Temperature-controlled wine cellar in shed

[GWL]

This project uses a split-system air conditioner to maintain a wine collection at a constant temperature.

• The project
• More shed and garage project inspiration

The project

I converted a vacant space in my metal shed into a temperature-controlled 1000-bottle wine cellar. 

The shed has a concrete floor, upon which I built a 100mm plinth from pavers and over which I laid red-tongue flooring. I laid rubber gym mats on top of that in case I drop a bottle!

The stud walls were DynaBolted to the floor and anchored with brackets to the shed's endwall columns, sidewall girts and roof purlins. The walls are two layers of yellow tongue with a 70mm gap between them.

There are two layers of insulation, each of Earthwool and silver sarking. One layer is between the metal shed wall and the yellow-tongue outer wall; the other is between the two layers of yellow-tongue wall.

I covered the external walls of the cellar with HardieFlex to give it a "cement" feel. It also adds structural strength given the racks are secured to the walls inside. 

The ceiling is 25mm plywood, with about 300mm of Earthwool between the top of the cellar ceiling and the metal roof of the shed. The ceiling steps up in line with the angle of the shed roof.

I found the door at a second-hand building supplies place – it's a1930s wooden door with metal wire within the glass. I didn't consider an electronic lock; I just used some heavy-duty drop bolts and padlocks. The whole thing is painted black for effect with Arlec LED smart downlights (I have them set to a red "submarine" theme). 

For the temperature control I originally considered a proper cellar climate-control system but it was too expensive. Instead, I had a Mitsubishi 2.5kW split-system air conditioner installed, and it does a great job. In summer, the temperature is consistently around 15 degrees, and in winter it's about 10 degrees (I live in the Southern Highlands of NSW, so its a cool climate). Daily temperature variation is only one or two degrees. I built the internal walls and had the aircon installed before I painted and installed the racks.

More shed and garage project inspiration

Bunnings Workshop member Remarka6le turned his garage into a well-equipped home gym.

Workshop member wooshka turned an old shed into a comfortable, spacious games room.

There are plenty more great ideas in our Top 10 most popular garage and shed projects and our collection of Tool storage solutions.

Let us know if you need a hand with your project – we're here to help.