Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
breezygirl_gw

How wide is door on your small corner pantry?

breezygirl
13 years ago

If you have a small corner pantry (not a huge walk-in), how wide is the actual door slab? 24"? 30"? Do you wish you'd made it wider than you did?

Comments (14)

  • threebees
    13 years ago

    Ours is 28 inches. Seems perfect to me but I don't think a couple of inches either way would make much difference.

  • breezygirl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks threebees! How wide is the actual diagonal wall that the door is on? I'm trying to get a sense of how much wall space (if any) is needed and how much framing space is needed. The diagonal opening on my plan is 30", but I know that won't be enough for door, plus frame, plus whatever else is needed.

  • rhome410
    13 years ago

    Mine isn't diagonal, but 28" also. I don't think I'd want smaller. With the part of the casing that the door bumps against, the opening is just over 27". I'd guess the rough opening must've been about 29 or 29 1/2"....Plus doubled studs on each side means you need about 36", overall, for a door. (This is answering other post and email questions all at once!)

    Breezy, if you put in a door, since your angle isn't a true 45-degree diagonal, I might pull out the right wall and make it rectangular...if it doesn't foul up the aisle.

  • chiefneil
    13 years ago

    I have a gate rather than a door. I just measured it at 26.5" for the actual gate part. The metal frame is 1.25" more on each side, for a total opening of 29.5" for the gate+frame. That doesn't count the woodwork in the photo below, though.

    I've never felt like it was a tight fit, although I do wish the pantry itself was larger. I dressed it up to look much larger and more substantial than it actually is.

  • threebees
    13 years ago

    My diagonal is 37 inches. The same as puppeez.

    Here's a pic:

  • bmorepanic
    13 years ago

    It isn't quite that simple. The walls have dimension and the outside measurement is longer that the inside measurement.

    The corners turn out to be almost solid wood and then you need another 2 x 4 next to it for the required header and to pass code. In your case, the corners are different sizes because of the slant. Both of the short walls should stick out a bit from the counter - let's say they are both 27" long. The more they "stick out", the closer the two corners get to each other.

    So lets say you have 3" of corner on one side and 4" of corner on the second side on the outside of the wall and zero inches for both on the inside of the wall. Instead of the largest door unit you can fit in a 30" opening (28"), you'll need the largest door you can fit in a 26-28" opening (2" less than the opening size).

    If you care that the trim matches your other door trims, you may need to increase the amount of wall on the outside of the angled wall to a minimum of your trim width plus about 1/2". That would decrease your available opening by another 3 inches to 23-25".

    The little finished opening on mine is 26". If you look close, you can see that carpenter dude blew off centering the opening in the wall.

    Can I sell you a 3 x 5 interior pantry with the long wall on the dining room side, move the oven beside the ref? Only takes a rectangle about 42" by 66"?

  • breezygirl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Threebees--thanks for measuring and including a great pic of your kitchen. I haven't seen your gorgeous granite in quite a while!

    Puppeez--Appreciate all of your measurements. I'm sensing a 36" theme going on.

    Rhome--I'll be doodling on the graph paper again tomorrow based on your suggestion and others from my "doorless pantry" thread.

    Chiefneil--I had forgotten about your beautiful pantry! Your finishing touches are incredible. How big is your actual pantry inside?

    Bmore--Yours is the one I KNEW was doorless. Thanks for chiming in. I knew it wasn't nearly as simple as I was hoping. I'm interested in my kitchen NOT construction! ;) But they go hand-in-hand in this case. I had to look hard to see dude's error.

    I'm open to moving ovens. You could sell me on a 3'x5' interior pantry, but I don't want to loose the 12" of storage on the dining room side behind the pantry. Is there a way to do that?

  • bmorepanic
    13 years ago

    With or without door.
    {{!gwi}}

  • chiefneil
    13 years ago

    Breezy, my pantry is a very small slice of pie inside. The walls meet at a 45 degree angle, so count your bleesings! With the sharp angle, I can only stand just inside the doorway facing forward. If I need something towards the back I have to squeeze in sideways.

    The shelves on the left side are 11" deep, the ones on the right side are 23" deep. Total length is about 6' from the front to the back wall.

  • breezygirl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Chiefneil--you're right about it looking bigger than it is!

    Bmore--Thanks for the visual. I only see 6" of DR side storage behind pantry. Is that right? Hmmm.... I'll need to think on this today. As for that pinch point, I could shrink the island a tad (maybe 6"), which would help. I could get a door with this kind of pantry. That would make DH happy.

  • rhome410
    13 years ago

    I love it...but would keep the shelves to an L shape inside the pantry.

    As long as you could keep that 'pinch point' to 36" and no less, I wouldn't worry about it being too tight.

    Maybe the pantry could be flat framed to gain more room behind it? With flat framing the front and back, you regain 3", so maybe if you could deal with the pantry at 27" deep, you could get your whole 12" back for the dining area.

  • breezygirl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Bmore's plan is growing on me! My baking area then moves back to the island. Where would KA mixer go? Next to fridge on the counter?

    I like the idea of flat framing, but I'm confused how it would related to a pocket door. I guess I see a pocket door with this plan and not one that opens into the room. Am I wrong?

  • rhome410
    13 years ago

    THe baking area is still there! It is still close enough to the oven.

    No pocket door in flat framing, so you might have decide between the pocket door and the inch and a half you'd save with flat framing...an inch and a half isn't a lot to give up the pocket, IMO, but it's your kitchen! ;-)

    Or, there might be a door you could put on a track inside the pantry that isn't enclosed in a pocket?