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Cooking Appliances "what kind to buy" How to decide

By
Home Inspector with Elliott Home Inspection

Decide which Cooking appliances to buy.

 

Should you have stove and oven in one unit ?

Cooktop separate from oven ?

Gas? 

Electric?

 

Which one you choose depends on several factors.

 

  • You should consider space and budget
  • Fuel choice
  • Preference

 

Bear in mind that the main goal of a kitchen and reason for its existence is to cook and Whether it is a Range,Cooktop or Wall Oven every other appliance revolves around cooking preparation,storage or cleanup.

 

Any space after that can be used for dining or social activity,etc.

 

Starting with the first deciding factor lets consider space and budget.

 

To begin with Ranges which have your cooktop and oven built in one are going to be" less expensive" in general plus take up less space.

Going past budget and on to "space" picture a galley style kitchen with a cooktop and a wall oven next to it which actually acts as a wall and prevents either the left or right side of your counter from continuing.You may be able to knock down a wall to eliminate the galley however in many cases you may not. because of a supporting wall issue or just no room to expand at all in general.

 

OK space and budget is not a deciding factor so you are wide open to suggestion for now .

Lets move on to the next factor which is ...Fuel Choice

 

The main options are gas and electric so I will focus there.Gas may not be an option as for instance some Condos may not  be able to gain access to a gasline or it may not be allowed in an all electric building.

 

In some homes there is not a 220v outlet in place at the wall.

Preference

Assuming you can have either people may like the" instant on" of a burner vs the wait of electric coils, though electric does have options such as induction cooktops Induction cooking uses an alternating magnetic field to make your cookware turn hot through the friction created when the metal cookware swithes fields rapidly.

Think of how you can bend a coat hanger back and forth rapidly and it gets hot at the end point.

What this also means is that the cooktop stays cool to the touch.

 

Seems this is Similar to a microwave in one sense.Correct me if I am wrong and if you need large scientic words to explain it does not count...lol

 

With a range you need to pull it out and clean it of what ever gets stuck between it and the cabinets plus the oven size is always a standard 36 inch ,same as the cooktop.

However with a separate oven it is no longer below the micro or rangehood .

 

 

 

 

 

Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Bob, one of the fun things about being a Realtor is being able to see so many fabulous kitchen.  Unfortunately for me, they all emphasize the deficiencies in my own!

May 21, 2012 10:13 AM
Erv Fleishman
Realty Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Luxury Prop Specialist Realty Associates

Kitchens are great place to visit but I would not want to live there. 

Induction used to be the armed forces, now it is for cookng turkeys.

May 21, 2012 10:20 AM
Bob Elliott
Elliott Home Inspection - Chicago, IL
Chicago Property Inspection

Hi Patricia

With all the Kitchens we see while working at least we have a heads up on what works.

I have learned as much as we all have our dream designs that in order to have others appreciate our taste it must be closer to theirs in order to be attractive for the most part.

A good basic layout with stainless steel,grantite,range,microhood,fridge,dishwasher,disposal is where many start looking.

May 21, 2012 10:32 AM
Bob Elliott
Elliott Home Inspection - Chicago, IL
Chicago Property Inspection

Heh Heh

You must be married Erv.

Just got done cooking dinner and have no choice however I remember growing up how great it was to sit at a neighbors kitchen table and socialize.

May 21, 2012 10:34 AM