Building a walk-in

[mguti]

Wow! Looking good. I'm jealous

 

[PamunkeyHub]

Looks great!

 

[schiphol]

wow, fantastic to see the work in progress, excellent skills. will be watching!!

 

[Mr. McSquirelly]

Goodness that's a lot of booze!

No such thing!

 

[Mr. McSquirelly]

Thanks for the words guys.

I have been thinking about the temperature. Now it is 18-19 degrees celsius (64-66 Farenheit). In the winter I will probably loose a couple of degrees more since the brick wall without shelves is an outside wall. So now I am thinking of installing a water radiator (since i have the same system in the house already). It would not look great to have a radiator on the free brick wall so I am thinking of buying a compact radiator and have it on the long brick wall under the first shelf. If I do so it would not be visiable. I hope this will work because I do not want to mess up the ageing process of the cigars.

Honestly, that temperature right now is perfect. Is there insulation between exterior wall and the brick wall? If so, you should be okay. What's the lowest temperature in winter? And how long does winter usually last for you? You may lose a 5-10% RH in winter cold air. But I wouldn't worry about that. But I have never in my life tried to humidify a space that large, so I could be wrong. But as long as that whole room is sealed properly and there is enough humidity per cubic inch, I don't think a severe drop in temperature outside will affect humidity that drastically. As long as you are sealed from the wind and there's no way humidity can escape through cracks, it should hold. Like I said, it might drop 5%, 10%, 15% RH at the most. If the exterior wall is insulated, then you should be fine. Great, great job! What a home improvement!!! LOL!

 

[Tanga]

I have allways heard that 20-21 degrees celsius (68-70 Farenheit) is ideal for cigar storage and I have allways had it even warmer. Like 22-23 (71-73 F). In Sweden, most of the cigar community aims for 65% in humidity (I know that you have your 70/70 rule).

The bricks are attached directly on the outer wall. There are som kind of isolation on the outside of the wall that the previous owner put in when he did the drainage around the house but that is all. I, fortunately, live in the southern part of Sweden so it does not get that extreme cold that often but it could go as low as -20C (-4F) but regularly it is more like -5 C to -10 C (14-23 F). And I think that the free brick wall is going to be pretty cold and that it will cool down the room. But I am not totally sure here.

 

[Mr. McSquirelly]

I have allways heard that 20-21 degrees celsius (68-70 Farenheit) is ideal for cigar storage and I have allways had it even warmer. Like 22-23 (71-73 F). In Sweden, most of the cigar community aims for 65% in humidity (I know that you have your 70/70 rule).

The bricks are attached directly on the outer wall. There are som kind of isolation on the outside of the wall that the previous owner put in when he did the drainage around the house but that is all. I, fortunately, live in the southern part of Sweden so it does not get that extreme cold that often but it could go as low as -20C (-4F) but regularly it is more like -5 C to -10 C (14-23 F). And I think that the free brick wall is going to be pretty cold and that it will cool down the room. But I am not totally sure here.

So it drops below freezing in the winter. Yes, that wall will be like an iceblock next to the cigars. Something like this might work, but you'll need to wire the thermostat to it. http://www.lowes.com/pd_403282-1509-2F500-1W_4294765322__?productId=3691118&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=?Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

If the air temperature in the humidor drops below freezing, that will be an issue. That baseboard heater wired to a thermostat will keep the air at your desired temperature, but that might drive your electric bill through the roof!

 

[atbat82]

This is remarkable! Truly an amazing improvement. I would love to have this done in my home one day (wouldn't even attempt to do it myself!)

 

[irie]

just out of curiosity is that brick wall sealed? I would imagine those things will act like giant sponges otherwise and could make for an interesting winter as they fluctuate in temperature.

 

[Tanga]

The bricks are seald with a water, dust and fat repellant. But I am also a bit conserned if that is enough. I do not want to have freezing cracks in the wall.

It is 5 degrees c now on the day and probably around 0 c at night so I do not think that it will be very cold in the humidor at winter but I think it will drog a few degrees more. I think that a radiator that is producing a couple of hundred watts would do the trick.

I really like the comments. Everything that drives the project forward and possible exposes misstakes from my side is a good thing.

 

[Mr. McSquirelly]

The bricks are seald with a water, dust and fat repellant. But I am also a bit conserned if that is enough. I do not want to have freezing cracks in the wall.

It is 5 degrees c now on the day and probably around 0 c at night so I do not think that it will be very cold in the humidor at winter but I think it will drog a few degrees more. I think that a radiator that is producing a couple of hundred watts would do the trick.

I really like the comments. Everything that drives the project forward and possible exposes misstakes from my side is a good thing.

So behind the bricks there is no insulation? The wall is not insulated? There is no buffer between the exterior of the house and the interior?

EDIT: I looked at the old pictures. Is this space in the basement, below ground level? It looks like you have a solid concrete wall/foundation behind the brick wall. That will act as the buffer between the frigid air outside and the room-temp air inside. Everything should be fine. As long as the temperature inside the humidor doesn't drop below 32 degrees F, you should be okay throughout the winter. If the wall cracks because the water freezes, that may be an issue.

 

[Tanga]

It is below ground level. It is concrete blocks with holes in them to trap air. On the outside of the concrete walls there is som kind of insulating material.

But if it is 18 degrees C now I think that it will drop some more. I do not know if I want that. I would be more comfortably with aroung 20 degrees C. Me and my dad did some thinking today. There is a big radiator in the room behind the long wall with bricks. I am thinking of mount copper pipes on the radiator and drill a hole in the wall. We can put a thermostat and then make a circuite of the copper pipes just above the floor moldings on the three walls with bricks and then back again to the radiator. This would give 9m of pipes (30 ft) and that should be enough to boost the heat in the room. It is not expensive or hard to do and if it fails to keep the heat up I can allways cut the pipes and mount a radiator later.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Mr. McSquirelly]

It is below ground level. It is concrete blocks with holes in them to trap air. On the outside of the concrete walls there is som kind of insulating material.

But if it is 18 degrees C now I think that it will drop some more. I do not know if I want that. I would be more comfortably with aroung 20 degrees C. Me and my dad did some thinking today. There is a big radiator in the room behind the long wall with bricks. I am thinking of mount copper pipes on the radiator and drill a hole in the wall. We can put a thermostat and then make a circuite of the copper pipes just above the floor moldings on the three walls with bricks and then back again to the radiator. This would give 9m of pipes (30 ft) and that should be enough to boost the heat in the room. It is not expensive or hard to do and if it fails to keep the heat up I can allways cut the pipes and mount a radiator later.

Any thoughts on this?

18 degrees C is perfect. A lot of guys like 65/65 for aging cigars. Because the exterior wall is below ground level, you are fine. You also have the concrete wall as a buffer as well. You may need to boost humidity in the winter to around 80% Rh because of the cooler air in the room. But I do not think you need to heat the air in the room, unless of course the air temperature can be 0 degrees C. If anything, you will need to add humidity to the air when it's cold. Warmer air holds more water vapor, colder air less--obviously freezing air none. If the air in your walk-in doesn't drop below 4 degrees C, you will be fine. If the Rh dips in the winter to around 60%-55%, that's not tragic at all. Just keep a 100-count humidor full of cigars you want to smoke throughout the winter at 65%-70%. But if you feel better heating the air, do whatever you think is best for you. I just don't think it's necessary.

 

[plumber1965]

It is below ground level. It is concrete blocks with holes in them to trap air. On the outside of the concrete walls there is som kind of insulating material.

But if it is 18 degrees C now I think that it will drop some more. I do not know if I want that. I would be more comfortably with aroung 20 degrees C. Me and my dad did some thinking today. There is a big radiator in the room behind the long wall with bricks. I am thinking of mount copper pipes on the radiator and drill a hole in the wall. We can put a thermostat and then make a circuite of the copper pipes just above the floor moldings on the three walls with bricks and then back again to the radiator. This would give 9m of pipes (30 ft) and that should be enough to boost the heat in the room. It is not expensive or hard to do and if it fails to keep the heat up I can allways cut the pipes and mount a radiator later.

Any thoughts on this?

coming from a plumber,
I think the pipe idea is a great idea to add a little heat if needed. However i would make sure you have some type of control to limit it in case it does too good of a job.

 

[Tanga]

18 degrees C is perfect. A lot of guys like 65/65 for aging cigars. Because the exterior wall is below ground level, you are fine. You also have the concrete wall as a buffer as well. You may need to boost humidity in the winter to around 80% Rh because of the cooler air in the room. But I do not think you need to heat the air in the room, unless of course the air temperature can be 0 degrees C. If anything, you will need to add humidity to the air when it's cold. Warmer air holds more water vapor, colder air less--obviously freezing air none. If the air in your walk-in doesn't drop below 4 degrees C, you will be fine. If the Rh dips in the winter to around 60%-55%, that's not tragic at all. Just keep a 100-count humidor full of cigars you want to smoke throughout the winter at 65%-70%. But if you feel better heating the air, do whatever you think is best for you. I just don't think it's necessary.

Mayby you are right. But I will sleep better at night if I install the pipes to controll the temperature.

 

[Angry Bill]

Looks great Tanga. Yiu have done a great job.

 

[Tanga]

Today I did some more work. I have installed a circuit of cupper pipes in the humidor with a thermostat to controll the amount of hot water thrugh the pipes.
My first thought was to have the pipe on the coald outer wall aswell but for now I choose not to. I can allways change it later. I have not hooked it up to my current radiator system. It is to cold to mess with that. Also I have to install an air nipple to be able to remove air from the system. But the good thing is that I have seald the wholes through the wall again so soon I will be able to fill the humidor!

And I learn something to. Pipes with 90 degrees elbows, holders are far more expensive than just a radiator.

 

[Angry Bill]

Wow. Nicely added. im sure there are a few brothers checking yiur work out and planning on a similiar project,

 

[boltman]

Your work is very well thought out. And your execution is spot on. An all around solid job. Only one question left. When are you going to fly us all over for a giant herf at your house?

 

[Daven]

Man I am jealous! This seems like a really fun project and you're ideas are awesome!! I was just dreaming about doing this to our spare bedroom/den just the other day... Look forward to seeing the progress!