Wine Racks

Last winter, a good friend asked me to build wine racks for the store he was planning on opening. I was floored. Never had I ever envisioned building anything of this scope. I wasn’t sure I could do it, not with a full time job and no crew. But he persisted by saying, “Hey, I gotta pay someone to do this and it might as well be you.” Who was I to argue?

I had to figure out how to make the construction solid and efficient. Once I did that and drew up the plans, I found a local cabinet shop to cut the plywood for me and deliver it to the job site. Asking my buddy at the local Modern Woodworker's Association (plug!) for any recommendations on labor, I commandeered my son, a buddy, and the carpenter recommended by High Rock Woodworking (same guy, just a different plug.) We built the racks and checkout counter in three days, including cutting the counter shorter by 6” after it was already constructed.

Each opening in the rack is 19” x 19” x 19”. Three racks on each wall, each rack is 10’ long x 9’ high x 19” deep. Two racks down the center of the store, each is 40” wide x 60” high x 12’ long.

It then took me three more days to stain them with other hired help. Rolling the stain proved too slow so I bought a sprayer. Unfortunately, it was not an HVLP set up and I had the atomization all over the place. I had to pay to have the walls and ceiling repainted. The floors were covered but as the protection I put down was scraped up in places, I had atomization there, too. Thank the good Lord that my buddy chose a Chinese import that had a water-based UV cured finish. A little bit of mineral spirits and, voila! All the stain was off the floor. I was lucky as all get out as there was no way to re-do the floor without doing the whole job completely over. Y’all have no idea of pure panic until you think you have to pay for new shelves and a new floor.

But it all turned out fine and it’s the best wine store in northeast Atlanta.

Birch ply. Poplar cleats. Titebond II.