The dream becoming reality: home cigar lounge

[Cayman17]

With the birth of twin boys in November 2018, I quickly realized that we needed a larger house, but things were too hectic to begin house hunting right away.  As the pandemic took hold, we began looking at existing homes in our area, but what we really wanted was new construction.  After numerous delays, the house was completed last August, and we quickly moved in and sold our old house as interest rates were about to rise. 

The new house is a four bedroom model with an “optional” fifth bedroom in the  basement that is located directly under the dining room at the front of the house. Although we finished the basement, we weren’t sure what we wanted to do with the fifth bedroom, so we left that one room unfinished. After a full year in the home where we now both work remotely almost every day, I found myself longing for a dedicated office space (my wife has commandeered an upstairs bedroom for now, while the boys share the other second floor bedroom).  My wife knows I have a hard time stepping out for a cigar these days, so she was supportive of transforming that basement bedroom into a cigar-friendly home office/study/cave, as long as we incorporated some wine storage into the new space somehow.  Due to a completely unexpected turn of events, one of the best home improvement contractors in our area had an opening right away, and they have already started work.  I thought I would share some pics as the project progresses, to give you an idea of what to consider if you want to do this at your house. 
The original space is actually L-shaped, with a small nook under the basement stairs that leads into an 11 by 19 room. The nook will be the wine storage area, with racks by Vigilant large enough to hold 24 cases. Those racks have been ordered and are being built now.  The 11 by 19 foot space is being completely sealed off and will have the air cleaned by a large ventilation unit recommended by a friend who has his own cave: a Panasonic FV20VEC-1 Energy Recovery Ventilator 60-200 CFM cold climate unit with multiple    filters accessible through a hinged door. Here are some pics as you enter the space. First pic shows the nook , and then you can see the door that has been framed  in to create the sealed 11 by 19 room. 

[Cayman17]

As you enter the office/study, the desk will be on the left. As you can see straight ahead, the water shutoff valve for the house was placed in this space.  We are enclosing that valve in a small closet. 

[Cayman17]

At present, the HVAC contractor is adding ductwork for the ventilator. They are tapping into the existing duct and have cut holes for exhaust and intake in the outer wall on opposite sides of the lone window. 

[Cayman17]

Finally, here is the large ventilator. It has two intake and two returns for “cleaned” air after the smoke particles pass through the filters. It’s a large piece of equipment, but extremely quiet. We plugged it in to see how loud it was, and the owner of the HVAC company told me that it is nicer than the commercial unit at the local cigar lounge, which he installed and services.  I’m hoping it works well enough to allow three or four people to smoke cigars at once without sitting in a cloud of cigar smoke. We will find out this winter.  The ventilator will be placed on its own switch so I can leave it run all night if I want after a night of cigars.  Tune in next week for an update and pics of the closed cell foam insulation that is going to be blown into the walls and ceiling. 

[Neuralpath]

Exciting project!

Question concerning the Panasonic unit: does this just filter and recirculate the air or is there an exhaust function with outside air intake? I’m working on a similar project and examining the possibilities. 

[hawkeye5050]

Very cool. I have been thinking of doing the same thing and have almost the exact same current setup it my unfinished basement. Specifically the window/exit that would be in smoking room. Is that filter unit going to create negative air pressure in the room?  As I understand it that is the only way I can pull this off without the family smelling it.

[Cayman17]

1 hour ago, Neuralpath said:

Exciting project!

Question concerning the Panasonic unit: does this just filter and recirculate the air or is there an exhaust function with outside air intake? I’m working on a similar project and examining the possibilities. 

It will suck air from outside the house, because one thing you have to take into consideration is colder air coming into the room as you smoke, which reminds me I need to order an electric fireplace for the room. Anyone have a recommendation?  My friend said just order one off of Amazon.  

 

1 hour ago, hawkeye5050 said:

Very cool. I have been thinking of doing the same thing and have almost the exact same current setup it my unfinished basement. Specifically the window/exit that would be in smoking room. Is that filter unit going to create negative air pressure in the room?  As I understand it that is the only way I can pull this off without the family smelling it.

Yes it will create negative pressure. I was told the same thing by my friend who did this. As I understand it, as you increase the power (this unit goes up to 200 CFM) it will draw more electricity, due to the vacuum effect created by sucking air and smoke out of the completely sealed room.  This room has to be completely sealed because it is under the house and if there any gaps around the edges or under the floor, the smoke can seep into other rooms of the house. 

[hawkeye5050]

Please keep us posted so I can copy your good work 😀

[BrightonCorgi]

14 hours ago, Cayman17 said:

Yes it will create negative pressure.

Do you have an window on the other side of the room you can open as needed for an intake?  I usually open the window from the top in the winter as the cold air coming in is not as brutal. 

[Cayman17]

1 hour ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Do you have a window on the other side of the room you can open as needed for an intake?  I usually open the window from the top in the winter as the cold air coming in is not as brutal. 

No, there is only one window in the room, on the outer wall of the basement. My goal in buying such a large ventilator was to not have to open the window at all, summer or winter. The basement is cool year round, as it is a true basement (meaning it’s not a walk-out basement).  I didn’t want a walk out basement because I wanted a steady, cool temperature down there for storing wine (and it would have added $10,000 to the cost to construct the house).  

[MossybackR]

Great job on your project @Cayman17

[Connoisseur Kim]

What a fantastic home cigar lounge @Cayman17 👍! I wish that I have my own home cigar lounge too so that I can do more Kimfessions Cigar Review series with more ease.

[Cayman17]

Thank you all for the kind words. The goal here is to show the work in progress and give you an idea of the issues you encounter during construction and things to consider with your layout. I think that simply seeing a picture of the finished room doesn’t really convey the complexity of the project. I am jealous of people who can DIY these types of projects; I am not handy at all but I also didn’t fully comprehend the logistics of installing the ventilation system and what you really need to do to filter the air.  Even my general contractor took a look at the ventilator and said, “I’m getting an HVAC contractor in here to install this thing.”  I had no idea how much had to be done to prepare the room for cigar smoke.  

[Ford2112]

HVAC is complex. Really cool project and I will be looking forward to your progress.

[Cigar Surgeon]

I just completed a similar project in my new home and will be posting all the gory details shortly! 

[Cayman17]

This morning, the HVAC contractors finished what they needed to finish in order for us to spray the foam insulation into the room. The preliminary ductwork is complete, and it will be enclosed in a bulkhead after the insulation is completed. Here are the pics now that we are ready for insulation. 
The first pic shows the various ducts that have been installed above the far corner of the room where the ventilator will be mounted on the wall. They used flex material and tape to connect everything to avoid using screws.  The opening at the top right of the window will be an exhaust pipe, while the pipe to the bottom left of the window will pull clean air from outside the house. 

[Cayman17]

This photo shows the duct they installed that will connect to a return in the house. This will pump filtered air into the house.  It is not hooked up to the existing ductwork yet to avoid dust and other debris being sent throughout the house (because it is not yet connected to the ventilator).  Another pipe will be installed in the ceiling near the doorway shown here to pull smoky air out of the room.  So there will be one pipe pulling fresh air in from outdoors, one pulling dirty air out of the room, one shooting dirty air out of the house, and one pushing filtered air into the existing ductwork.  Insulation will be sprayed in four days, I will update as best I can this weekend. 

[TR]

Very cool!  Can't wait for the finished product!

[El Presidente]

..you can almost taste the draw of the first cigar! 

[Cayman17]

The closed cell foam insulation was sprayed into the walls and ceiling on Friday morning.  We had to leave the house for 24 hours to let the fumes subside; there were no ill effects when we returned on Saturday.  Just before they sprayed, my general contractor framed in the bulkhead that will hide all the ductwork. Here are some before and after pics showing the bulkhead before and after framing.  The general contractor plans to begin hanging drywall on Monday. 

[Cayman17]

After insulation was sprayed, it looks like this:

[Ford2112]

What is your plan with the flooring?

[Cayman17]

On 11/13/2022 at 3:54 AM, Ford2112 said:

What is your plan with the flooring?

I was told to seal the floor using an industrial adhesive spread across the concrete. I am still discussing with my contractor, though. He is busy installing drywall at the moment and I don’t want to bother him. They have hung a lot of drywall today, and are cutting the holes for lights and vents.  

[Cigar Surgeon]

14 minutes ago, Cayman17 said:

I was told to seal the floor using an industrial adhesive spread across the concrete. I am still discussing with my contractor, though. He is busy installing drywall at the moment and I don’t want to bother him. They have hung a lot of drywall today, and are cutting the holes for lights and vents.  

I used LVP (luxury vinyl plank) with an underlay. The LVP had a backing to it as well which provides some insulation and cushioning. Very durable and looks great.

[Cayman17]

I took a break from this thread over the winter during the deep freeze, and had some delays getting electronics installed, but this project is finished, and I am very happy with the results.