Wine cellar question - insulation and brickwork.

[MattyS]

I am looking for some advice and guidance re: a wine cellar project.

The local authority planner wants to keep the original brickwork in the basement unharmed. I would like to keep the brickwork exposed, is there some way of treating the walls, and using an air conditioning unit? Or should we be looking to install false walls?

Any ideas about how to keep the brickwork unharmed and the temperature stable enough for a wine cellar would be appreciated!

M.

 

[JohnD]

winer cellars depend on thermal mass to retain a stable temperature. The walls, floor and earth do this. You can insulate the ceiling (underside of the floor above) to keep heat out if you want.

I don't see any need to interfere with the brickwork.

 

[kevintaylore]

As far as I am aware, the only way you could properly waterproof a cellar and keep the brickwork intact would be to use a resin injection system. However these tend to be very expensive and are typically only used on commercial projects. This is mainly because it is impossible to accurately predict the cost of the job. Basically the resin is supposed to fill all the cracks and vois behind the wall - thus blocking the passage of water. The trouble is that it's virtually impossible to know how many voids there are and how big they are.

 

[JohnD]

he hasn't mentioned a damp problem

a wine cellar is not a habitable room

 

[MattyS]

John and Kevin, thanks for your responses, some interesting pointers there.

Keeping heat out is certainly an issue. I had come to a similar conclusion, however this website says,

http://www.brizard.co.uk/fondis.htm

Insulation
The most important step is to have a room totaly insulated.
We suggest the use of cellartex 75mm, an isolant material used in house roofs available from builder merchants.
Other insulation materials can be used such as polystyrene, polyuretane, trisodur etc.
Rock wool is not a good material to use.
The all room need to be insulated including floor and ceiling.

The internal fascia must be moisture resistant- you can use hard wood tongue & groove, shiplap spruce boarding, ceramic tiles or melanine boards.
We recommend you tile your floor area as it is easy to keep clean and it act as a cold surface.

Damp may actually be a problem, the water table is not so far below floor level and the front wall will be exposed to the elements.

 

[JohnD]

if it's a cellar, then the ground, floor and wall temperature will be stable, so no need to insulate. You only need to prevent heat from the occupied parts of the house.

Once you are at any depth, underground temp in Britain is usually about 60C, summer and winter, which is why wine and cheese are stored in cellars or caves.

 

[kevintaylore]

he hasn't mentioned a damp problem

Sorry, I presumed that is what he meant by "treating the walls." Given that we are talking about a cellar I would have thought that the most likely thing he wants to treat the walls against is damp.