WWYD? Kitchen cooker conundrum

[flownthecoopkiwi]

About to exchange and buy a new house but the kitchen is dire. No cooker currently there. Was thinking of buying a freestanding one and then replacing kitchen later this year.

There's a 60 cb hole. Do we fit one in, or, since I prefer the looks of the 90 cm ones, take out the units on the right of the hole (top and bottom)? That will leave it being by the doorway though with no bench inbetween until we redesign?

Thoughts?

Unless you plan on keeping the cooker you buy, then I'd just get a 60cm one for now. Can you not ask the seller to leave the existing oven? Tbh the kitchen looks dated but in reasonable nick. It is a pain not to have worksurface either side of a cooker.

No cooker currently in property, so not an option. No gas connection either so want to buy induction but not have to pay for two cookers to get connected

You have space to move the base unit to the right by the look of it. It would be nice to keep counter space both sides and a bit safer. It looks like the light switch won't be over the cooker.

Otherwise I'd buy a cheap or secondhand 60cm cooker - they don't cost that much to connect or get deep-cleaned.

you say no gas connection. Do you mean in the entire house, or do you mean not in the kitchen? there may well be one out of sight behind the units or the old cooker.

For a large electric cooker, you will need an adequate circuit. If you have time to go back, look at the Consumer Unit (fusebox) and see if there is a breaker marked "cooker" and if its rating (printed on the breaker) is B32 or similar. If the CU is old it might not be adequate. Post pics if you can.

You can certainly pull out kitchen units (the should be screwed to the wall, near the top, and to the units each side) and cut the worktop. You will also have remove one or two wall units or it looks like they will be too close to the hob. The cooker hood (if there is one) should be the width of the hob, or a little more.

If you really want to do all that while moving in.

You can get by for a few weeks with a combi microwave and a bedsit-type plug-in-hob

Think really you have answered your own question.
Your mind is set on a 90cm cooker, and as you are going to update the kitchen anyway, I'd go for the bigger one. You can design your kitchen around your new cooker when you're ready.

Hmm yeah it would look ugly for a bit with ripped out bits but might be worth it in the end? Any required clearance between unit sides and a doorway or anything goes, so we could build up closer to the door?

You can have cupboards where ever you want really, just try to design it the best way you can.

you're not supposed to have the cooker next to a door, in case somebody dashes in and you drop a hot pan, nor (for gas cookers) a window where wind might blow something towards the flames. The cooker instructions will specify clearance above and to the side. It is best to have a flat surface each side of the cooker so you can lift things on and off. There should be no sockets or switches, especially the cooker switch, on the wall above the hob where you would have to reach through the flames of a burning chip pan in an emergency, nor knife racks, utensil hooks or shelves.

there should be sockets spaced away on each side of the hob so there is never any reason to plug in an appliance and drape its flex over the hob.

Looking at the picture, flownthecoop should have more than enough clearance from the door and might even have enough room to put the free standing cupboard back next to the cooker.

I much prefer to have an under counter oven put into a unit. But, you would need to get some more worktop so that you can place a hob above it.

Take out the units to the right.
Put in a nice 90cm freestanding one that you would buy if you were doing whole kitchen now.
Put butchers block or something to R H side for now

I'd Freegle or fb ask for a 2nd hand one to fill the existing gap... leave plenty of time to sort out a permanent fix - live with microwave in the meantime!

OK, now I have no idea what to do, thanks for all the comments though!

I suppose we had thought of seeing if we could change the doors and leave the kitchen cabinets in place, so a 60 cm would be a better option, or as someone said, redo the worktops and slot in a fitted over and hob top. Which I would prefer over a 60 freestanding.
HEAD HURTS

Your poor head!

I'd vote for moving in, making do with a microwave etc for a week or so and see how you ideas change when you're actually living with it.

Will help you make the right decision and ease pressure on you in the meantime.

I would get the cheapest 60cm cooker I could and stick it in the hole that's there. What kind of time scale are you looking at for ripping it out? If it's with the next year or two I would make do until I refitted and got shiny dream kitchen and cooker at the same time.