diff --git a/manifests/server.pp b/manifests/server.pp
index 6b81f39..d3e3942 100644
--- a/manifests/server.pp
+++ b/manifests/server.pp
@@ -122,7 +122,9 @@
   }
 
   # path for persistent data
-  file { "${redis_dir}/redis_${redis_name}":
+  # if we specify a directory that's not default we need to pass it as a hash
+  $directories = [ $redis_dir, "${redis_dir}/redis_${redis_name}" ]
+  file { $directories:
     ensure  => directory,
     require => Class['redis::install'],
   }