Greenlit for a "walk-in" humidor. Looking for suggestions.

[Puros Y Vino]

Thought I'd post this in a few places to get as much feedback as possible.

I have a closet in my man cave that I want to partially convert into a walk-in, actually, step-in humidor.   Surprisingly, the wife likes the idea more than "stupid bins". 

Dimensions are as follows:(inches)

H=88 / D=23.25 / W=55

9.68  square feet.

63 cubic feet.

 

This is how it looks from the outside.  It's going to be built from the left hand side over to where the door frame on the right begins (right edge of mirror). I"m going to put a wall at that point and keep the right hand side as a closet/storage/coolidor spillover area.

 

This is the inside. It's basic drywall and has the same vinyl floor as the rest of the room.

 

 

I've outlined the following ideas for the build.  Looking for feedback.

• Want to hermetically seal the area.  I was thinking of vapor barriers and creating a void between the actual wall and new interior walls (materials TBD).  Basically build a "box" within the space. 
• Raising the floor a bit to create a void between the vinyl floor as well.
• Slatted shelving on either sides of the door.  Right hand side will be deeper. In the second photo are cigar bins and I've calculated that they'll all fit nice and neat in this area.
• On the floor, I'm going to have some wine racks as well.  I don't collect wine as much as I drink it, so I don't need a lot of storage.  These would sit under the cigar shelving. Or I might have a wine tower on either side of the shelving from floor to ceiling to maximize space.
• Glass or plexiglass door. Need to create a seal obviously, so I'm wondering if a sauna type entry door would work.  The doorway dimensions are as follows: 23 1/4 * 79 1/8 inches.
• Since there will be wine in here as well, I'd like to explore cooling options.  This room doesn't get too hot during summer but I'd like a more steady climate for this room. I'll need a humidifier too of course. If there's an all in one unit that does both please LMK!
• The room has two power receptacles already in it which should suffice for the cooling/humidity control, lighting and a few fans for air circulation. 

In terms of materials, Spanish Cedar isn't cheap and probably more expensive during the Pandemic. I know there are other woods that fit the bill.  Please suggest some.   Is there any other material besides wood that I should consider? 

I'm going to do a 3D model is some software I have.  In the meantime any suggestions , questions, etc are more than welcome. 

Quick 3D mock-up.  Very much a WIP.

 

[Toolguy]

Awesome project!  So many thoughts and questions.  The first thing that comes to mind is how are you going to promote air movement?  I have been working on this with my humidor and am considering further enhancements.  This is a key factor as it will regulate both humidity and temperature.  I, personally, am getting over goals of keeping temps at 65 (18) as most in here claim to be at.  I'm usually around 21 (room temp) as my home is heated/cooled.  I've only ever had a beetle issue once years ago when I had a small box humidor and only a few cigars and it was from beach cigars.  I'm more careful now but unless your room gets hot, or has big temp swings, temp control may not be a concern. 

Perhaps a zoom call and a cigar sometime?  Typing it all out is a challenge and talking about it will be productive.

[Puros Y Vino]

3 minutes ago, Toolguy said:

Awesome project!  So many thoughts and questions.  The first thing that comes to mind is how are you going to promote air movement?  I have been working on this with my humidor and am considering further enhancements.  This is a key factor as it will regulate both humidity and temperature.  I, personally, am getting over goals of keeping temps at 65 (18) as most in here claim to be at.  I'm usually around 21 (room temp) as my home is heated/cooled.  I've only ever had a beetle issue once years ago when I had a small box humidor and only a few cigars and it was from beach cigars.  I'm more careful now but unless your room gets hot, or has big temp swings, temp control may not be a concern. 

Perhaps a zoom call and a cigar sometime?  Typing it all out is a challenge and talking about it will be productive.

That's a great idea!  I'll PM you my email so we can connect. 

[MattOB]

I came across this for an alternative to spanish cedar. Its a lot of info but there’s some good stuff in there. 
 

https://www.newair.com/blogs/learn/understanding-different-types-of-wood

[Zedman05]

I am imagining you have also researched all the types or wood you could use already. I was looking at possibly building a cabinet a while ago, and was eventually going to end up with mahogany in the end. 

I do like the idea of keeping it as a "box inside the closet", basically. Not sure if you need to go that far with the flooring, but keeping it off of any outside walls will mitigate the temp swings, for sure. 

As for humidity, it really depends on what you want and how handy you are. I personally made my own system for my cabinet as I didn't like the option of having one huge unit at the bottom, pushing humidity up onto my cigars right above it. I made 2 medium sized containers that use 6" fans to move the air through and draw humidity from beads. Then I have 4 small 4" fans moving air around the cabinet while that runs. I use an Inkbird controller that turns all fans on when the humidity is below the set point, then shuts them all off when it's back up. I ran all the wiring myself and it works awesome. I like the fact that I can have a well regulated humidity top to bottom. 

As for a door; going for glass is great, just make sure the seal is proper. I am not sure how you are going to manage that if the floor is "raised". Usually it is sealed against the bottom jam. 

Temp control would be interesting. Maybe a thermolectric plate would work in there, just to keep the heat down a bit. Once you add cooling, now you have to manage the condensate in the room too. Honestly your best bet would be a plate-style evaperator. It doesn't drop the humidity down very much, but gets your cooling. A lot of wine coolers use them on the back wall to cool it down. No fan just a plate that has the cold refrigerant running through it and passively cools. 

 

Good luck buddy, can't wait to see this when done.