Building an oven in my indoor kitchen

[mulzrul]

Hello. I have a space inside my house just off my kitchen that is 42" deep by 124" wide. Is this big enough for a WFO or does it need to be deeper? Thank you!

[deejayoh]

42" is probably not deep enough, as you need to have space for the
1) diameter of the inside oven (small oven is ~28", 36" is more common)
2) the front of the oven for the vent arch - which is usually 10-15 inches deep.
3) Depth bricks in the back of the oven - 4.5"
4) insulation at the back - another 3-4 inches

so for a very small oven you probably need 3+ 4.5 + 28 + 10 = 45" at a minumum.

[Gulf]

I agree with Deejayoh. However, you may be able to gain some "real estate" for the oven by installing a header, a cantelevered hearth, and some kind of facade to camouflage the outside appearance. Maybe, like a bay window. With that you can aquire a little (to a lot) more depth for your oven.

[texman]

can you make it a corner install? you will gain some room that way. or have the landing protrude through the wall?

[mulzrul]

Thanks everyone! The back wall is common with the master and guest baths so we can't push into it. It could protrude a little past the 42" in the front as there is about another 5' there between where it would be and the kitchen table. But it would look silly to have much of a protrusion in that area. Could maybe do another 10". It's a small house, so this might be too big of an item to build inside. Could do it outside but we get a lot of wind and it's not always good outdoor weather.

[mulzrul]

Envisioned something along these lines.

[texman]

Could do it outside but we get a lot of wind and it's not always good outdoor weather. [/QUOTE]
HEck, you are in Cali, weather has to be way better than what i have. you could do something similar to what i did. Build a complete outdoor kitchen outside on that patio, and use your kitchen window and existing plumbing to add sink and drain outside. You are already covered overhead. The kitchen window becomes a very handy passthrough and saves lots of trips. I screened mine in and use polycarbonate in the winter so i can use year round, even in sub freezing temps. The pic is what i started with.

[david s]

A little unsure just where you are planning to put the oven. Where the fridge is or on the wall where the furniture is?
if made in brick your oven will be tiny, but a cast oven, with thinner walls, usually around 2" thick may fit ok. If you plan on making an igloo style working the outer layers of the oven into a tight space will be difficult. An enclosure style that can be filled with loose insulation would be a better solution. My 21" int diam oven has a footprint (supporting slab) of 40" square.
i like Texman's solution. Indoor ovens can have smoke problems at light up.

[mulzrul]

We are looking into the outdoor kitchen but because of the winds we get in the high desert would need to close it in. Contractor said he would need to replace patio cover/roof in order to close it in. Long story short, about a $40k project. Ouch!

for the inside option, yes, along the wall where the furniture is. It's 124" x 42".

Really apprecate the feedback.

[texman]

contractor? not sure how much roof he is replacing, but that seems crazy expensive. Normally you will use outdoor materials for an outdoor kitchen so i wouldn't worry about the roof for now. Enclosing can be done fairly easy and inexpensively and still look good. I screened mine due to flies and mosquitoes in the summer. I definitely understand the wind, but the screens will make that manageable too. I did the entire kitchen myself and i am no contractor. You could do the whole thing for less than 10k and that price includes 5k for stainless grills, drawers and an outdoor fridge.

[david s]

Ovens are also pretty heavy. If building it indoors you may need to beef up the floor joists under the floor.

[Gulf]

Could do it outside but we get a lot of wind and it's not always good outdoor weather..................We are looking into the outdoor kitchen but because of the winds we get in the high desert would need to close it in. Contractor said he would need to replace patio cover/roof in order to close it in. Long story short, about a $40k project. Ouch!

I'm liking Texman's solution. A privacy wall or shrubbery, some several feet from that side will also do a lot for the wind. I don't see a need to fully enclose. Putting it outside will save a lot of real estate in your home and will extend your living room/kitchen to the outdoors.

[TropicalCoasting]

Less smoke ash and wood inside the house too