Advice on how to set up a temporary kitchen

ThisIsWeird

Where is your dining room in relation to your downstairs loo, and existing kitchen - do you have a plan drawn for this work?

silvercar

ThisIsWeird said:

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.

Two boilers, one combi that serves what was an extension - old utility room and en-suites. Condenser boiler with tank serves the kitchen and main bathroom.

running a dishwasher into the sink in the downstairs toilet would mean keeping its door open all the time. I think our current fridge freezer is going to have to go in the hall as it’s unlikely to fit through any door.

in layout terms, the kitchen and utility room that are being combined are at the back of the house, dining room and toilet at the front.

silvercar

ThisIsWeird said:

Where is your dining room in relation to your downstairs loo, and existing kitchen - do you have a plan drawn for this work?

Yes, structural engineer has drawn plans and submitted building control with the council. What I thought was simply removing stud walls that cut the utility room out of the kitchen turned out to be having a corner support holding up the house! A couple of RSJs going in there and another to take out what was originally a chimney break that had been turned into a frame for a display cabinet is also going with another RSJ. 

YoungBlueEyes

Things I would be considering - if the hob and oven are to sit on a nice dresser/sideboard/dining table, what about heat protection? And what about a temp splashback if the hob is against a wall? Can these things all go next to each other off one socket or is it safer to space them out round the dining room so they've their own socket? If appliances are gong to be spaced out does the dining table want budging up a bit so you've room to swing round holding full plates or hot pans or whatever? 

I wouldn't be buying paper plates if you've all your crockery and cutlery sat there in boxes, I'd use it and wash it up in a bowl sat in the bath. I'd only be dong it once a day too, after dinner. 

It's a bit like moving house. You think things should go in certain places but when you starting living among it things migrate to their 'proper' homes  

Edit - also, ventilation. Is there a socket under or very near a window so any steam from the pots can get out and away? Where are the extension cables I know I must have somewhere cos I keep buying them ha haa! 

[Deleted User]

pramsay13 said:

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

That's taking the non money-saving route isn't it ?

J63320

I’ll be doing this next month. Very grateful for other posters’ suggestions.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned (unless I’ve missed it) is floor protection in case of spills. I looked at that sticky-backed stuff builders use, but if it’s down for more than a couple of weeks it makes the carpet sticky, so I’ll be buying a few metres of PVC tablecloth fabric.

Eldi_Dos

@silvercar
    One thing to have checked by a electrician is can the circuits in your dining room take the extra load.
    Think, cooker on, ironing being done and switching kettle on, will the circuit take all that.

silvercar

J63320 said:

I’ll be doing this next month. Very grateful for other posters’ suggestions.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned (unless I’ve missed it) is floor protection in case of spills. I looked at that sticky-backed stuff builders use, but if it’s down for more than a couple of weeks it makes the carpet sticky, so I’ll be buying a few metres of PVC tablecloth fabric.

We have original wood flooring in the dining room, so as long as we wipe up and don’t get it too wet we should be fine.

Eldi_Dos said:

@silvercar
    One thing to have checked by a electrician is can the circuits in your dining room take the extra load.
    Think, cooker on, ironing being done and switching kettle on, will the circuit take all that.

Ironing is going upstairs in a spare bedroom, If I can’t get my washing done, there won’t be much ironing! This is a major concern, how will I manage without my washing machine. I’m hoping they will be able to make a hole in the wall between the current utility and garage and plumb it through there, but I’m not optimistic. A motorway service station near me has an outside PAYG massive washing machine, I guess designed for truckers, I wonder if that would be worth a visit. 

gwynlas

Clear dining room of any unnecessary furniture. Set up a food preparation and washing up area by using pvc cloth or small tarpaulin over sideboarrd or dining table. Washing up in a hand basin is hard work as is carrying crockery and pans up and down stairs,. Buy yourself a couple of washing up bowls and buckets and wash up in dining room using second bowl as drainer getting hot water by boiling kettle. you can empty dirty water into bucket and tip down drain or downstairs loo. Think of it as old style living where kitchen table, cooker, sink and draining board were all most people had

Eldi_Dos

@silvercar
   Look for a laundrette that does service washes, drop off in the morning and pick up in afternoon all dried and folded.
   One possible drawback with using the PAYG is guys with dirty jobs could be using it for work clothes and overalls.

  Your concern about using water from bathroom is one I would share, although safe I would buy in large bottles of          water, if bought in bulk the weekly cost will not be to much.