2023 Expand north wall of kitchen

[msimerson]

Before putting a new roof on the lodge, we'd like to expand the 5'1" x 33.4' inset on the North wall. That extra 5' of space would be a very valuable addition to the kitchen, enabling us to add a walk-in fridge and a commercial dishwasher. The latter would dramatically cut down on our paper towel usage and make the Kittitas County Health Inspectors very happy.

[msimerson]

[msimerson]

At this months Fossil Luncheon, Chef Richard proposed something worth considering. The lodge addition is going to add two ~ 5' x 15' rooms to the first floor. One adjacent to the kitchen, another adjacent to the dining room. I figured we'd put the dishwasher and all the dish storage next to the kitchen. Eventually we'd figure out what to do with the other space.

At the luncheon, I asked, "what do we do with that space?" There was a bit of discussion and ideas tossed about until Richard suggested, "move the dishwasher and dish storage adjacent to the dining room and make the space next to the kitchen a walk-in fridge." Every other idea fell away as we discussed the pros (many) and cons (few) of having a walk-in fridge.

Ideas mentioned:

• The dishwashing room would have a "window" where dirty dishes can be passed in.
• Dirty dishes get loaded into trays (see below), sprayed, and then run through the dishwasher
• Clean dishes air dry on the counters, then are stored (often in their trays) under the counter.
• The walk-in fridge fits a week of fresh groceries, bulk storage, and more
• Heat removed from the fridge can help warm the lodge in winter
• The room under the walk-in fridge can house the compressor
• The dishwasher pictured below cycles in 2 minutes, uses 0.9 gallons of water, and about 0.5 kWh ($0.08) of electricity.

It's an idea worth considering.

[msimerson]

Comments

I kind of thought that if the first floor of the lodge was expanded it would be nice to have a quiet reading room, or if it’s an open space a mellower spot off to the side, maybe with a fire place or gas stove. -- Pat B

I'm assuming that walk in freezers are fairly quiet? As in, will it set the ambient noise level? -- Michael F

One thought was to use this extra space for lining up for meals and being able to pass each other easier once you had your plate going back to your table. -- Phil C.

[msimerson]

[msimerson]

Updated design.