How much does a walk-in cooler cost?

The cost drivers, one by one

For each choice: what it is, why it changes the cost, and the question to answer before you ask for a quote.

1. Size and height

You pay for panel, and panel means walls plus ceiling, not just floor. Raising an 8x10 from the standard 7 ft 6 in to 12 ft adds about 160 sq ft of wall panel without adding a single square foot of floor. Bigger boxes also need more refrigeration and, past a certain ceiling span, roof suspension.

Ask yourself: what footprint does your peak week need, and do you need extra height or just floor space? The walk-in cooler size guide walks through that math.

2. Standard size or custom

Our standard cooler packages (6x6, 6x8, 8x8, 8x10, 10x10 and 10x12, 7 ft 6 in tall, indoor, no floor, refrigeration included) are quoted as factory standard sizes. Changing the width, length or height reclassifies the box as custom and the price changes. Standard sizes are nominal: a standard 8x8 is quoted as 7'10" (8'0" nominal).

Ask yourself: does a standard size fit your room, or does the space truly need an L-shape, a notch around a column or a low ceiling? Compare the standard cooler packages and read kit vs custom.

3. Floor or no floor

A cooler can sit on your level slab, secured with a vinyl screed, or on our insulated floor panels. The floor adds a full layer of panel, raises the entry about 4 inches (which can mean a ramp) and can be reinforced with diamond tread plate or 3/4 inch marine plywood for heavy loads.

Ask yourself: is the box going on a level concrete slab, or over wood, an upper floor or unconditioned space? The floor or no floor guide has the decision rule.

4. Indoor or outdoor

Outdoor boxes get a rain roof unless you protect them another way, and they need outdoor refrigeration. They must also meet local wind uplift code: where required, a wall 9 inches higher than the walk-in or a roof wire strap system (not supplied by us), and in Florida possibly an engineer's calculation.

Ask yourself: is there truly no indoor room, and what does your local code require outdoors? See indoor vs outdoor.

5. Cooler, freezer or combination

A freezer costs more than a cooler of the same size (details in the next section). A combination cooler freezer shares a wall between the two rooms, so it uses less panel than two separate boxes, but it carries two refrigeration systems.

Ask yourself: do you need frozen storage now, or can it wait?

6. Doors

Our packages include a 34 x 76 inch door. Wider 48 x 76 or 60 x 76 openings, manual sliding doors and extra doors each add cost. A 34 inch door will not pass a 48 x 40 pallet, so pallet traffic forces a wider door.

Ask yourself: what is the widest thing that goes in, and do you need a second door? Larger options are on the doors page.

7. Glass doors

Each glass door is a heated, three-pane tempered door in its own frame, set into a wall opening made at the factory, with optional LED lighting and shelving. Each one also adds refrigeration load. The beer cave section below covers this in detail.

8. Panel finish

Standard skins are 26 gauge stucco-embossed Acrylume inside and out. White stucco-embossed galvanized steel or stainless steel skins can be quoted instead, and they add cost; stainless can be quoted on the interior only.

Ask yourself: does your inspector or cleaning routine call for stainless, or is it for looks?

9. Refrigeration type and horsepower

Options are a remote indoor condensing unit, a remote outdoor condensing unit or a self-contained system, including a drop-in through a factory ceiling cutout. Horsepower is sized from heat load (box size, product load, door openings, glass, ambient temperature), not floor area. A remote split also needs a refrigeration contractor, which belongs in your install budget.

Ask yourself: where can the heat go, and is there room for a condenser outside? Browse all 301 refrigeration systems with specs.

10. Voltage and phase

Smaller systems commonly run on single phase power; larger systems are often offered in three phase. Islands that run 50 Hz need 50 Hz equipment, which we quote.

Ask yourself: what electrical service does the building have? Check with your electrician before you ask for the quote.

11. Site specifics

Long ceiling spans need roof suspension (hardware included, cables or threaded rod not). A box with a floor may need an inside or outside ramp, and heavy carts call for diamond tread plate. Each is its own line on the quote.

Why a freezer costs more

A walk-in freezer costs more than a cooler with the same footprint, and every reason is physical.

• Floor always included. Concrete is not an insulator. Under a sub-freezing box, moisture in and under the slab freezes and expands, lifting and cracking the concrete and throwing the panels out of level. That is frost heave, and the insulated floor prevents it.
• Heated door frame. A 115 V perimeter heater wire keeps the frame from icing up so the door keeps sealing.
• Pressure relief vent. Installed in every freezer (115 V), so the door still opens after warm air that entered cools and contracts inside.
• Electric defrost. Freezer evaporators get electric defrost, a solenoid valve and a defrost timer, where coolers use air defrost.
• Bigger system for the same box. A standard 6x6 cooler carries 1/2 HP; a standard 6x6 freezer carries 1 HP. An 8x8 goes from 3/4 HP as a cooler to 2 HP as a freezer.

Standard freezer packages are specified at -10°F with the floor included. Sizes and specs are on the walk-in freezers page.

Glass doors and beer cave cost

Glass changes the math more than any other choice on a walk-in.

A plain wall is 4 inches of insulated panel. A glass door is a heated frame, three panes of tempered glass, lighting and a door customers open all day. Each of those adds heat the refrigeration has to remove, so glass raises both the box cost and the system size.

What we see in our beer cave quotes

We have quoted more than 650 beer caves. About 3 out of 4 have glass doors in the walls. The middle half of those quotes run 5 to 16 glass doors, with a median of 11, and about half are 8 ft tall. Floor area for the middle half falls between about 130 and 360 sq ft, median about 220.

What drives the cost

• Glass door count. Each door (24 x 79 and 30 x 79 inch are common) is its own line, with optional LED lighting and shelving.
• Entrance door. A walk-in beer cave usually takes a full glass 36 x 81 inch entrance door, single or double, in place of a solid door.
• Factory wall openings. Glass doors sit in panels cut and framed at the factory to your approval drawing.
• Layout. L-shapes, a beer cave with a freezer, or view windows add corners and panels.
• Refrigeration sized to the glass. Horsepower follows door count and traffic. Two boxes with the same footprint can need very different systems.
• Height. An 8 ft box carries more wall panel than a standard 7 ft 6 in box.

Layouts and options are on the display glass door walk-ins and beer caves page. For store planning, see convenience store walk-in coolers.

Costs that are not ours to quote

These belong to your site and your local trades, so line them up while you wait for our number.

• Installation labor. A standard box typically goes together in a day with two people and an Allen wrench, because the panels cam-lock together with no framing. Installation is not included unless your quote says so. See the installation guide.
• Refrigeration contractor. A remote split needs a licensed refrigeration contractor to run, evacuate and charge the line set. A self-contained unit is close to plug-and-play.
• Electrician. Circuits for the condensing unit, evaporator and light, plus the heater wire and relief vent on a freezer.
• Permits. Many cities require building, electrical or mechanical permits. Ask your local building department early.
• Level slab and site prep. A floorless cooler needs a level slab. An outdoor box may need a pad and a wind uplift wall or strap system.
• Island duties. We ship free to your freight forwarder. Import duties and taxes, where your island charges them, are paid on arrival at the island's rates. See the Puerto Rico and Caribbean guide.

What a standard package includes

When you compare quotes, check that both cover the same things.

Questions to ask of any quote

• Panels. What thickness and skin, and is there wood at the panel edge?
• Floor. Is a floor included, and is it insulated?
• Door. Which hardware, light and thermometer come with it?
• Refrigeration. What horsepower and refrigerant, indoor or outdoor, and is it matched to the box?
• Delivery. Is shipping included, and what about a lift gate?
• Condition. Is everything brand new, and what does the warranty cover?

How to get an accurate quote fast

The more of these you send, the closer the first number is to the final one.

1. Dimensions. Width, length and height you want, plus the route in: narrowest doorway, tightest hallway turn, lowest ceiling obstruction. The size guide helps.
2. Cooler, freezer or combination. And which side is which on a combination.
3. Indoor or outdoor. If outdoor, say so; see indoor vs outdoor.
4. Floor or no floor. And what the box sits on; see the floor guide.
5. Doors and glass. Number and size of doors, number of glass doors, and an entrance door if customers walk in.
6. Voltage and phase. What the building has, and 50 Hz if your island runs it.
7. Delivery address. Commercial or residential, lift gate needed, or your island freight forwarder. See shipping.
8. Photos. Upload them on the form or text pictures of the space to 954-237-6753.

Then send it through the quote form. We send back a real number, usually the same day, and a dimensioned approval drawing to sign before anything is built.