A residential custom wine cellar is a very special type of room. Almost airtight and climate controlled just like a refrigerator it is unlike any other room in a home. Unfortunately some homeowners are victims of the general builder / contractor that says, “Yes, I can do that, what did you say you wanted done?”
It is not unusual for us to be called out to rectify an improperly constructed wine room. Damp, wet and mold are one of the most common problems that we see. In this project in San Clemente we discovered that the wine cellar was installed originally with no vapor barrier. This resulted in a lot of work to rectify a problem that could have been avoided had the refrigeration system been installed correctly as an integrated system component of the overall room.
“My Wine Cellar is Leaking Water – Help?”
Our initial phone call came from an upset home owner called “Sue” of San Clemente California. Her first comment way “my cellar is leaking water!” When we arrived at the home, it was a very hot and humid day.
We found the drywall ceiling wet and saturated with water. After removing small test hole we discovered there was no vapor barrier installed by original builder. Any real wine cellar builder will tell you that a key component of a refrigerated wine storage room will tell you that a vapor barrier is an absolute must if future problems are to be avoided.
To rectify this problem we had to completely remove the ceiling drywall and spray it with polyurethane foam. This product acts as an insulator and a vapor barrier. Then we had to re-apply new drywall and paint to finish.
Underpowered and Incorrectly Installed Refrigeration Equipment
Lucky on this occasion there was no black mold, the problem had been caught in time. Mold can be a lot harder to completely eradicate.
We also upgraded the original under powered refrigeration system to a commercial grade Arctic 5500 system.
Structurally we also had to remove the niche that old the evaporator coil was enclosed inside. There was no way for it to cool the cellar and function properly installed in this way. We moved it to wall mount allowing it to function properly.
If you are considering converting a room in your home into a refrigerated custom wine cellar. Contact the professionals and enjoy your wine collection without problematic maintenance issues. Call Arctic Metalworks local service for San Clemente +1 (714) 936-3905 wine cellar climate control installation and maintenance specialists.