Temporary Kitchen Setup

A Place to Cook That Works on the First Morning

Most remodeling contracts say nothing about where the homeowner will cook. The assumption is that you will figure it out, and what that usually means is a microwave balanced on a dryer, a refrigerator in the garage on a thin extension cord, and dishes washed in a bathtub. People manage for a week. By week five, they are ordering food every night and regretting the remodel.

A temporary kitchen is part of our scope on every job where a family is living at home. We plan it, set it up before demolition starts and take it down when the new kitchen is working.

Picking the Location

The right spot is the one closest to three things: water, power that is not already in use, and a door to take trash out without walking through the construction zone.

Laundry rooms

A laundry room with a utility sink is the best option in most Irvine homes that have one. The sink handles rinsing, the floor is usually tile or vinyl and tolerates spills, and the room is already on its own circuits. The drawback is that the washer and dryer compete for the same wall, so the setup has to be compact.

Dining rooms

A dining room next to a powder room or a wet bar gives you a table to eat at and a short walk to water. We protect the floor, keep the setup away from the construction doorway and seal that doorway with a zipper barrier so dust does not land on the food.

Garages

Irvine’s mild, dry climate makes a garage usable for most of the year. The risk is electrical. Many garages in older tract homes run the door opener, the lights and several outlets on a single circuit. Add a full-size refrigerator, a microwave and a toaster oven, and the breaker trips on a Sunday morning. We check which circuit each outlet is on and, where needed, route the refrigerator to a dedicated outlet.

What Goes Into the Setup

• A counter surface. A sturdy folding table at counter height or a spare base cabinet with a scrap top. Enough room to cut vegetables and set down a plate.
• Refrigeration. Your existing refrigerator moved to the temporary location on its own outlet, never sharing an extension cord with anything else.
• Cooking. A microwave, a plug-in induction burner and, if you like, a countertop oven or electric pressure cooker. We tell you how many can run at once on the available circuits so nobody learns it by tripping a breaker.
• Water. A utility sink, a bar sink or, if nothing else is available, a rinse tub set up next to the nearest bathroom so dirty water has somewhere to go. We plan dish washing honestly, because it is the part families complain about most.
• Storage. A rolling cart or a few boxed shelves for the dry goods, oils and spices you will actually use in the next two months. The rest gets packed.
• Trash and recycling. A spot for bins that does not go through the work area, and a plan for more takeout containers than you expect.

Why It Is Built Before Demolition

If the temporary kitchen is set up the same day the old one is torn out, the family spends that day with nowhere to cook and no idea where anything went. We set it up a day or two ahead, move the everyday items with you and let you cook one meal on it while the old kitchen still exists. Anything that does not work gets fixed while it is still easy.

Paying for It

On most jobs the temporary kitchen is a modest line item: some labor to move the refrigerator, a few hours of electrical checking, a table or spare cabinet, and floor protection. If a dedicated outlet or a temporary sink connection is needed, that adds to it, and we price it up front.

It is often the best money in the whole remodel. A few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars on a working setup can save far more than that in restaurant meals, and it keeps the household on its normal routine while the new kitchen is built. Call (949) 562-9651 to plan yours.