Revonia’s basement modular house has the characteristics of a traditional basement

Published in the magazine inkodu.ee on 29.03.2022

Are you the owner of a vegetable garden, a passionate gardener, or a hobby winemaker and you just don’t have a place to store all this good stuff? Nowadays, it is quite common that the only place to store things is the garage. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Cellars are rising into their former glory again. It’s as if we’ve come full circle back in time, where utility gardening and DIY are in vogue again. People enjoy the produce of their own gardens and the demand for homemade jam, cheese, wine, and beer continues to grow. It is both a hobby and a lifestyle, like owning a personal yacht or a luxury car.

The Estonian company Revonia has taken underground cellar construction to a completely new technological level. Based on old basement construction traditions, modern rural basements are made as a unique solution of monolithic concrete modules, just like modular houses.

According to Revonia’s marketing manager Helar Laur, the installation of such a compact ready-made basement modular house is quick and easy. Erection at the ordered location takes only 1 day, which ensures a great saving of time and installation costs because the vaulted house to be raised into the ground is already ready in advance.

The size of a monolithic concrete modular house is from 4.5 m² to hundreds of square meters. You can choose solutions with different sizes, room layouts, and styles.

The basement can also be combined with an antechamber or why not with a summer room and sauna. All modules can be combined in different ways.

The essence of a cellar

We have cultivated the tradition of cellars for centuries. In the sense of a country house, it is a practical and even indispensable comfort solution. Given that today none of us knows what will happen to energy prices.

In addition, the cellar is a very expressive garden design element, which is usually planned as a part of the landscape and matched with the architecture of other buildings. As the name suggests, the underground cellar is located inside the ground, under a soil layer. The whole secret lies in the fact that it is possible to use nature to your advantage. The ground surface regulates the climate in the basement.

The bottom of a traditional earth cellar is left relatively open so that the moisture released from the ground helps the vegetables to survive. All this also applies to the Revonia modular underground cellars, because the specially thought-out structural and construction technical solution completely preserves the characteristics of a traditional cellar.

The slope of the soil on the roof of the underground cellar is usually 45 degrees, on top of which a layer of soil with a thickness of approximately 1m is transported.

The soil is mostly covered with grass. If you want a very quick result, instead of growing grass from seed, you can also quickly lay down a ready-made roll-up lawn carpet. But why not also grow flowers, decorative pumpkins, or cucumbers that hang down effectively on the basement roof?

Vegetable cellar vs. wine and cheese cellar: technological peculiarities

Cellars intended for different purposes are distinguished according to the balance of humidity and temperature. To regulate humidity, different types of floors are used, which have either more or fewer moisture holes.

A traditional underground cellar is mostly used for storage and storage of fruits and vegetables, which requires a greater need for moisture, i.e. more contact with the ground.

The whole installation process is easy for the customer because there is no need to do the concrete pouring. To install a normal storage basement, you first need to dig a hole and fill its bottom with sand and 8-16 fractional crushed stone, on top of which the geotextile is finally placed. The basement building is simply raised there and lined with a layer of soil.

A special temperature is required for preserving, aging, and storing wines.

An ordinary country cellar is not suitable for this. The bottom of the wine cellar is poured concrete, with special air openings that regulate the airflow. If the wine cellar also has an antechamber, no moisture holes are made there. It is based on the construction requirements of the foundation and bottom insulation of an ordinary house.

The humidity and temperature ratio of the cheese cellar depends on the type of cheese for which the cellar must be suitable. Again, the appropriate balance is achieved with a special floor.
In certain cases, it is also necessary to use an air-source heat pump to play with the temperature.

The exterior of the underground cellar and other details

Revonia modular houses-vaulted buildings are made of solid concrete with reinforced insides. The building is protected from the outside with waterproofing, i.e. PUR foam, and the inside is finished with natural lime plaster. Such a solution regulates humidity well and also prevents mold and fungi.

Modular country cellar doors look exactly the same as they did 100 years ago. The basic selection includes wooden doors with fishtail grooves, but it is also possible to order with vertical and horizontal wood. Everything is handmade, and the nails and other forgings used on the doors are also handmade. The finishing touches are made to match the rest of the garden’s architecture, be it modern, classic, or historic.

Special shelves for storage, wine, glasses, etc. can also be installed in the basements. The shelves are also all 100% handmade.

Revonia – 100% made in Estonia

Revonia has been manufacturing high-quality and dignified vaulted buildings following the old basement construction traditions for almost 10 years. Our cellars, cave saunas, garden, and modular houses last for decades and are all works of art in their own right.

Low energy costs, close to zero maintenance costs, weather resistance, and timeless quality are the values that come standard with every Revonia building.

The company invests a large part of its resources in product development in order to exceed customer expectations again and again. The up-and-down moving Smartlift, which will soon be on the market, will be a complete revolution in the field of home comfort services, turning the everyday kitchen, office, or terrace into an eventful experience with just 1 push of a button.

To order a vaulted building, we recommend that the customer comes and sees the products. Of course, you should make an appointment, but that is the best way to get the best picture of the solutions offered by Revonia. Since these are still handmade products, the waiting line is quite long. But if you order in the spring, you will definitely have a new storage cellar in place by the fall.