Starting Construction

[DeeDubya]

Craig,

That's some good information. Thanks for taking the time to help. Let me get a little further along with the project. I will have a "lot" of cedar in there for good RH buffering. I'll post some pics later today of current progress.

[DeeDubya]

I made a little progress between cigar breaks on Saturday. This is a pic from within showing the fixed shelves for full box storage. The slanted shelves for display will be to the left.



Here is a shot from within the game room.



My photo album has a few more progression pics.

[mrtr33]

This looks like a really cool project.

Quick question you may have answered, but I missed: how will the windows looking into the walk-in affect keeping the rh balanced? Are the windows weather-proofed?

Thanks for the pics. Looks like it's going to be a nice setup.

[DeeDubya]

This looks like a really cool project.

Quick question you may have answered, but I missed: how will the windows looking into the walk-in affect keeping the rh balanced? Are the windows weather-proofed?

Thanks for the pics. Looks like it's going to be a nice setup.

This was an exterior wall. The windows are well sealed. I've considered everything to make sure it is well sealed and insulated. The humidifier might not have to be as large as I once thought.

Thanks for the interest, it is a fun project.

[craig]

Now that's a lot of wood!

Ambient RH looks pretty good. (I could only find Austin RH data on-line http://www.txstate.edu/freemanranch/...limatology.pdf , as I can't access NOAA's detailed data because I'm not in the US.) Once your door is in, you can probably season the wood in the room by just opening that outside window at night!

What's your in-house RH like? I'm guessing that will drive how big a humidifier you will need.

I am assuming that there is no air exchange other than the door opening/closing, you are not planning on smoking in there (?), and your cooling is from the house interior via those big windows. You may have to point an oscillating fan (from inside the humidor) at the windows to reduce the windows' insulating efficiency and prevent condensation forming on the windows. Or maybe not, I'm just guessing from looking at the pics. (Glass is not a good insulator, but the thin layer of dead air up against the glass is. That's why double-glazed windows work.)

I'd be tempted to start with something like this one, which maxes at 65%RH: http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product...a8b4afac8ee4d/ (Honeywell HCM-6012I) The price of consumer units is so low compared to meant-for-cigars units ...

You can always plumb in an RO system somewhere where you can use it as a source of drinking/cooking water as well, and then later modify the reservoir for constant refilling.

Anyhow, just a suggestion. No doubt Bob Staebell can set you up with what you need without a lot of guessing/extra work/experimentation/etc. A lot of times it is worth the extra cost to pay for the "voice of experience."

Good luck!

[DeeDubya]

Now that's a lot of wood!

Ambient RH looks pretty good. (I could only find Austin RH data on-line http://www.txstate.edu/freemanranch/...limatology.pdf , as I can't access NOAA's detailed data because I'm not in the US.) Once your door is in, you can probably season the wood in the room by just opening that outside window at night!

What's your in-house RH like? I'm guessing that will drive how big a humidifier you will need.

I am assuming that there is no air exchange other than the door opening/closing, you are not planning on smoking in there (?), and your cooling is from the house interior via those big windows. You may have to point an oscillating fan (from inside the humidor) at the windows to reduce the windows' insulating efficiency and prevent condensation forming on the windows. Or maybe not, I'm just guessing from looking at the pics. (Glass is not a good insulator, but the thin layer of dead air up against the glass is. That's why double-glazed windows work.)

I'd be tempted to start with something like this one, which maxes at 65%RH: http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product...a8b4afac8ee4d/ (Honeywell HCM-6012I) The price of consumer units is so low compared to meant-for-cigars units ...

You can always plumb in an RO system somewhere where you can use it as a source of drinking/cooking water as well, and then later modify the reservoir for constant refilling.

Anyhow, just a suggestion. No doubt Bob Staebell can set you up with what you need without a lot of guessing/extra work/experimentation/etc. A lot of times it is worth the extra cost to pay for the "voice of experience."

Good luck!

Craig,

Sorry to dissapoint you but I have already been smoking in there, a lot! Fortunately, I am a long way from storing cigars, and that little box fan sucks everything out when it's in the window. Yes, the condensation problem might occur, so we will have to wait and see. what happens there.

In-house RH is controlled at 50% more or less. I'm fortunate to have Bamboo flooring and Palmwood furniture and they don't like low humidity so I take care of them.

Oh, by the way I live only a few miles from TSU's Freeman Ranch. I would suspect that I am within .000001% of their average RH.

You're too kind. This helps me a lot. I have planned for a water connect. I have a water conditioner so I'm starting with soft or hard water (choice). Also, I have planned for electrical connections at that location.

I'll check out that humidifier. This forum is awesome, to have someone like you chime in and help solve some problems.

Smooth transition here: I know it's way too soon to be planning the trim-out phase, but scroll up and take another look at the 2" storage shelves. How would those look if faced with wine corks? We have a collection (yes we have other vises) of wine corks. I was thinking about halving corks and facing these ugly shelves. This takes a little imagination but I think you can see it. Also, it would be rainy-day project that we could do ahead of time.

Thanks again for the input.

[craig]

Please let me re-phrase: Are you planning on smoking in there once the walk-in is done? If so, then that's a very different situation, i.e.,:
a) walk-in = just storage = sealed room = no air exchanged except incidental exchange from going into and out of the room = no smoking.
or:
b) if you smoke in there, then you MUST have ventilation (air exchange) during, and for a while after, smoking. The room is too small to not do otherwise.

If it is b), you can handle air exchange very easily because you can easily vent to the outside. If the room is sealed well enough, positive pressure ventilation (fan blowing air from the game room into the walk-in, with an exhaust duct to the outside with, say, flapper valves at intake and exhaust) could work quite well. Alternatively, you can go with negative pressure (same deal, but with an exhaust fan), but you have to do something. This also can affect humidifier requirements. Requirements also depend on what the house HVAC system is like.

Also, the humidifier I picked is just an example. I just went to Honeywell's site and glanced at the specs. You probably can go with a smaller one - but that depends on a) or b) above .

Finally, I'm not an HVAC expert. I fooled around with similar problems because my Father had a darkroom in the basement (he was a professional photographer) and I've setup my own darkroom in most of the places that I've lived at (and we were both smokers). I've also helped my friends with sound studios that they've setup - and musicians smoke a lot too. At the root, all three are the same HVAC problem - setting up a sealed room with a controlled climate that is different from the rest of the house.

P.S. Sorry, can't visualize what the wine corks would look like.