Home Cellar On The Balcony

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

An oppressive frustration arises when a grown crop is spoiled by a lack of storage space. This article is useful for citizens who have a balcony or loggia, as well as for owners of private houses with a glazed veranda. Read on to learn how to make a functional interior detail in the form of a vegetable storage

What can be stored on the balcony

You do not have a cellar, but you have a glazed or maybe insulated balcony? This is a great option for placing the harvested crop. You can store everything here: sauerkraut, vegetables, containers with pickles, fruits, jars of marinades, and more. It is important to exclude a drop in temperature if it is frosty outside. To do this, make a home cellar.

Container cellar device

You can create a structure of two types: heated and with a natural microclimate. In any case, your cellar will have the functionality of a storage facility, and will be a worthy part of the interior.

Based on the size of the room and your needs, a box is created in the form of a seat, a sofa or just a box with an opening top. Consists of two containers, like a nesting doll. The inner part is equipped with a special material for products, and the outer part serves as furniture and has a certain finish.

Material, tool for creating a balcony cellar

The most practical material for the sidewalls is laminated chipboard. A cover, if you want to save money, will serve as an ordinary sheet of thick plywood or chipboard, leatherette, leatherette or wooden lining is suitable for decorative finishing. You will also need foam rubber / synthetic winterizer (softening of the seat).

For installation, purchase furniture hinges, self-tapping screws. If you want to achieve a perfect look, you may need an edge band. In the form of insulation, foam is usually used. The tools for work are ordinary: a drill, scissors, a furniture stapler, a screwdriver / screwdriver, drills, for an edge - an iron.

Preparation for work

To determine the dimensions, select a place on the balcony. Usually this is the end part where the storage box is placed and a seat for two is obtained. Perhaps you can place the storage along the wall for a full-size couch / sofa with plenty of interior space.

After measuring the selected place, you calculate the material for work. It is better to order the cutting of laminated chipboard from specialists in a furniture workshop. This ensures a flat surface and no scoring or chips at the edges. The edges of the rest of the parts can be processed independently, by grinding with sandpaper or gluing an edge tape to the end with an iron.

Before assembling, prepare the installation site: place a thick piece of foam (extruded polystyrene foam) on the floor. This will serve as an excellent heat-saving component. With an insulated floor, you don't need to do anything else.

We make the outer part of the container cellar

We lay out the chipboard parts, according to the plan, step back from the edges and drill holes for the fastening screws. If there is a screwdriver, then the holes are only marked with a marker and not drilled. We tighten the elements according to the selected screws: with a screwdriver, hexagon. We nail a sheet of fiberboard to the bottom side.

When making a seat cover, do not forget that it should protrude beyond the perimeter of the structure on three sides. When the base is ready, we begin to tighten the lid. Spread the selected material on the floor, make a pattern taking into account the bend allowance, the thickness of the softening material and the tension. Lay a softener-insulation or foam rubber on the leatherette, the base of the lid on top and start covering. Stretching evenly, we fasten the material with a stapler, paying special attention to the corners. The final action takes place with the cover - hinges and fixing the seat to the box.

Additional insulation will help to avoid freezing. On the outer box (inner side), foam plastic is fixed with glue, a sufficient layer will be 2-3 cm.

The inner part of the cellar

An inner container made of chipboard or plywood is inserted into the outer part. The bottom of this box should have bar-shaped legs. If it is planned to create heating, then the distance to the bottom panel is maintained about 10 cm for an electric heater.

Between the inner and outer walls of containers, on all sides, a gap of 3-5 cm is left. This is necessary for air exchange in your "cellar" and eliminating condensation. Additional holes in the sides and bottom will help improve the "breathing" of vegetables. It is recommended to have a thermometer in the inner box. The optimum temperature for the preservation of potatoes, beets, carrots is the range + 1 … + 4.

Cellar heating

There is no reason for heating if there are no negative temperatures on the balcony. Otherwise, you should take care of heating. There are no difficulties here. Buy a low-power (100 W) heating pad. This device is characterized by high electrical safety and economy. Usually it has a thermostat or two modes of operation: constant heating or intermittent.

If desired, you can design an auto-thermostat - a zero sensor. It uses the process of freezing water and the effect of this fact on the closing / opening of the power circuit. For production, you will need a vessel with water (no more than 200 mm), a float with a closing plate and contacts with a gap of 1.5-2 mm. The sensor is installed in the coldest part of the balcony.