BlueStar

Ozzie_Isaac

saluki2007 said:

I agree about the outlets. Also would add two soap dispensers. One dish one hand. Also you can have a push button for the garage disposal. Also would have the counter top people “shave” the top around faucet so water runs back to the sink. You will be surprised how often water will run away. Here is a picture of our sink in the house we built. 

Mind blown!  Shave counter for water to run toward the sink!!  That is absolutely genius.

NDG

@saluki2007 woah never would have thought of that stuff, but now its on list.  Thanks for sharing, and love your setup !!

SonVolt

Life Pro Tip on the soap dispensers - toss the stock soap container in the trash and run surgical tubing from the pump directly into a large bottle of Dawn.  I haven't had to add soap in over a year 

saluki2007

Ozzie_Isaac said:

saluki2007 said:

I agree about the outlets. Also would add two soap dispensers. One dish one hand. Also you can have a push button for the garage disposal. Also would have the counter top people “shave” the top around faucet so water runs back to the sink. You will be surprised how often water will run away. Here is a picture of our sink in the house we built. 

Mind blown!  Shave counter for water to run toward the sink!!  That is absolutely genius.

Unfortunately we didn’t know to do that when we built. You would be amazed at how much water you splash around just turning the water off. So the water would run away (towards the view point of this photo) and wouldn’t notice. Next morning there would be a hard water stain that looked like a ghost river. 

saluki2007

Also recommend soft close as much as possible. Prevents the little ones from slamming doors. 

SonVolt

One note on the Bluestar... don't get one if you or your wife are a neat freak because the open burner design is not easy to clean. Spills and food can't be easily whipped up like on a sealed/flat design b/c spills fall down into the burners and into the drip trays below them. The grates are also roughly textured so paper towels tend to shred on them.  When it's time to clean you'll need to pull them out and scrub them in the sink with soap and water.  A pot of milk boiling over on my GE would have been relatively easy to wipe up. It would be a total nightmare on the Bluestar, so I'm always cognisant of my heat levels. 

saluki2007

Couldn’t find any photos but we also but sliding doors on the island in front of the bar stools for additional storage. 

AprèsSki

Good advice from prior posters. We installed a Bluestar 30" (w/22k burner) 10 years ago and love it. We also installed a 36" Vent-a-Hood painted to match. Love them both. The convection fan is loud and that is after replacing it with the redesigned fan Bluestar provided for free. Do not allow pots to boil over, that will shock the igniters causing them to crack. Do not boil over milk, the cleanup is beyond a ****. I've cooked on many ranges, none make me as happy as my Bluestar. You will love using a wok on it.

Regrets on our remodel, we did not do self-closing drawers and soft closing hinges. DO this, trust me. We also used big tiles on a 70 year old floor. Most of them are now cracked, when you drop a 3.5 qt Le Crouset onto tile both end up broken.

Great ideas we were given, plug mold outlets mounted under the cabinets to keep the backsplash clean. Mounted it along the peninsula too so lots of outlets out of sight. A drop down storage drawer in front of the sink for sponges, steel wool, gloves, etc. Our cabinet maker talked us out of a drawer style microwave, he made a frame to fill in an opening that allowed us to use a much cheaper standard countertop model saving us hundreds of dollars and the frame will outlast a few drawer models. Lastly your hardware is the jewelry on the cabinets, don't skimp on them.

Corv

*  If you can afford (or build) fully custom cabinets, you’ll have much greater design flexibility than if you had to use standard cabinets or even partially-custom ones. Be aware that building them yourself isn’t necessarily cheaper since you’ll need tools and time.

*  On the bottom cabinets, skip doors in most cases. Install deep drawers instead, deep enough to hold your pots and pans. They are much more convenient. Doors work for the cabinets that hold your baking sheets and such.

*  The inside dimension of drawers should be at least 9” wide. And they should be deep - say at least 4 1/2”.

*  Have the sink cabinet made so that the upper face is integral with the doors and opens with them. That’ll make under-sink maintenance a lot easier.

*  Add more electric outlets that you think you’ll ever need. Electric strips under the counter work fine, and so do wall-mounted outlets above counters.

*  If you’re going to have a microwave cabinet or an appliance “garage,” install outlets in them.

*  Install a bunch more lighting than you think you’ll ever need. Area lights plus spots work well.

*  If you have the space and can work it into your design, make all counters at least 30” deep. Wall counters are standard at 25”, and the extra depth gives you a bunch more counter space in front of appliances.

*  The Incinerator Evolution line of disposals is very quiet.

*  For the stove vent hood, get one that has an outside exhaust, even if routing the pipe is hard. And make sure that its capacity is at least 600 CFM (cubic feet per minute). More is better.

*  Install both gas and 120 and 240 electric outlets for the stove. That way you can install any stove type you want.

*  In an upper cabinet, include a pull-out spice rack. It’s out of the way and easily available.

*  The upper cabinets should  go up to the ceiling, and have a single door going up to the ceiling.

*  Don’t forget to include a pantry.

*  Plan to have counter space adjacent to the fridge, the stove, the sink, the pantry, and wherever you’ll bring groceries into the kitchen.

*  If you can double the cabinet volume and the counter area from what you currently have, you’re well on your way.

*  Do not accept cabinets that have any 1/4” thick material or use particle board or MDF. Those are signs of cheapness and they won’t last as well as thicker materials. You can use 1/4” material for dividers inside drawers.

*  Drawers should be dovetailed. That’s a type of reliable, strong joint construction.

Corv

I bought a Bluestar RNB last year. The burners are plenty strong enough for anything I'd do. Someone mentioned that the stovetop is difficult to clean - it's not hard, it's just annoying, is all. If you have a non-metal sink and you drop a stovetop part into the sink, the sink could crack. I got a new sink after that. The oven is huge. The oven's convection is powerful but not quiet. All in all, I like it. It's one heck of a good stove.

Botch

Canugghead said:

 Nice! my only question...any chance you can move the bidet room somewhere else? unless you got some insider tips from @dmchicago

Nah!  There is no bigger compliment to the Cook than a 107 dB, two-flush butt-blast/plop that the entire diner crowd can hear, after a carefully-prepared feast!  

Ozzie_Isaac

Corv said:

*  If you can afford (or build) fully custom cabinets, you’ll have much greater design flexibility than if you had to use standard cabinets or even partially-custom ones. Be aware that building them yourself isn’t necessarily cheaper since you’ll need tools and time.

*  On the bottom cabinets, skip doors in most cases. Install deep drawers instead, deep enough to hold your pots and pans. They are much more convenient. Doors work for the cabinets that hold your baking sheets and such.

*  The inside dimension of drawers should be at least 9” wide. And they should be deep - say at least 4 1/2”.

*  Have the sink cabinet made so that the upper face is integral with the doors and opens with them. That’ll make under-sink maintenance a lot easier.

*  Add more electric outlets that you think you’ll ever need. Electric strips under the counter work fine, and so do wall-mounted outlets above counters.

*  If you’re going to have a microwave cabinet or an appliance “garage,” install outlets in them.

*  Install a bunch more lighting than you think you’ll ever need. Area lights plus spots work well.

*  If you have the space and can work it into your design, make all counters at least 30” deep. Wall counters are standard at 25”, and the extra depth gives you a bunch more counter space in front of appliances.

*  The Incinerator Evolution line of disposals is very quiet.

*  For the stove vent hood, get one that has an outside exhaust, even if routing the pipe is hard. And make sure that its capacity is at least 600 CFM (cubic feet per minute). More is better.

*  Install both gas and 120 and 240 electric outlets for the stove. That way you can install any stove type you want.

*  In an upper cabinet, include a pull-out spice rack. It’s out of the way and easily available.

*  The upper cabinets should  go up to the ceiling, and have a single door going up to the ceiling.

*  Don’t forget to include a pantry.

*  Plan to have counter space adjacent to the fridge, the stove, the sink, the pantry, and wherever you’ll bring groceries into the kitchen.

*  If you can double the cabinet volume and the counter area from what you currently have, you’re well on your way.

*  Do not accept cabinets that have any 1/4” thick material or use particle board or MDF. Those are signs of cheapness and they won’t last as well as thicker materials. You can use 1/4” material for dividers inside drawers.

*  Drawers should be dovetailed. That’s a type of reliable, strong joint construction.

Wow!  That is a serious download of experience and knowledge right there.  Thank you for taking the time!

U_tarded

Corv said:

*  If you can afford (or build) fully custom cabinets, you’ll have much greater design flexibility than if you had to use standard cabinets or even partially-custom ones. Be aware that building them yourself isn’t necessarily cheaper since you’ll need tools and time.

*  On the bottom cabinets, skip doors in most cases. Install deep drawers instead, deep enough to hold your pots and pans. They are much more convenient. Doors work for the cabinets that hold your baking sheets and such.

*  The inside dimension of drawers should be at least 9” wide. And they should be deep - say at least 4 1/2”.

*  Have the sink cabinet made so that the upper face is integral with the doors and opens with them. That’ll make under-sink maintenance a lot easier.

*  Add more electric outlets that you think you’ll ever need. Electric strips under the counter work fine, and so do wall-mounted outlets above counters.

*  If you’re going to have a microwave cabinet or an appliance “garage,” install outlets in them.

*  Install a bunch more lighting than you think you’ll ever need. Area lights plus spots work well.

*  If you have the space and can work it into your design, make all counters at least 30” deep. Wall counters are standard at 25”, and the extra depth gives you a bunch more counter space in front of appliances.

*  The Incinerator Evolution line of disposals is very quiet.

*  For the stove vent hood, get one that has an outside exhaust, even if routing the pipe is hard. And make sure that its capacity is at least 600 CFM (cubic feet per minute). More is better.

*  Install both gas and 120 and 240 electric outlets for the stove. That way you can install any stove type you want.

*  In an upper cabinet, include a pull-out spice rack. It’s out of the way and easily available.

*  The upper cabinets should  go up to the ceiling, and have a single door going up to the ceiling.

*  Don’t forget to include a pantry.

*  Plan to have counter space adjacent to the fridge, the stove, the sink, the pantry, and wherever you’ll bring groceries into the kitchen.

*  If you can double the cabinet volume and the counter area from what you currently have, you’re well on your way.

*  Do not accept cabinets that have any 1/4” thick material or use particle board or MDF. Those are signs of cheapness and they won’t last as well as thicker materials. You can use 1/4” material for dividers inside drawers.

*  Drawers should be dovetailed. That’s a type of reliable, strong joint construction.

Good tips I have a question I thought mdf was used in cabinets due to stability v. solid woods that may shrink warp or crack?  If it’s solid framed and skinned I don’t feel like mdf is bad.  Am I missing something?

alaskanassasin

If mdf gets wet it expands and the paint chips off. 

alaskanassasin

Plywood is a good option 

SamIAm2

One other tip if both husband and wife are above average height (according to older design standards): build 2x4 structural framing wherever your cabinets are going to be placed. That 3 1/2" raises the counters to a reasonable working height. Does cause a bit of extra work to install a dishwasher but worth it for your back. 

alaskanassasin

Along those lines, somewhere I saw a kitchen that had a pocket cabinet that held a small folding ladder so swmbo could reach the upper cabinets.

NDG

@Corv unf*cking believable response -  appreciate all the detail . .  I have printed this off and so many new great tips here . . thank you!  

We have a Custom Cabinet builder that we have waited well over a Year for, we know his work, so worth waiting for  as we feel cabinets are KEY.

Also, great to hear a positive review for the BlueStar RNB.  This model in the 30" size is about the max I can pay for an oven . . cant wait to look at them tmrw!   

NDG

SonVolt said:

Life Pro Tip on the soap dispensers - toss the stock soap container in the trash and run surgical tubing from the pump directly into a large bottle of Dawn.  I haven't had to add soap in over a year 

so simple, so good.

Corv

That is a darn good idea indeed... might do it myself and add this suggestion to my list.

Corv

(deleted)

nolaegghead

Botch said:

Canugghead said:

 Nice! my only question...any chance you can move the bidet room somewhere else? unless you got some insider tips from @dmchicago

Nah!  There is no bigger compliment to the Cook than a 107 dB, two-flush butt-blast/plop that the entire diner crowd can hear, after a carefully-prepared feast!  

But if your host is a gastroenterologist, he'll know that you're complimenting the cook you used in a previous meal, ain't no way the dinner crowd is hanging around that long.

alaskanassasin

@NDG if you want the range to sit flat against your wall, take note of where the gas line hook up is on the Bluestar. Try to align your wall tap with that pocket

NDG

@corv or others, thoughts on water filtration system ?

Its official, I hijacked the thread . . 

SonVolt

Has anyone come up with a clever way to level these heavy ovens? Each leg rotates to raise or lower the oven, but the unit is too F'ing heavy/awkward to lift a corner up in order to turn one of them, especially when the oven is snug against the wall.  I have a rough textured stone tile that's not perfectly level from tile to tile, so the oven needs to be leveled in place. 

Now that I think about it, I wonder if could use a crescent wrench.... 

alaskanassasin

fulcrum.

nolaegghead

SonVolt said:

Has anyone come up with a clever way to level these heavy ovens? Each leg rotates to raise or lower the oven, but the unit is too F'ing heavy/awkward to lift a corner up in order to turn one of them, especially when the oven is snug against the wall.  I have a rough textured stone tile that's not perfectly level from tile to tile, so the oven needs to be leveled in place. 

Now that I think about it, I wonder if could use a crescent wrench.... 

Not that I have one, but my approach would be to make sure the legs are a bit low in front before installing.

If you had to elevate to turn the levelers, I would use a couple of these jacks (ironically I am getting them delivered today).  Jack up enough to turn, let down, check with level repeat until done.

A pair of these jacks will lift almost 400 pounds.  If you lift one half of something, that something can be around 800 lbs max (if distributed equally).

SonVolt

alaskanassasin said:

fulcrum.

What would you use? A low-profile motorcycle jack would be perfect, but I'm not paying $80 so my butter doesn't pool to one side of the pan 

alaskanassasin

Ozzie_Isaac

SonVolt said:

alaskanassasin said:

fulcrum.

What would you use? A low-profile motorcycle jack would be perfect, but I'm not paying $80 so my butter doesn't pool to one side of the pan