Pantry Project Progress

Lots of rainy days over the past several weeks has meant lots of indoor project days. After Dan replaced that first pantry window, it was time to take down the rest of the old paneling. That meant clearing out the pantry first. Fortunately, it’s empty jar season, where we’ve used up much of last year’s harvest preservation and before I start canning again. That made the job easier and faster. It was also a good time to dust the jars and check seals.

The insulation under the paneling was as you see it above, with the vapor barrier torn. Dan thinks it was probably used.

There was an empty gap around the window (expected), but we also found uninsulated gaps in other places, such as between the wall and cripple studs above the window. A number of the batts were cut short.

This is a shot of the uninsulated room corner. What you see between the stud and the corner is the exterior house siding. All of that plus the single-glazed windows explain why the room never felt well insluated.

We left the old insulation batts in place. One-inch foam board went up right over the studs. Next, the second window was replaced.

From the inside.

Dan uses canned foam around the window to fill the gaps and then covers it with window flashing tape.

The next step was deciding how to cover the foam board. Neither of us wanted to spend a lot on this project, so we explored all our options and ended up with the least expensive wall panels we could find.

It’s thin, which is okay for us because it’s going on top of the foam board which is a stiff surface. It’s light in color, which I like, especially for a room which will be kept as dark as possible.

Progress? Slow. Our weather forecast bounces back and forth between rain and sun, so we work outside when we can, and inside when we can’t.

Next time, I’ll give you an update on our solar-powered freezer and refrigerator.