Outdoor kitchens?

[Carla_M]

I don't recall seeing much on this in the displayed projects. Last summer I stayed in a small cabin here for a week. The weather was warm in the mid 80's, but it was not yet into the scorchingly hot part of the year. The floor plan was open, a one room 16x24 I think it was, kitchen in one corner. Any time I cooked the interior of the small space skyrocketed. Late afternoons were warm enough you didn't get cooled off by opening windows.

I've been thinking that I would like to be able to cook outside in some sort of covered outdoor kitchen. I also like to bake and running an oven in summer heat would be murder indoors. I was wondering if anyone has some ideas about this?

[Redoverfarm]

Outdoor one room kitchens used to be common place even here in the Mountain State.  Usually seperated by a breezeway they allowed cooking without heating up the house.  Of course with the invention of modern appliances the wood cook stove for which the outside kitchens were designed for have dwindled as part of home building.  There are still several around used mainly during canning season.

[UK4X4]

We are definetly having one- how posh -I'm not sure yet

The wife is cooking sardines here at her mums house in Venezuela


This is the mums outside kitchen - she now has a gas stove but normally cooks on here



spot lunch !



Obviously this is pretty basic- I've been thinking along the lines of a home made pizza oven but where I can scrape the coals forward and do BBq as well

[Carla_M]

Mmmm. Fresh sardines! A rarity in most places here in the USA.


The pizza oven idea reminds me of doing a kiva oven for bread. Mmm good!  But too ambitious a thought for one who hasn't even a cabin at this point.

I was thinking of at least two or three propane burners. I've used a set on those Chinese imported cast iron type. Cheap and effective. I would like an oven though without needing to burn wood; I like to bake too; brownies, bread, lasagne and more. Maybe try to find a second range used, cheap.

[JRR]

I think one of the initial ideas behind "dog-trot" houses is the separation of kitchen, dining areas to bedroom, living areas.

[firefox]

Caria, if you keep talking like that, people will start beating a path to your cabin
and wonder when you are going to serve the lasagna 

[Dave Sparks]

John had a nice photo here of what I saw and lived in for some time in central america. We called it a palapa style outdoor kitchen. They are wonerful until the bugs arrive or it is screened in.

We ended up choosing living on the 2nd floor and having a man cave downstairs with a range.
In the summer we can bake downstairs and not heat up the house. Then about 5 years ago I discovered how little electricity it took to run a mini-split heat pump. Now we cook upsatirs in the real kitchen.

[Carla_M]

Then about 5 years ago I discovered how little electricity it took to run a mini-split heat pump. Now we cook upstairs in the real kitchen.

Hey, yes. Now I remember seeing a post of yours about that and I forgot. I could very well use something like that anyhow as the SW does get hot in summer. Thanks for the reminder. Save the cost of the second range and put that towards the mini-split.

Having a two story with living space upstairs is something I never thought of either.  Could be great for views depending on what there is to look at.  Also better to keep the outside riffraff from seeing inside.

[Dave Sparks]

 Second floor living is great. I can also get off a warning shot to keep the Bear away as well as one of the moderators who is always looking for limes, ice, & Gin. 

[UK4X4]

"Having a two story with living space upstairs is something I never thought of either"

we have done this too- for the roof shape- and the views !

Also was thinking the inlaws and guests can be partitioned downstairs ...by adding a door to the staircase !

[Carla_M]

Second floor living is great. I can also get off a warning shot to keep the Bear away as well as one of the moderators who is always looking for limes, ice, & Gin. 

D you chase off the lovers of Irish Whiskey?   

[Dave Sparks]

D you chase off the lovers of Irish Whiskey?   

Only if they insist on adding anything but ice to it 

The other good part about second floor living is that winter heating is much easier. If you solve the cooling with a heat pump you will be in the cat birds seat! I use to have to go through quite a few energy calcs for designing new offgrid houses for passive heat/cool paybacks.   I have stopped doing anything that increases housing cost unless the owner just wants to do it. It is too easy with a heat pump!

It is 85 outside now at 11 am and 73 inside a 1800 square foot 2nd story with a metal roof. The heat pump is using 520 watts and it can hardly be heard inside or outside. There are these tiny bugs that hatched last night that are smaller than the openings of a window screen.
They and the pollen can stay outside. There are millions of them!

[Carla_M]

It is 85 outside now at 11 am and 73 inside a 1800 square foot 2nd story with a metal roof. The heat pump is using 520 watts and it can hardly be heard inside or outside.

It's 101 outside right now and 75 inside with the swamp cooler roaring on high. 8% humidity outside and 29% inside.    

I suppose the heat pump is only using a fraction of what your PV produces. Do the evenings cool off outside where you are? Tonight will drop to 67 here.

Only if they insist on adding anything but ice to it{/quote]
I don't even use ice, nor water. I'm a simple girl. If I am ever in your neighborhood I'll try to ingraiate myself with a bottle of Tullamore Dew. 

[Abbey]

34 degrees last night and I built a fire, cooked some chili con carne that I ate while watching South Park. Had some nice beer too, just an overall nice evening at home.

[roadtripray]

Hi Carla,

I'm late joining your discussion, but I've been thinking about building something of an outdoor kitchen, myself.  I purchased plans to build the Builder's Cottage.  If you see how the kitchen is on the back wall on the inside, imagine that on the other side of that wall (on the outside) I was going to have just a simple shed room and a countertop with a sink and gas cooktop.  This way if I wanted to do home canning, clean fish, butcher a chicken, whatever, it wouldn't heat the inside of the house and it would be easier to clean.  It would also make it easier to wash produce, especially if in lieu of a standard kitchen sink you used a laundry-sized sink.

Now I'm thinking of building a modified Victoria's Cottage.  It's mostly just like the "stock" Victoria's cottage but with a larger bedroom wing with the 2nd bath upstairs over the end of the downstairs BR.  I'm thinking about also building a rudimentary "outdoor kitchen" just on the back wall of the house on the other side of the wall from the inside kitchen.

Peace,
Ray