Cigar Man Cave/Humidor

[filltang]

I'm curious if any of you have done this yourselves or know anyone who has? I won't be building a home for at least 5 years, but I'm already curious as to the logistics. Ideally, a separate room (maybe 500 sqft or so) as a smoking lounge/man cave, with plush leather couches, and possibly a built in humidor, perhaps built into the wall cabinet style? The little Google research I've done has said separate ventilation and special insulation is required to keep the smoke from permeating to the rest of the house - this would be my main concern as I wouldn't want to turn my entire house into a smoking lounge.

 

Would love to hear FOHers thoughts, thanks!

[stogieluver]

I took a 12’ x 12’ unused bedroom and installed a 140 cfm very quiet Broan exhaust fan above the smoking seating area and vented it outside through the ceiling. I crack open the door to the bedroom a couple of inches so the fan pulls in air from outside the room. Does a great job of clearing the room of smoke and keeping the smell contained in that room. 

[Derboesekoenig]

Check out mywalkinhumidor.com

He has put up plans and even broken down all the costs associated. Pretty cool

[filltang]

5 hours ago, stogieluver said:

I took a 12’ x 12’ unused bedroom and installed a 140 cfm very quiet Broan exhaust fan above the smoking seating area and vented it outside through the ceiling. I crack open the door to the bedroom a couple of inches so the fan pulls in air from outside the room. Does a great job of clearing the room of smoke and keeping the smell contained in that room. 

So the negative pressure created by the exhaust keeps airflow coming into the room and smoke from escaping through the door crack? Nice

[filltang]

3 hours ago, Derboesekoenig said:

Check out mywalkinhumidor.com

He has put up plans and even broken down all the costs associated. Pretty cool

This is pretty cool and informative, thanks!

[dominattorney]

I'm not sure the walk in humidor is your best use of funds.  I've looked around, and I can't see spending less than 3500 US on a walk-in if you're retrofitting a closet, and TBH it looks like it will run you closer to 5K to do it right--especially if you want a glass door, which you will, if you're going to want the walk-in at all in the man cave.  Seems to me money would be better spent on an Aristocrat, or 5K worth of nice cigars, but that's just my budget.

I have a walk-out ranch home with a basement great room that I slapped two 500 CFM in-line fans in.  Works amazingly well.  Like @stogieluver says, if you have a door open a few inches the return air ventilation is not an issue. 

[fitzy]

The one guy i know with a smoking room did the same as stogielover. Cut a hole in the ceiling and ran an exhaust fan out the side of the house but he did have a return in the room for the central air so he closes that off when he's smoking in the room. 

[tksamtec]

I mostly use my lounge in the winter months, but occasionally in the really warm or humid summer months too.  I spent a few weeks planning and several months building my cigar lounge and finishing my basement.  It uses its own heater, which "conditions" the outside fresh air it pulls in through the heating element.  Smokey air is exhausted through a different vent and the whole push pull concept of a blower works because the room is completely sealed from the rest of the house.  I have had up to 4 people smoking in the room (16x12) at the same time, and there has never been any issues with cigar smells outside the room.  When I am done smoking and leave the room, I leave the blower on medium to medium-high, and close the door.  I return in 30 mins to an hour and the room is cleared.  I also have a small desktop filtered air cleaner that runs 24/7, and gets any residual odors after I leave.  The room smells fresh and clean after an hour or 2.

Expect to spend $10-20k US, IF you do your own work and do things right.  I have dedicated heating, a seperate sub electrical panel for the cigar room, a 65" 4k tv, surround sound, UHD bluray, a fireplace, distressed hardwood flooring, and all dark cherry and dark leather furniture.

By default, my basement stays about 62 degrees year around, so I opted not to mess with an AC/inverter system, which would have added another 8k or so.  When its 95 degrees outside, and smoking for 2 hours, the room temp only increases by 2-3 degrees, so the AC is an added and unnecessary cost for the time spent in the room.

If anyone wants some ideas or 2 see what my finished lougne looks like, drop me a PM, and I iwll send you a link to my photobucket account with the pics. 

[jeremiep89]

This is my little pride and joy. I turned a 300sqrft shed into my man cave. It was bare bones before, I did all the electrical, insulation, glass doors and dry wall. It is fully ventilated with a 900cfm exhaust system, with 3 intakes. Heated with a 33000btu Natural Gas Space furnace with a thermostat. I also have a Rabbit Air Purifier. Full 7.1 channel surround sound, 50’’ 4K TV with full digital cable service. Wireless internet and everything, pot lights on dimmers! I really did everything I could and I love it. I did however try to keep half of it for some shed purposes lol.




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[Baccy]

JeremieP, is that your ole lady smoking a cigar? If so... lucky!

[filltang]

6 hours ago, jeremiep89 said:

This is my little pride and joy. I turned a 300sqrft shed into my man cave. It was bare bones before, I did all the electrical, insulation, glass doors and dry wall. It is fully ventilated with a 900cfm exhaust system, with 3 intakes. Heated with a 33000btu Natural Gas Space furnace with a thermostat. I also have a Rabbit Air Purifier. Full 7.1 channel surround sound, 50’’ 4K TV with full digital cable service. Wireless internet and everything, pot lights on dimmers! I really did everything I could and I love it. I did however try to keep half of it for some shed purposes lol.

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Very cool and unique how you made this half lounge area/half workspace. Pretty awesome

[filltang]

16 hours ago, dominattorney said:

I'm not sure the walk in humidor is your best use of funds.  I've looked around, and I can't see spending less than 3500 US on a walk-in if you're retrofitting a closet, and TBH it looks like it will run you closer to 5K to do it right--especially if you want a glass door, which you will, if you're going to want the walk-in at all in the man cave.  Seems to me money would be better spent on an Aristocrat, or 5K worth of nice cigars, but that's just my budget.

I have a walk-out ranch home with a basement great room that I slapped two 500 CFM in-line fans in.  Works amazingly well.  Like @stogieluver says, if you have a door open a few inches the return air ventilation is not an issue. 

 

Yeah, while walk in humidors are very cool, I would prioritize a smoking room over this. Ideally, I'd love to have a cabinet with windows built into the wall of this room, as my humidor. I guess it would also depend on how many boxes I wanted to store/display.

 

Ah well, for now, my backyard will suffice. I anticipate at the earliest 5 years to begin my new build, so I have plenty of time to plan (and daydream).

[jeremiep89]

JeremieP, is that your ole lady smoking a cigar? If so... lucky!

Sure is


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[dominattorney]

I'm gonna have to get some photos of my place up this evening, though I think @jeremiep89 has got me beat. 

[havanaclub]

Jeremie is my hero!


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[jeremiep89]

 
Very cool and unique how you made this half lounge area/half workspace. Pretty awesome

Thank you, yes I did not want to take that away!




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[HabanosNJGuy]

Before I finished my basement, I knew there would be a separate room from my office.  I decided to turn it into a smoking lounge.  I had an in line duct fan (~900 cfm) for exhaust put in.  A separate duct for return air with a duct heater.  I use a rabbit air to help clear the air.  With all this, I found a scented candle works surprising well to eliminate any lingering odors.  When everything is running, my wife and daughter will come into the room while I'm smoking and not complain about smoke, odor, etc. (And they do not like my hobby at all.)

The following was my inspiration for the project: https://player.vimeo.com/video/14319197.  This guy used to have a website with detailed plans, list of equipment with prices and vendors.  However the website seems to be down.  If you google his name (Ryan Deyer), you may find more information.

[jfire]

 

 

Been 6 years already. I wish I got to enjoy it more.....

 

 

 

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[Cayman17]

I really need to finish my basement 

[mtd057]

On 7/23/2018 at 6:05 PM, jeremiep89 said:

This is my little pride and joy. I turned a 300sqrft shed into my man cave. It was bare bones before, I did all the electrical, insulation, glass doors and dry wall. It is fully ventilated with a 900cfm exhaust system, with 3 intakes. Heated with a 33000btu Natural Gas Space furnace with a thermostat. I also have a Rabbit Air Purifier. Full 7.1 channel surround sound, 50’’ 4K TV with full digital cable service. Wireless internet and everything, pot lights on dimmers! I really did everything I could and I love it. I did however try to keep half of it for some shed purposes lol.




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Beautiful set up!  The Dolphin helmet is an especially nice touch!!

[renos]

On 7/23/2018 at 1:19 PM, tksamtec said:

I mostly use my lounge in the winter months, but occasionally in the really warm or humid summer months too.  I spent a few weeks planning and several months building my cigar lounge and finishing my basement.  It uses its own heater, which "conditions" the outside fresh air it pulls in through the heating element.  Smokey air is exhausted through a different vent and the whole push pull concept of a blower works because the room is completely sealed from the rest of the house.  I have had up to 4 people smoking in the room (16x12) at the same time, and there has never been any issues with cigar smells outside the room.  When I am done smoking and leave the room, I leave the blower on medium to medium-high, and close the door.  I return in 30 mins to an hour and the room is cleared.  I also have a small desktop filtered air cleaner that runs 24/7, and gets any residual odors after I leave.  The room smells fresh and clean after an hour or 2.

 

 Are you using a heat recovery system to heat the intake of fresh air or a separate fan and duct heater?

On 7/25/2018 at 1:36 AM, HabanosNJGuy said:

Before I finished my basement, I knew there would be a separate room from my office.  I decided to turn it into a smoking lounge.  I had an in line duct fan (~900 cfm) for exhaust put in.  A separate duct for return air with a duct heater.  I use a rabbit air to help clear the air.  With all this, I found a scented candle works surprising well to eliminate any lingering odors.  When everything is running, my wife and daughter will come into the room while I'm smoking and not complain about smoke, odor, etc. (And they do not like my hobby at all.)

The following was my inspiration for the project: https://player.vimeo.com/video/14319197.  This guy used to have a website with detailed plans, list of equipment with prices and vendors.  However the website seems to be down.  If you google his name (Ryan Deyer), you may find more information.

The Ryan Deyer video is really good, unfortunately the website is no longer available.  

Are you using an additional fan for fresh air intake with the duct heater?  

What duct heater are you using and how is it set up?

Is this set up still working out well for you?

[renos]

Here's another great build video on youtube

EricJamesGrooms

This guy breaks it down really well.  When I'm ready I might use the fan he has, seems to work great

[Timothy556]

2 hours ago, Yellot00tr said:

because I don’t go to that house much

This is your answer, just have multiple homes. 

[The Squiggler]

8 minutes ago, Timothy556 said:

This is your answer, just have multiple homes. 

I like to build two at each location, a smoking home and a non-smoking home

[tksamtec]

On 2/13/2020 at 11:10 PM, renos said:

 Are you using a heat recovery system to heat the intake of fresh air or a separate fan and duct heater?

The Ryan Deyer video is really good, unfortunately the website is no longer available.  

Are you using an additional fan for fresh air intake with the duct heater?  

What duct heater are you using and how is it set up?

Is this set up still working out well for you?

Yes, the room is 100% sealed and the large fan works as a fresh air exchanger.  The fresh air, coming in from the outside, passes over my heater coils, which can be on or off, depending on outdoor temp.  The air is then "conditooned" or warmed. if needed.  For small increases in temp, I have electric baseboard heating available as well, and those stick heaters can heat the room up 15 degrees in about 5-10 mins.  My system uses 1 large squirel cage vent fan.  As long as the room is sealed, anything sucked out, will be replaced by fresh incoming air, based on simple physics priciples.

I have had as many as 4 people in the room smoking at the same time (I have 2 ducts for outgoing air, 1 for incoming)... I have never had any issues with residual smoke or odor.  When I get done smoking, I leave the vent/fan running for 15-30 mins and when I revisit the room later, it is fresh and clean smelling. I always remove any ashtrays or clean up any ashes from the room the saem evening. So, yes, the room's current design is working out fine.  I never really intended to host poker night in the room, and 5-6 poker players smoking at the same time may be a bit much for the ventilation system.

I did add a seperate eleectric subpanel for the room additions which made it very easy to do electrical upgrades and changes during the build.  The panel is located about 8 feet from the room in my stoarge area.

As far as fan size, I want to say I used a 1200cfm fan, and the heater which is probably oversized for what I need in this room, is a 14.4kV.  I can get the heat up 15 degrees in about 5-10 mins, if I need to.