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Range At End Of Counter Run/Wall?

John Liu
14 years ago

I have a question about placing a range at the end of a counter run/wall.

My layout keeps evolving, but currently I plan a 36'' range with a steel 12'' filler cabinet (a bit of landing space with sheetpan storage below), between the side of the range and the end of the wall.

At the end of the wall, there will be traffic in/out of the kitchen. The filler gives me some landing space. People passing through will be separated from the side of the range, and from pots/handles/burners on the range, by the 12'' filler counter.

This is pretty much how the range is currently set up, and I've had no problem with elbows knocking into whatever is set on that filler.

But a 36'' range only has one oven, so to get a second oven I have had to plan a wall oven in the pantry wall. That wall oven will consume a chunk of potential pantry space, and really constrains the shelf/drawer sizes.

Now I am thinking about using a 48'' range with dual ovens. I'd eliminate the 12'' filler and bring the range right up to the end of the wall. This gives me two ovens and more pantry space, as well as two more burners.

People passing through will walk directly by the side of the range. I would add a sheetmetal fence/guard to that side of the range, to block pots from tipping off the end of the range, to prevent handles from protruding into the traffic aisle, and to shield passerby from the two end-most burners. I usually won't need to use those two burners, so they can function as landing space for the other six burners.

What do you think? I know we usually eschew placing ranges right at the end of walls and of counter runs, but I'm working with a fairly tight space here. Does this sound workable, or dangerous/ugly enough that I should revert to the 36'' range plan?

Comments (20)

  • John Liu
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I don't know if I wrote that clearly. The end of the wall is an ''outside corner'', if that helps.

  • palimpsest
    14 years ago

    I am usually pretty flexible about things but I would not recommend doing that.

    How are the ovens configured in the 48"?, aren't you generally ending up with two smallish ovens or one decent sized oven and one toaster slot of an oven? For my money I would go for the single large oven and have the secondary, less used oven elsewhere.

    I know I am curmudgeonly about the way I think people really cook day to day...but honestly I think four burners are adequate for the the vast majority of circumstances, and eight, especially with regards to your statement that you will never really use two of them, is excessive.

    Sorry, I think there has to be a better solution.

  • riskaverse
    14 years ago

    We've got what you are suggesting -- a range next to a doorway -- but not the double ovens. We have a 36" bluestar (6 burners, huge oven), next to a doorway that is essentially a main entrance into the kitchen. The range is probably 4-5 inches away from the actual doorway (2 inches from the doorway trim) and we haven't had any trouble with pot handles, people getting too close to a hot stove, people banging their heads on the vent hood, etc. It is actually nice if both DH and I are cooking that someone can have that side of the stove and the other person can have the other side. That said, the stir fry burner is next to that doorway, so we do get some grease spatters in that direction when stir frying (though it makes me realize that that grease goes somewhere if you had it on a different burner). In any case, I'd pay attention to where the highest power burners are (and perhaps see if you can move them if they are on that side), as well as look at how big of a venthood you'll be getting (we "just" have a 36" -- if we had gone bigger than the stove as is recommended, people might be bumping their heads as they come in there.

    We often use more than 4 burners, but never all 6. As a different issue, I wanted the big oven that comes with the bluestar, but now I'm not liking how long it takes to heat up the monster (we do a lot of pizza, so need to heat to a 500plus temp).

    Don't know if I've helped, but this is our experience.

  • John Liu
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Disfigurement of family members? No, I'm more worried about guests with lawyers.

    An alcove would be great - I like the way they look - but it really is a game of inches on that wall. The wall is just long enough for 48'' of range or range/filler, then a shallow cabinet run on the adjoining wall, and enough room for the drawers of those cabinets to fully extend. I'm not sure I have 4'' for the thickness of an alcove wall. But I will measure. Thanks for the idea.

    Yes, the 48'' has two ''space-saver'' ovens, and they're not even convection. That might, indeed, argue for a full-size range oven and a separate wall oven.

  • Gena Hooper
    14 years ago

    Have your guests sign a waiver before they enter your culinary domain. Adds an intriguing element of danger to your fetes.

  • flseadog
    14 years ago

    If you ever expect to have children in the house while you are cooking I'd say don't do it. As the old saying goes, "kids do the darn'dest things." You never know when one will be running full speed through that doorway and suddenly decide they want to fling out their arms right into a fully loaded hot pot of something that you are removing from the cooktop. This may sound like an improbable nightmare scenario but talk to any random pediatrician or ER doctor or nurse about treating burned children. Many functional reasons, as already noted, also exist for not doing this but even if you overcome the functional problems it still sounds like a safety problem to me.

  • kitchendetective
    14 years ago

    Aside from the observations already posted, there is a matter of how you feel in the space in which you cook: how do you manipulate pots, pans, and utensils; turn from the range toward sinks and supplies; hold your elbows with respect to the sides of your body when you move about the kitchen space? What makes you feel claustrophobic,etc.? I can't answer for anyone else, but I would feel uncomfortable in the set-up that you're contemplating. I tried to situate my range away from kitchen traffic as much as possible.

  • marcolo
    14 years ago

    As a side note, I am personally familiar with someone who was horribly facially disfigured as a child when a pot of boiling water, or possibly frying oil, he doesn't remember which, fell on his face. For that reason, no child is allowed in my kitchen while I have anything significant on the stove. Sometimes, lazy, bad parents try to lecture me about barking orders at their children who literally come to tug on my arm while I saute; I bluntly tell the parents to shut up or get out of my house, in no uncertain terms. That's how seriously I take these things, probably because of that one guy.

    Anyway, leaving the burn unit aside, and moving on from such downer thoughts: I understand you as an arm-flailing, knife-throwing, pan-banging lunatic in the kitchen, who sometimes views cooking as a battle, in which one's working space must constantly be protected against clueless snackers, chit-chatterers, and dalliers. How can you leave your left flank so nakedly undefended?

  • chris45ny
    14 years ago

    When we first moved into our new house 31 yrs. ago, the stove was at the end of a wall where there was an entrance into the kitchen from the hall. This was not the main entrance into the kitchen. Never had any problems cooking or with accidents, etc. Lots of little children around back then too.

    Now, with new remodel, have had DH shrink the hall entrance into the kitchen so now have small (10") landing space to the left of the stove. DH does all the cooking and thought I was crazy to have him do this but I must admit I like having this area, even though it's so tiny. Wish I had more room but that was the best I could get.

    So, have had it both ways and, in my personal opinion, I like having landing area on both sides of the stove. If you do the cooking do what feels right for you.

  • igloochic
    14 years ago

    It's a code issue in some areas...we had to have a 12" space between the range and the end of the run (which does end in a wall for us). I wouldn't change it for the world.

    For many reasons...safety, (I lost and uncle and dh lost an uncle due to boil burns way back when they were small children so we take it seriously as well). Think about it...there is a reason fireplaces in homes have walls on both sides...open flames and open air are not a good mix.

    Function....landing space, even small landing space is important on each side of a range.

    And form...it looks unblanced, and since you asked, yes I would say ugly especially with a guard on it. You might as well paint a sign on the open side of that guard that says "this is our forever home....we can't sell because of this range". Really...I would either offer you an incredibly low ball offer, or walk out immediately upon seeing something like that.

  • John Liu
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Many good points made here. I'm going to let my subconscious chew on this and it will let me know it's choice. That's how most major decisions get made around here - gather data and arguments, and then wait.

    Mind you, all thought of ''cooking'' has become purely theoretical in my house. SWMBO and I are now on a liquid aka cleansing regimen. Tummy woefully empty, I lay in front of the TV watching cooking shows. That's about it for the next couple of weeks.

  • marcolo
    14 years ago

    Liquid diet, watching cooking shows.

    Yeah, that was my mom, who died one year ago today. The best cook I have ever met: I'm not just saying that; she instinctively adjusted her baking recipes depending on whether it was raining, and used odd techniques that the CIA (the culinary one, not the spies) finally adopted fifty years later. She ended her life with an esophageal stricture; she, who loved foo d, could not ea t, could not drink, for an entire year. Fed by liquid through a tube in her stomach, she spent her days watching the Foo d Network.

    So, johnliu, cut the cr@p. There is a Talmudic saying that those who saw good fo od, and did not eat it, will have to make an answer for it. Appreciate what you have. You never know when you may lose it.

    I realize this post is not really appropriate for this forum, or for this question. I sincerely apologize for that, and your writing suggests you are someone I would personally like. Perhaps that's why I am cautioning you. And, anyway, today is That Day, and so, there it is.

  • John Liu
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    ''those who saw good food, and did not eat it, will have to make an answer for it.''

    I don't think I'll have much to answer for there!

    However, spring is coming, I'm seeing 50 y/o on the horizon, and I want to fit into my bikini this summer, figuratively speaking. So we're doing this for a couple of weeks, and then I'm going to give my new fish cookbook and my Greens cookbook, and my bicycles, a workout.

    No worries on appropriateness, I broached the subject after all.

  • kitchendetective
    14 years ago

    Marcolo is becoming my hero. For a lot of reasons.

  • User
    14 years ago

    Look, this would be a big NO if you were dealing with a simple consumer grade range. Considering you are going straight with an uninsulated true pro range, this thought should not even be entering your head. It's already going to be enough of a home hazard. Don't compound it. You can joke, but you could definately lose a lawsuit if that thing was positioned next to the door and burned someone.

  • chrisk327
    14 years ago

    I'm not sure I understand where this is. What I'm picture is that there is a range at the end of a run of cabinets with 1 12 inch cabinet between it and the doorway to the kitchen.

    I'm really unsure why that would be unsafe, or any more unsafe than having the stove anywhere else.

  • Buehl
    14 years ago

    chrisk327...No, there's no 12" cabinet...

    ...At the end of the wall, there will be traffic in/out of the kitchen. ...

    ...Now I am thinking about using a 48" range with dual ovens. I'd eliminate the 12" filler and bring the range right up to the end of the wall. ...

  • marcolo
    14 years ago

    Eeek! Sorry about that. Anniversaries can make one a little barky.

    Back to the topic: Have you thoroughly checked local code for residential use of a commercial stove? IIRC you did look into it already; are there any requirements regarding end-of-run placement?

  • Todd Baker
    2 years ago

    OK - this is an almost ancient thread - but it came up in a search I did looking for ideas for my kitchen... and had to drop in and say this is one of my main reasons to re-do my kitchen - over all workflow and this: "I understand you as an arm-flailing, knife-throwing, pan-banging lunatic in the kitchen, who sometimes views cooking as a battle, in which one's working space must constantly be protected against clueless snackers, chit-chatterers, and dalliers. How can you leave your left flank so nakedly undefended?" Ha Ha Ha!!!!! excellent visual @marcolo