A cold room is a cool subterranean space usually located in the basement ideal for storage of vegetables fruits nuts preserves beverages and bulk purchases.
Cold storage room basement.
Using 2 x 4 x 8 studs.
It s an old fashioned idea that s once again on the rise as it s a convenient inexpensive and energy efficient method of keeping a large number of items cool.
In the illustration above a window in the cold room was replaced with a plywood panel making installing the two vents extra easy as you can simply cut a hole in the panel with a jigsaw but in most cases you ll need to rent a core drill with 4 concrete drill bit make sure the supplier explains how to use it to punch two round holes through the basement s concrete wall.
It s a lot cheaper than running a fridge right.
A cold storage room could also double as a storm shelter in the event of an emergency.
6 x 10 cold room plan forthcoming.
Finding a location many older homes have a root cellar.
Concrete is porous and allows moisture and air to move through it easily.
Be mindful to keep away from heat sources such as the furnace or hot water tank.
All too often i have done inspections where there s a small isolated room with a door in the basement that has been used for cold storage.
In these cases cold storage rooms don t usually suffer from condensation issues because the basement air will generally be the same temperature as the air inside the cold room.
Traditionally this cold room was an underground space built under or near the home insulated by the ground and vented so cold air could flow in and warm air out in the fall.
This is an ideal place to build a cold storage room.
A root cellar is typically an unfinished part of the basement that may or may not have access to the main house.
Since it s part of your basement the cold room will have a concrete floor and the walls will be unfinished.
Serge harvey helped me to set up the structure of the cold room.
Screwing lumbers of the walls on the ground with concrete screws.
You ll want a place that s cool and properly ventilated.
Identifying your storage area istock thinkstock.
Rather the bigger issue is poor ventilation and uncleanliness both of which contribute to mold growth.
That makes the cold room humid.
Begin by looking at the setup of your basement to determine the best location to create a small cold storage room or storage area.
Framing a cold storage room.
Cold rooms provide an energy efficient way to preserve food.
Dimension of the cold room.
If the foundation walls or other areas in this cold room remain wet for any length of time mould and rot can easily develop.