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| Home Wine Cellar | 
 enlarge | Author: Perry Sims
Publisher: Running Press
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $18.29
You Save: $16.71 (48%)
New (30) Used (11) from $9.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 96863
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 10.7 x 8.6 x 0.8
ISBN: 0762420847
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.22
EAN: 9780762420841
ASIN: 0762420847
Publication Date: October 26, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New book (direct from our warehouse)
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 7 | | NEXT » |
 The home wine cellar February 28, 2008
A perfect book with lots of ideas how to construct and finish a wine cellar. Good pictures and layout. Excelent carpentry.
the best book on the subject January 22, 2008
The negative reviews here mystify me. This is a wonderfully illustrated book, that covers the details - such as the requirements for exterior walls - that other books miss.
 If I have never heard of wine or a wine cellar, this book might have been helpful June 8, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I am planning to build a 2,000 bottle cellar myself and have found the published literature on the subject inadequate. After purchasing this book, I am no better off than I was prior to reading it. The book is so general that unless you do not know what wine is, it will tell you almost nothing you do not already know. It spends an inordinate amount of time discussing things like how to install and use a wine cooler. I own two wine coolers already and I assume almost everyone planning a wine cellar knows what a wine cooler is and how to turn one on. It spends a bunch of time on wine drinking, selection and pouring which is not what anyone buying this book is looking for. It also spends time discussing how to put shelves in a closet or under stairs, all of which is common sense. I need help on what type of vapor barrier to buy, how thick the studs should be, what is the best lighting to use, what coolers are best, what insulation will handle moisture the best, how to level a basement floor prior to installing tile, what types of wall finishes are best, what wood is best for racks, what stain is best, what themometers and humidity sensors are best, most efficient and best looking floor plans, etc. This book offers no solutions to the real issues with building a cellar. I found more real information doing a few hours of web blog searches than I found in the same amount of time reading this book. I found the Richard Gold book on the subject much more informative even though it focuses on passive cellars and has no pretty color pictures.
 not very complete... November 13, 2006
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book focuses only on certain techniques and material (timber). A bit disappointing.
Not really a "Complete Guide" October 12, 2006
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
Parts of the book were helpful and the photos were interesting. However, aside from asthetics, the critical issues in building a cellar are the vapor barrier, insulation and cooling system. It would have been helpful to have more technical advice or at least technical advice that was easier to follow. For example, an explanation of why the vapor barrier must be on the outside everywhere (to keep condensation away from the insulation) would be more helpful than just a bald statement that it should be. The diagrams are clear as far as they go, but the explanation on how to put a vapor barrier up and insulate a ceiling is confusing in the absence of an explanation of the purpose of the vapor barrier. For example, if you have wires, pipes and ventilation ducts in your basement ceiling as most people do, what is the best approach? Should you drop the ceiling and then install a vapor barrier followed by insulation or is there something else you can do? Likewise, a discussion of the pros and cons of using a glass vs. solid door, whether to have electrical outlets inside and if so how many and why, whether to place the light switch inside the room or out, and a discussion of how to properly ventilate the cooling unit to optimize operational efficiency all would have been helpful. Finally, since the author is in the business, I would assume that he uses particular brands of cooling units and has specific recommenations regarding size, makes and models--all of that would have been useful information.
To be fair, I did a lot of research and nobody seems to be able to write clearly on this subject and there is a lot of conflicting information on various aspects of design and construction. Still, now that I've been through the construction process, it seems that someone with expertise should be able to write a sufficiently detailed publication to give a novice or a novice working with a general contractor who isn't a wine cellar pro an understanding of the critical elements of design and construction to help them anticipate the issues involved in building a cellar. The book falls short in that regard.
I agree with the reviewer above that this book could have been half as long. As someone who was already inclined to build a cellar, I was already familiar enough with wine to know how to serve it. I wasn't looking for a contractor's advice on that subject. What I was looking for was detailed information on planning/design issues and construction methods. The information in this book that I found helpful on those topics was less than complete and was limited to about a dozen pages.
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