Advice on how to set up a temporary kitchen

silvercar

We are having our kitchen renovated, including knocking down walls etc so the whole kitchen is going to be out of action.

I plan to give the builders the outside door key directly to the kitchen and seal up the door between the kitchen and the rest of the house, to limit the dust.

I have a dining room that I plan to use as a temporary kitchen. I have ordered a 2 ring Hob and mini oven, plus I have a microwave. The fridge freezer should move to the hall. Any tips on how to set things up? I fear I will need to wash dishes in the bath upstairs. Only OH and I at home so no little ones running around.

Eldi_Dos

Paper plates and frequent use of the microwave will cut back on washing up. Not ideal but only for the duration of the work.

pramsay13

Eat out more. 
Order takeaway.
Order food boxes that only have the right amount of ingredients. 

ThisIsWeird

Buy a second hand dishwasher? Should be possible to plumb that in using suitable extension hoses pretty much anywhere. 

la531983

We had a slow cooker in the living room, and also tried to BBQ a lot. We also used the ring burner on the BBQ to attempt to make a pasta dish, that was fun. 

Mr.Generous

When the sink gets taken out I have set them up in the garden plumbed from an outside tap. Very handy for the builders too.

GDB2222

Don’t skimp on disposables. You can get really heavy duty stuff that people use when they invite a crowd for dinner. 

what are you planning to do for water to drink and cook with?

Teapot55

Don’t forget to take the kitchen bin out of the kitchen, plus a supply of bin bags, washing up bowl(s), bucket(s), cleaning materials, tea towels, recycling bin(s). 

When you’ve finished your meal, have a washing up bowl handy and pile everything into it to carry it to the bathroom. If you have a dish rack that will fit into the bath next to the washing up bowl use that or if not use a second washing up bowl or a plastic storage box. 

silvercar

GDB2222 said:

Don’t skimp on disposables. You can get really heavy duty stuff that people use when they invite a crowd for dinner. 

what are you planning to do for water to drink and cook with?

Was going to boil water from the bathroom tap? Is that safe. If not then we have an outside tap that I think is mains water as it’s back to back with the kitchen sink.

ThisIsWeird said:

Buy a second hand dishwasher? Should be possible to plumb that in using suitable extension hoses pretty much anywhere. 

We don’t have any other taps downstairs other than a very shallow sink in the toilet. Plus no drainage, I’d be worried with the outlet trailing through the downstairs. The utility room is going with the building works.

ThisIsWeird

silvercar said:

Was going to boil water from the bathroom tap? Is that safe. If not then we have an outside tap that I think is mains water as it’s back to back with the kitchen sink.

Yes, the garden tap should be - almost always is - from the mains, but do confirm.

Depending on the type of 'system' you have - eg is your boiler a 'combi' type, or is your hot cylinder unvented? - then you may have mains water coming out all your taps already. So, type of system?

silvercar said:
We don’t have any other taps downstairs other than a very shallow sink in the toilet. Plus no drainage, I’d be worried with the outlet trailing through the downstairs. The utility room is going with the building works.

I really mean that it can be set up just about anywhere - even in your hallway, garage, sitting room, outside shed (as long as it doesn't freeze)!

You have a downstairs toilet? In which case you'll have a water supply and a waste pipe there. It'll likely need T-piece additions to each, but that will 30 minutes of work. The DW can sit in the hallway. You can even get slimline models - local eBay or Fb Marketplace, and sell it on afterwards. I'd suggest that setting up a DW will take care of the single most awkward and unpleasant part of having to cope with these building works - just load it up and press a button - and at next-to-zero cost.

GDB2222

Maybe you could have a look at a camping shop website for ideas about making yourself comfortable. I assume this work will take a few weeks?

So, maybe a 10 to 20 litre water container with a tap. Set up above a large plastic container to catch the drips?