Pantry closets or cabinets, especially those with deep fixed shelves, can be inconvenient when it comes to storing food items. When pantry closet shelves are very deep, items stored in the back of a fixed shelf are difficult to see and reach. You can overcome this problem by replacing current fixed shelves with pull-out shelves. Does this Spark an idea?
Preparing the Pantry for Retrofitting
Remove the current shelves and any shelf supports inside the pantry.
Measure that portion of the pantry that is directly within the bounds of the pantry door opening itself. You need to be able to pull shelves out of the pantry closet area and into the room, so they will need to be the same width as the door opening. If parts of your current pantry closet are located inside either side of the doorway opening (and therefore can't possibly "pull out" through the door opening) this space will have to be sacrificed. If these side spaces are very large, however, consider remodeling the entire pantry closet so the door opening is much wider, otherwise you may have to sacrifice a lot of potential storage room.
Retrofitting for Shelves: Normal Approach
Determine how many new pull-out shelves you can create inside the pantry closet. Space shelves a minimum of 18 inches apart to allow for storage of tall containers. Use a level to mark these shelf locations on the inside walls of the pantry. If your pantry has no spaces on either side of the door, mark shelf locations on the side walls themselves; if this is the case, you can skip to Section 4. If your pantry has spaces on either side of the door, and you cannot make the pantry closet opening wider, proceed to Section 3 to retrofit this kind of pantry closet for slide-out shelves.
Retrofitting: Special Circumstance
Construct two side wall frames. Install these frames on either side of the open pantry doorway, inside the pantry, so the new pull-out shelves can be attached to these new "wall" frames (instead of the pantry walls proper). These frames will look like wall studs only the inner support "studs" will run horizontally up the inside of the framing, like ladder "rungs," rather than vertically like typical wall studs. Construct these frames using 2-by-4 inch lumber. Build them in a ladder shape with each "rung" placed where a pantry pull-out shelf should be located.
Test fit these wall frames inside the pantry. The "rungs" should line up properly with the shelf markings on the back wall and with each other. Make any adjustments necessary to achieve perfect level across the back shelf lines and the corresponding side shelf "rungs."
Install these wall frames inside the closet in the proper position on both sides of the inner door opening, and aligned with the back wall shelf markings. Screw the frames to the floor and ceiling of the pantry, and to the back and front walls.
Making Shelf Cleats
Measure the back wall shelf lines from side to side. This is your shelf width measurement. Cut 2-by-4 inch boards to this dimension, one per shelf, to create back wall "cleats." Mount these cleats to the back pantry wall using wood screws or screws and wall anchors (if mounting the cleats to a drywall surface). The top edge of the cleat should be flush with the top edge of any wall frame "rung," or any side wall shelf lines.
Cut more cleats for the side walls of the pantry if you're not using wall frames with "rungs" and mount them to the side walls.
Installing Pull Out Tracks
Measure the length of one of the side shelf rung/cleats. This is your shelf depth measurement. Use this measurement to purchase flush-mounted drawer guide tracks and wheel strut sets for each shelf. You will need two tracks and wheel sets for each shelf; most drawer guide tracks and wheel sets come in packages of two. Mount the guide tracks to the side shelf rungs or cleats as directed in the instructions.
Creating New Shelves
Make the new pull-out shelves. Cut ¾-inch-thick plywood or dimensional panel lumber to the size of your new pull-out shelves. The shelves should be the depth of the pantry from the back wall to the inside of the door opening minus ¾ inch for clearance when the pantry door is closed. The shelves should be the width of the pantry from wall to wall, or from "rung" to "rung" if you have built inside wall frames. Install a drawer pull on the underside of each shelf on the center front edge of the shelf.
Installing The Shelves
Install the corresponding drawer track "wheel" struts (which will come packaged with the drawer guide tracks) on the bottom of each shelf, on the left- and right-hand sides. Follow the installation instructions. When the two wheel struts are installed on the shelf, you should be able to insert the shelf wheels into the track on the rung/cleat so the shelf runs along the track smoothly. The back of the shelf should rest on the top edge of the back wall cleat when the shelf is in the "in" position.
Sand and paint or stain the shelves, and any other construction, to suit. When dry, insert the shelves into the tracks.
Tags: pantry closet, back wall, door opening, wall frames, pull-out shelves, each shelf, either side
