How to Build a Pantry Closet
Every home feels more organized with a well-structured kitchen pantry. It's much easier to shop for food, plan meals and cook for family and guests if the pantry functions well. The purpose of a pantry is to store food in an open fashion where everything is easy to find. In building your pantry, allow enough space to install plenty of shelving and organizational bins and compartments, so you can view foods easily. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 2-x-4-inch lumber boards
- 3-inch nails
- Carpenter's leveling tool
- 1/2-inch drywall sheets
- Joint compound
- Nail gun
- Door jamb kit
- Threshold material
- 30-inch door
- Heavy-duty door hinges
- Vinyl flooring
- Paint
Instructions
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Design the space. Find an area that measures at least 6-x-6 feet for your pantry closet. Design the closet to have shelves along two sides from floor to ceiling with a central aisle to be used as a walkway. Leave about 30 inches for the central aisle, to provide adequate room for carrying in groceries for storing. Also, allow room for the door, which you will install in the front center of the pantry, so it's at least 30 inches wide, as well.
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Frame the closet. Mark off the ceiling perimeter with carpenter's chalk and a carpenter's square. Cut 2-x-4-inch boards and attach perimeter boards into ceiling joists with 3-inch nails. Check the ceiling or attic to make sure no electrical wiring runs across the places into which you are nailing. Build closet framework with studs placed on 18-inch centers to enclose the closet. Level all vertical wall framing with a carpenter's leveling tool.
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Finish the exterior. Nail 1/2-inch drywall sheets into place over the exterior of the closet. Finish with joint compound. Use a nail gun to install a door jamb kit and threshold. Hang the door on heavy-duty hinges to open outward. Engage an electrician to run wiring from the breaker box directly through studs so you can add a 110-volt electrical outlet and overhead light fixture.
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Finish the interior details. Lay vinyl flooring or linoleum inside the pantry closet. Drywall the interior of the closet and paint the closet interior fully before building stand-alone wooden shelves. Install wire shelving to hold bins for miscellaneous items on the interior of the closet door.
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Build organizational space. Construct shelves of 2-by-4-inch boards for two separate units to each fit along sides of the closet measuring 68 inches in length by 20 inches deep and 72 inches in height. Cover the shelves with ½-inch plywood. Paint the shelving and then glue on linoleum to form a slick finish, so the shelves will be easy to clean.
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Tips & Warnings
Add track lighting to highlight more interior areas of the pantry. It's easy to make a grocery list or select special foods for a meal if you can easily locate what you need. Good lighting is necessary in tracking how to place groceries in groups and categories inside the pantry.
Don't push heavier items, such as bins of potatoes or stored flour sacks, to the back of the pantry. Keep these items in the bottom section of the closet near the door. Otherwise, it's easy to overlook them, allowing them to decay, get old or attract insects or rodents. Avoid buying too many canned goods on sale that are already nearing expiration, because foods in metal cans don't have the shelf life of foods canned in glass jars.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit canned fruit image by dwags from Fotolia.com
