a load baring wall.

Snap any pictures?

Won't the wood rot out over time?

Keep in mind, TX, that we don't have basements 'round here very often for a reason. The highly plastic soil isn't friendly to things encased in it (plumbing, wiring, basements, etc). Also, our ground temp isn't ideal for a cellar. Doesn't mean I haven't thought about one myself.


Seems someone posted a thread about a hand dug one here - I have no earthly idea where to start looking for it, though.

Not yet. I just bought a new house, and a wine cellar is very much on the agenda. Very interested in seeing peoples' projects/ideas, as I'm pretty much open to anything at this point. I'm pretty sure I've receive "permission" for a cold room if I want one, but I'm not sure if I'll go that far. Got to see how much moisture we get down there this spring before making any decisions (I know there's some; it's a 100+ year old house with a stone foundation).

I remember one of the Vermont boys digging out a big hole in his basement a few years ago, and that the general consensus was "Whoa... sure you aren't ****ing up your structural integrity there?"

TXCurtis said:

Keep in mind, TX, that we don't have basements 'round here very often for a reason. The highly plastic soil isn't friendly to things encased in it (plumbing, wiring, basements, etc). Also, our ground temp isn't ideal for a cellar. Doesn't mean I haven't thought about one myself.


Seems someone posted a thread about a hand dug one here - I have no earthly idea where to start looking for it, though.

Click to expand...

Our ground temperature differs from other regions when past the frost line?

That's what I've read about so far, that once past the frost line, most regions maintain a 55-57 degree temp. Ideal temp. seems to be 52, 53 degrees for long term storage.

West of the Balcones you need dynamite or a long time hammer to dig out a basement but East and it's soft ground. Behind my house is a grave yard and if you look into it just before they put the casket it, we have about 2" of soil and then solid rock. Amazes me the Hill Country is an AVA.

TxBrew said:

Snap any pictures?

Won't the wood rot out over time?

Click to expand...

Sorry no pics. And it's pressure treated wood so it should last for many years before needing any replacement. Same stuff you use to sink into the ground for fences or decks and used on the ground for raised garden beds. As far as temp I'm not sure how much it differs past the frost line but the one I helped with was in Oregon so we have much more mild weather than Texas but I would imagine if your deep enough that the insulation of the earth it self should keep you pretty close like you said at least in the upper fifties.

There's an old cellar in the woods behind my grandfathers house. They used to store there vegetables in there years ago. Maybe I should put some of my wines in there. At least they'll last longer, lol.

I built one into an old canning cellar that was in my basement. I insulated the inside walls/ceiling, tiled the floor, then built my racks in.