Advice on how to set up a temporary kitchen

ThisIsWeird

silvercar said:

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.

The taps being supplied by the combi will be delivering fresh water.

With the other boiler/system, it depends on the type. Obviously it will be fresh mains water at the kitchen tap. Q - when you turn on a cold tap in the main bathroom, does it gush with as much power as the kitchen cold tap?

Anyhoo, that is largely by-the-by.

For cooking, you can do anything with a combi microwave and an air-fryer :-) I would suggest not boiling anything, and certainly not open-frying anything! With these two devices - the CMO & AF - smells and steam will be minimal.

Taking dishes up to your bath is fast going to be a pita. I'd recommend pouring the basin contents down the loo, and not the bath waste. Of course you can take care of your dishes this way, but why the hell would you want to?!

With all the work you are having done, it would take very little to run the two required pipes - a 15mm supply, and a 22mm hose - to suitable points for a DW. Or, you could run them to points when required, and disconnect them when not in use. Or, drill a couple of holes through a wall! There will be a lot of filling and plastering at the end of this project in any case...

Almost certainly you can sit a DW somewhere, with minor issue. But obviously it's entirely your call :-)

ka7e

I set up a temporary kitchen in similar circumstances and bought a cheap 2-ring induction hob and used my existing combination oven. We ate quite a few ready meals out of the original containers, but I did manage a full roast dinner on a couple of occasions! I now have an air-fryer and an electric pressure/slow cooker and they would have been great additions at the time. We had already set up a utility area in the integral garage so got fresh water from there and also washed-up in the utility sink. Freezer and washing machine also in the garage, but it meant a trek across the building site that eventually became our permanent kitchen.

maman

Thanks for the thread as we, too, will be in a similar position but it's some months down the line. Our plans to open existing kitchen into a new extension (to replace existing conservatory) have only just been passed. Downstairs cloakroom is to be turned into walk in larder so water supply will only be upstairs. 

We are in fortunate position of having DD living nearby so I'm not concerned about washing. I plan to move freezers and microwave into dining room and freeze as many HM ready meals as possible in advance. I've been dithering about an air fryer for ages so will definitely buy one and get familiar with it. I'm not ruling out going to the pub either! 🤣

silvercar

Unfortunately all the water and drainage is at the back of the house, whereas our dining room and downstairs toilet is at the front. So running water from the kitchen is going to be impossible.

GDB2222

How long is the work scheduled to take?

ThisIsWeird

silvercar said:

Unfortunately all the water and drainage is at the back of the house, whereas our dining room and downstairs toilet is at the front. So running water from the kitchen is going to be impossible.

Clearly not 'impossible' But obviously you know better than me what is too awkward.
The DW can't be positioned at the rear?
If you are 'happy' to wash up in the bath, then of course that's fine. A couple of pointers; watch out for your plastic basin scouring the bath surface (grit can become embedded in the basin bottom), and dispose of dirty water down the pan.
Good luck with the project

silvercar

Im not sure if this idea is stupid or sensible: we have en-suites to use, so we could make the main bathroom a temporary kitchen. Obviously not using the toilet for the duration, it would mean we have water on tap, good ventilation and no soft furnishings to avoid smells. The spare bedroom next to it could be used for extra surface area and storage and we could run a decent extension lead from the landing into the bathroom with it being a tripping hazard. 

It sounds a bit yuck to cook in a bathroom, but we wouldn’t be using it as a bathroom at all.

YoungBlueEyes

Oh aye, much better idea imo for exactly all the reasons you've listed. This is gonna be 'put your big girl/boy pants on and crack on with it' no matter which way you configure it. A bathroom is more kitchen-like than a dining room so I'd definitely do that. Poss make the spare bedroom a dining room too, depending how far the muck and dust travels from the kitchen..? Would save travelling up and down the stairs with plates etc too. 

silvercar

YoungBlueEyes said:

Oh aye, much better idea imo for exactly all the reasons you've listed. This is gonna be 'put your big girl/boy pants on and crack on with it' no matter which way you configure it. A bathroom is more kitchen-like than a dining room so I'd definitely do that. Poss make the spare bedroom a dining room too, depending how far the muck and dust travels from the kitchen..? Would save travelling up and down the stairs with plates etc too. 

Thanks for the reassurance. I intend sealing the door between kitchen and hallway and directing the workman to use the kitchen back door. So hoping not too much dust enters the house. 

casper_gutman

We setup our temporary kitchen in the dining room, as we didn't want to have to carry hot food down the stairs, but I can see the appeal of cooking in the bathroom. We did have to wash up in the bathroom for a few weeks, and a really important thing to save our backs was finding something of a suitable height to support a washing up bowl. A camping kitchen stand worked well.