Converting cold cellar to fishroom

[themaddhatter]

I have a coldroom under my porch in my new home that is around 15' x 8'. I want to finish it and convert it into a fishroom. Has anyone here done this before? I live in Guelph, Ontario, btw.

[NanoReefWanabe]

i am sure it has been done...hopefully it is a fairly new home that has the proper water proofing done to the exterior of the foundation walls...

you will obviously need to plug the vent, or use it to vent when you need it, either way it will need to be closed.

you will obviously need to insulate the walls...(New OBC requires insulation to the floor) also need a vapour barrier. you may want to consider bringing a heat run into it as well.

the door should already be a fire rated exterior door with a full weather seal...you can convert this to a standard interior door once the room is insulated and heated.

after that it is a matter of green board, mud, tape and tile...depending how close the cold cellar is to your sanitary sewer line you may want to consider breaking the floor and adding a floor drain too. heck then you could also plumb in a sink area too...(if you add a sink make sure you add a primer tube to keep the "P" trap full. a sink and a drain would make regular maintenance a snap...

i think it is a great use of an otherwise wasted space...

[themaddhatter]

The room has five vents (4"). I was planning to use two to vent exhausts, one for the room and one for the tank canopy. I'd block the others with expansion foam. The house is about a year old right now. I have the foundation wrapped with dimple wrap. The sump is in the coldroom as well. My sanitary lines are too far away to conveniently extend but the furnace room is around the corner and I'll be putting a laundry sink in there for maintenance. It shouldn't be more then 20 ft or so away.
I was thinking to stud the walls in 2x4 and ceiling in 2x6, with fiberglass insulation and vapor barrier. Im going to hook up the exhaust fan and a portable dehumidifier to a humidistat. Air intake will be in the door (equivalent size to exhaust and with damper doors). My hydro panel(200A) is right outside the coldroom so power won't be an issue. I'll probably do electric baseboard heat for that room though instead of adding a heat run.
I wasnt planning to insulate the floor though.. Loose too much headroom.. Also worried about the weight of the tanks.

[NanoReefWanabe]

no need to insulate the floor...just the insulation on the walls has to got to the floor...old code allowed the insulation to stop at 4' below grade..

the rest of your plans sound good to me...