[cubby]

Need your help again AHR. In my basement the exterior block wall in
the unfinished rec room has a rectangular bump out (about 5' wide x 2'
deep, and from floor to just about level with the bottom of the floor
joists) where a chimney and fireplace used to be. The chimney was
removed a while ago. The builder capped the top about a foot above
ground level with a concrete cap (poured on top of a PT piece of
plywood). It has proved to be weatherproof. I was originally
intending to seal off the void in the basement, by building a stud
wall level with the walls either side. A lot of the old firebrick is
still there and I had no plans to touch it.

If you're with me so far you can probably tell where this is going...
I am contemplating clearing all the masonry and using the space as a
wine cellar. Ideally this would be sealed from the rest of the room
(walled off and maybe with an exterior door). I live in the MN and
the temperature down there is ideal (with the heating and cooling off)
year round (in the high 50's to low 60's). If I do this I guess I
would have to waterproof the interior with drylok or something
similar. But probably not insulate (the idea being to use the
constant temperature of the earth). Maybe I'd need to insulate the
ceiling (underside of the concrete cap) and maybe actually the first
couple of feet of block down from the top with pink/blue board (just
to avoid it getting too cold in the winter).

Any thoughts anyone? My main worry is creating a breeding ground for
damp and mold. It does not need to look pretty. Would appreciate any
thoughts!

Cheers

Cub

[Shaun Eli]

Absolutely insulate the ceiling. You might want to close it off for a
couple of weeks in the summer and see how warm it gets.

There's a book called something like how and why to build a wine
cellar that's well worth buying. Less than the cost of one bottle of
wine, unless you're drinking $4 wine.