Welcome to the Rocky Mountain Barrel Company Blog! We are extremely excited to announce that we have been working on a one of a kind HUGE barrel project….
Email sweekes@rockymountainbarrelcompany.com for more info of this project and pricing!
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May 5th, 2012
IT’S OFFICIAL! An adventure that began seven months ago has come to a glorious finish!
This has been one of the most amazing projects we’ve ever taken on. And look at her! A thing of beauty and the only one in the world like it!
- French Red Oak staircase racking
- Floor track lighting with dimmers
- Steel-forged rack & cradle with locking wheels
- A custom-smoked plexiglass with tube lighting base
- 144 bottle capacity
While it’s sad to part with something we’ve worked so hard on for so long, for a limited time, RMBC is accepting offers for this wine barrel cellar. For more information, please contact Skyler Weekes at (720) 220-5184 or sweekes@rockymountainbarrelcompany.com
Thanks to everyone who helped and support RMBC with an effort only equaled in size by this barrel!
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April 30th 2012
Sorry for the delay in updating this blog – wow have we ever been busy! More pictures to come once we’ve finished but here is a shot from last night when we finished installing all the racks! They are all custom made french red oak drilled out to fit wine bottles perfectly. We slanted them back to go with the contour of the barrel.
For the last few days we have been trying to fabricate braces to allow straight track wiring into a curved wine barrel (not as easy as it sounds) while still making it look great. I think we did it!
New pictures below of us installing the smoked plexiglass lighting! Thanks to Daniel Madson for these great pictures!
The “Monster Barrel” as it’s been nicknamed, should be finished in 1-2 weeks!
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January& February 2012
OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE THIS AN AMAZING, TOP NOTCH CUSTOM WALK-IN WINE CAVE!!!
We’ve spent the last couple weeks getting this big guy back in shape. While the bands are extremely old they were originally constructed of the highest quality materials and therefore have stood the test of time quite well. They each weigh about 100 lbs each! The orange cones of the hoops are just plastic covers over the ends.
After we got the barrel as tight as possible our next challenge was to make a custom rack utilizing the original wood beams to get the barrel off the ground and make it mobile.
For this we hired a local Denver steel mill to make us custom steel rods, washers, and nuts. The barrel itself is well over 2,000 lbs so we needed some heavy duty stuff!
After we got the barrel up and off the ground we needed to get inside and see what awaited us! We cut out the door on the front barrel head and went to work! The oak on this barrel is incredibly thick! Over 3″ thick so this took quite some time..
The black on the interior walls is actually very old resin! Everything about this barrel is excellent! Just being able to walk around inside of a huge barrel from the 1900’s is a true gift.
After taking a few days off we went back at it installing the false floor..this was quite another challenge because the barrel is obviously round..but not quite equal on either side !
After we got the plywood in for the false floor I went out and picked up some beautiful red oak hardwood flooring!
Our idea for the wine racks is going to be a gradual stair step rack up the side of the barrel with the display bottle on top. We didn’t want the first bottle on the floor so we built bench like stands on both sides where the racks will start. We are really sparring no expense on this gorgeous barrel!
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December 2011
THE START OF AN ADVENTURE!
About three months ago I received an email from a gentlemen about two very large barrels that were recently found deep underground in an old abandoned brewery. He had purchased the building and wondered if I had interest in them. After seeing many pictures I decided it was a once in a lifetime kind of deal that couldn’t be passed up!
Transporting them to Denver was the hard part! There is no sure way to date these but everything points to that they were made about 1890-1910 in Europe. They measure 9′x8′6″x8′6″
The above image is us getting the barrels off the semi in Denver, Colorado. No easy task! The wood hadn’t been disturbed in 100 years so there was no way of knowing the condition of the wood.
1 barrel ended up being very damaged in transit (see below). The other came out perfect and will be our focus for the next couple months while we transform it into a beautiful wine cave. We can’t contain our excitement!
Below are pictures of the second barrel from the same era, sadly damaged in transit – not the best as these were taken on a cell phone is bad light. About five of the staves were broken and are only about half there. The hoops are all still there, but not attached. The head is in GREAT condition though and would make an amazing 9 foot diameter table! Wouldn’t it make an amazing focal point at a bar or restaurant? Barrel measures 9 feet diameter..about 8′5″ length. Since we can’t restore this barrel for use as a custom wine cave, we’re putting it up FOR SALE as is and asking $5,000 obo for the entire barrel. This is a terrific deal since the wood is in great condition and is over 100 years old (the dirt is only on the outside. Go 1/8″ in and it’s beautiful french oak).
If you’re interested in viewing the barrel in person and making a bid, please contact Skyler Weekes at (720) 220-5184 or at sweekes@rockymountainbarrelcompany.com