hi I am redoing my wine cellar. It is under my front porch therefore all in concrete. I plan to use 2" styrofoam insulation then furring strips and then pine wood paneling. Should I varnish the pine to help it from possible humidity damage. Or will the varnish always leave a smell in the room? I am putting a commercial refrigirator unit for the summer and a heater for winter. TIA
How about something natural and safe like real tung oil? Here's an example:
BTW, most home centers don't carry 100% tung oil, usually they are mixed with petroleum based products to produce a hard, gloss finish.
-ben
You may need to install a plastic sheet vapor barrier either directly to the concrete or on top of the furring strips and make certain that it is completely sealed. Check with a building supply store to see where you need to install it and how. It may require a cement if attached to the concrete or use of concrete nails. This would protect the back of your wood panels from possible damage if it is moist under your porch at times.
I think that a synthetic finish such as a polyurethane one would be best. Such finishes are available in clear, tinted, and solid colors. They dry rapidly and do not leave a strong odor nearly as long as old-fashioned varnishes and oil based paints.
If you are interested in looks, then wood panels are perhaps the way to go. However, if your main interest is in function, just cover the wall with rough plywood rather than panels, attach more furring strips, and install a space age bubble insulation that consists of layers of foil and bubbles. They sell aluminum tape to seal the joints. One brand is Reflectix. I saw 4 ft wide rolls of this at the local Lowe's home supply store. Other national chains likely carry it or something much like it. If you are not in the US, you will have to look around in your area. This is what I used for my interior wine room. You will have a bright silver room, but that does not bother me.
It is possible that you will need to add moisture if the humidy goes much under 50% at any time. A cabinet humidifier that rolls around and will hold several gallons of water is available from many sources at often under $US 100. It can be set to control humidity at various levels, and I would suggest 60 to 70 % RH as being a practical range. On the other hand if humidity goes to extremely high level, you may have trouble with mildew growing on walls, racks, and bottle labels. This likely will not harm the wine, although it may decrease the resale value if labels are destroyed. Keep a close watch on relative humidity at first. If it goes much above 80% for extended periods, you may need to install a dehumidifier.
If you use paint anywhere in the room, consider a paint that has an added fungicide. Some paints state this on the can. However packets of fungicide are sold by many large paint stores, and they can shake these into the paint for you. Many of these paint fungicides work both for oil and water bases paints, but do read the instructions carefully.
I built a wine cellar about eight or nine years ago and used the least expensive paneling that was available at Home Depot. I did not coat it with anything and it seems to work just fine.
Humidity gets very high in the summer-- sometimes I run a dehumidifier outside the cellar to draw some moisture out and lower the humidity inside. I don't run the dehumidifier inside the cellar because it would add too much heat.
Shaun Eli
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