remodel questions

[DimitarBerbatov]

So we want to upgrade our kitchen. Due to space requirements we have to go with a 30 or 36 inch cooktop and a 24 inch wall oven. Otherwise we have to tear out counters and old st charles cabinets we want to keep.

We want a gas oven, which basically limits us to a BlueStar or a Delonghi, and the BlueStar wins hands down for our needs. Cooktops arent an issue.

My wife and I both cook reasonably well as a hobby, and cook something almost every day.

My question is: Is the high-end stuff really worth the cost for its own sake or is a big part of it status like designer jeans? I dont mind paying the 4-5K it will take if its worth it, but if we could do the same for half, and get the same mileage out of the gear, Id consider that. Another consideration is that in the neighborhood we live in, homebuyers will be looking for the high-end gear, but we wont be selling for 10-15 years.

All advice/comments appreciated.

[MikeLM]

Dimitar

Just a cooktop suggestion from our remodel expience a few years ago: think twice about getting one of those ceramic-top electric cooktops. We can't have gas, so we picked the super-cool-looking ceramic cooktop, and both of us hate it. It's just about impossible to figure out what level of heat you're getting at any particular setting, and going from a high heat to a lower heat for the same dish is pretty much impossible within a reasonable time; you have to move the pan to a new burner and try to bring it up to a lower setting.

We were so exasperated that we had a GE service man out about six months ago; he spent about 45 minutes putting it through all its paces and finally said "It's working just like it's supposed to."

He seemed a little embarrased. He just charged us the service-call minimum.

If you have gas available, all the above is not relevant. Hope you're that lucky.

Mike

[dscheidt]

Originally Posted by DimitarBerbatov

My question is: Is the high-end stuff really worth the cost for its own sake or is a big part of it status like designer jeans? I dont mind paying the 4-5K it will take if its worth it, but if we could do the same for half, and get the same mileage out of the gear, Id consider that. Another consideration is that in the neighborhood we live in, homebuyers will be looking for the high-end gear, but we wont be selling for 10-15 years.

All advice/comments appreciated.

It's all showing off your money. The gain in cooking performance is marginal to negative. They're also substantially less reliable, and more expensive to fix.

[ED BUCHANAN]

Originally Posted by DimitarBerbatov

So we want to upgrade our kitchen. Due to space requirements we have to go with a 30 or 36 inch cooktop and a 24 inch wall oven. Otherwise we have to tear out counters and old st charles cabinets we want to keep.

We want a gas oven, which basically limits us to a BlueStar or a Delonghi, and the BlueStar wins hands down for our needs. Cooktops arent an issue.

My wife and I both cook reasonably well as a hobby, and cook something almost every day.

My question is: Is the high-end stuff really worth the cost for its own sake or is a big part of it status like designer jeans? I dont mind paying the 4-5K it will take if its worth it, but if we could do the same for half, and get the same mileage out of the gear, Id consider that. Another consideration is that in the neighborhood we live in, homebuyers will be looking for the high-end gear, but we wont be selling for 10-15 years.

All advice/comments appreciated.

Suggest you read July issue of Consumer reports, it gives you the low-down on commercial as adversed to household type equipment.