Home Improvement Bleg — Now With Picture!
So I’m in the process of a (protracted) kitchen remodel. The big thing is that I’ve turned an old external-storage-room-cum-pantry into a utility room, and moved the washer and dryer from the kitchen into that room. This leaves a large open space in the kitchen where the washer and dryer used to be. My intention is to put additional cabinetry there for storage, but because of the washer and dryer, the space is already plumbed with hot and cold water as well as a drain (all currently capped, since they’re not in use). It seems a shame to waste that plumbing. This plumbing is a little less than four feet away from the kitchen sink, but it independent of that. I’ve got a slab foundation, with no basement or crawl space, so plumbing is rather like gold in my house.
So my question to the bloggy masses is this: What to do with that plumbing? My ideas so far are these:
- Install a small bar sink
- Move the dishwasher there, and attach it to that plumbing
- Clean it up, but leave the washer/dryer hookup there, in case for some bizarre reason some future homeowner might want to move the washer and dryer back.
- Hell with it, just cover over the whole mess with sheetrock and call it good
- Something else, that I just haven’t thought of yet
Thoughts?
UPDATED: Lookie here, a picture!
You can see the space we’re talking about in the picture. The old washer/dryer plumbing is all the way to the left (partially blocked by plywood), just inside the doorway to the dining room (which, for what it’s worth, is small: 10’x11′). The distance from the edge of the existing sink to the edge of the opening for the w/d plumbing is 44″. Everything in that space can be moved/replaced/whatever (except for the Champagne of Bottled Beers, which my wife and I shall consume forthwith).
Yes, I know the kitchen is filthy, and yes I know that the floor is hideous. (Although I did do the dishes shortly after taking the picture.) It’s my full intention to do a gut remodel when finances allow. At this point, we’re just in the ideas & preliminary design phase.
Oh, and speaking of things not to be wasted, you’ll note the power outlet there — it’s a dedicated 110V outlet for the washer. Obscured from view by the microwave is a dedicated 220V outlet that had been used by the dryer. Be a shame to waste those power drops, too, although I have no earthly idea what I might do with them.
December 29th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Ice Machine and sink for wet bar.
December 29th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Just let the government do it. You wouldn’t want to be a free-market ideologue, would you?
December 29th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
What’s the first thing you see on a home listing? Bedrooms and bath counts.
Stick a shower in there. It’ll attract more buyers if you ever need to sell the place.
December 29th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
A small bar sink, but also split the cold water to a plumbed-in espresso machine (or split the hot water, if you can get a machine with a filter that works with hot water).
December 29th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Obviously, that’s the spot for the combination ice maker/kegerator/reloading bench.
If you add a small refridgerator, a toilet, and a BBQ grill, you need never move from that spot again.
🙂
December 29th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
A deep sink–think laundry tub, but nicer.
December 29th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
A prep sink for cleaning foods (http://www.us.kohler.com/tech/products/kitchen/prepsink.html)
December 29th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
A decontamination station for visitors, to include a de-gowning area, a multi-nozzle shower with autowash cycles, an airlock into the kitchen, and clean clothes for those who undergo the treatments. Sort of like Level I on “Andromeda Strain.” Add an antibiotic spray, like chlorine gas, or a “bleach” cycle on the shower nozzles, and those who survive will be all the better for it.
Or just go for the deep sink. That would be good, too.
December 29th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Prep sink and hooks on the ceiling for skinning deer.
Hmm, maybe a curtain, too.
December 29th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Oooh, I like the prep sink idea!
December 29th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Prep sink with a dishwasher underneath, out of the major traffic lane?
The golden (or Bermuda) triangle is the apex-line between the sink, stove, and refrigerator – that’s your high-traffic path/activity area. Draw a line connecting those three things and see where you can put useable counterspace (and tool-storage) outside that, so someone else can do something useful without interfering with the other person’s efforts/movement.
We have a small kitchen and a major issue with counter-space. Our high-activity line happens to fall into a corner that includes the drawer with most-used kitchen tools, not so great – but since it’s a condo we can’t really shuffle things majorly, like open up a wall.
December 29th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Deep sink or dressed up utility sink, especially if it is closer to the door. You’ve got two kids who are going to come in the house with “water projects” or covered head to toe. Nice place to fill the bucket for mopping up after the kiddies as well.
In any case, stub it out, don’t cover it with sheetrock. As soon as it is covered you’ll need it.
December 30th, 2008 at 7:49 am
IMO the dishwasher should never be anywhere other than adjacent to the main, cleaning-up sink.
December 30th, 2008 at 8:38 am
1 is just more stuff to keep clean for little return.
2 is a good idea if you gain utsefulness from the space where the old dishwasher stood.
3 amd 4 are the same thing, just mark the fixtures on the floor plan of the house for the next owner.
If you have a SWMBO in the house, ask her first, saves a lot of grief downstream.
December 30th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Turn it into a wet bar, also Son this will not be the only time in your life that you may have plumbing that you won’t be able to use.
December 30th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Heh. Actually, guest blogger Tom wrote this (that’s me), not your son. 🙂
December 30th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
I’ll go for 5. You haven’t thought of it yet. Um, well, neither have I, but it’s a great idea!
December 30th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Sorry about that tgirsch I did not read that closely, hope you plumbing is doing fine.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Looks like you need some more countertop and storage. Put in a couple of plugs off the electricity. Leave the plumbing and make it easy to reverse for future owners.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:14 pm
You can split 220 to 2 110 and have three hot leads. I would go with sink in counter with cabinets below.
Would make a handy staging area for larger dinners between the kitchen and dining room.
What ever you do you will want to redo in a few years anway.
Good luck
December 31st, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Water-cooled 220V kitchen computer. With a drain for data dumps.
Heinlein’s idea, not mine. Well, except for the drain.
December 31st, 2008 at 8:15 pm
I like the prep sink idea although I would probably put in more cabinets and work area rather than move the dishwasher. More importantly, however, before you cover things back up, take clear pictures to show that there is a 220 line and water/drain lines there. That way when you put your house on the market you can show that the items are there if buyers want to remodel.
January 1st, 2009 at 1:08 am
You like the High Life? I knew there was something I liked about you. 😉
Lots of good ideas already. Have you ever relished a deep freezer? You could go with a chest freezer or an upright in that space.
A spare sink is cool. I’ve always been intrigued by Andrew Tobias’s idea of having two dishwashers. Load dirty dishes into one, use the clean dishes out of the other, reverse as needed. Voila! You rarely have to put dishes away. I’m not sure how well it works in practice, though.
January 1st, 2009 at 10:28 am
Hmmm. Is the wall between the kitchen and dining room load bearing? If it’s not, you might consider knocking it out. It would make your dining room feel bigger and open up the kitchen (very trendy these days), and give you the option of putting in a bar sink facing the dining room.
I think a shower in the kitchen is, well, just weird.
January 1st, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Bruce:
As for moving the dishwasher, recall that the stove and fridge are both on the other side of the sink from the picture shown. So moving the dishwasher gets it out of my “triangle,” and gives me more storage/work space in the triangle.
And yes, I plan to put in more storage all around. For starters, I plan to knock out the header and either install small “top” cabinets for infrequently-used stuff like turkey roasting pans and whatnot, or else install cabinets that go all the way up (42″?).
Les:
I believe we’ve been through this before, but yes, High Life is the Lawnmower Beer of Champions. Also, the High Life delivery guy commercials are the best beer commercials in years — especially the ones where he confiscates the beer from the hoity-toity.
Also, the fridge looking thing in the picture (holding up the microwave) is a deep freezer. I use it for long-term storage of stock, meat, and other raw materials for cooking. The main freezer (I have a side-by-side fridge) is for the more ready-to-eat type stuff.
rightwingprof:
I’m pretty sure it’s load bearing. Anyway, I want it a little more open than it is, but not too open. The doorway you see there is one that the previous homeowners had paneled over, and which I just re-openend. I would, however, like to widen it to about 4′.
All:
I really think I’m leaning toward the prep sink idea. I could move the garbage disposal over there, too, which would be nice (right now, there’s a lot of conflict, where the main sink is being used for X and that’s blocking the disposal). But I’m thinking I could use the prep sink as a combination prep/bar sink.
January 1st, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I was thinking, move the wall into the kitchen to the end of the counter, until I noticed the cabinet you could lose by pushing the wall into the kitchen. Then I thought: PANTRY!
Or a small prep sink, and put the outlets in the backsplash or under the counter. Or extend the counter and put a BIG freezer under it, and put the outlets on the other side of the wall (in the dining room?)
Happy new year.
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:23 am
I agree with (SayUncle’s) Dad..just because you have plumbing doesn’t mean you have to use it (and the shower idea is exhibit A on that point). That said, a prep sink or moving your dishwasher might not be a bad idea. I assume that to the right of this photo is your dishwasher and the countertop area that you generally work on.
With regards to opening things up to the dining room, I would look into putting a steel beam..its actually a lot more affordable than you might think.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:52 am
Manish:
Your assumption is correct. The dishwasher is just on the right side of the sink, and counter space goes over from there, running most of the length of the kitchen. It’s a galley style kitchen, so there’s also a little bit of counter space across from that (to the right of where I’m standing to take the picture), as well as the range and the refrigerator (which used to be just to the left of where I’m standing to take the picture). Where the fridge is now used to be a small eat-in area.
In the grand scheme of things, I want to move the stove to the opposite (exterior) wall, and open up the interior wall (where the stove is now) to put in a breakfast counter that goes into the den.
I really need to put together a diagram of how that kitchen was when I bought the house, how it is now, and how I intend to make it.