Pot filler or no pot filler?

[medawyn]

Trying to make all the decisions before we gut the kitchen in three weeks.  The pot filler would have to be deck mounted (range isn't on a wall).  Yay or nay?

[Annie G]

I say nay, and here’s why. If you fill it on the stove to avoid carrying a heavy pot of water, it doesn’t eliminate having to carry that same heavy pot (now hot!) to empty it.  So I can’t really get excited about pot fillers behind the stove.  Pot fillers are expensive, too!

We just redid our kitchen and decided not to do a pot filler and instead just spend the money on a good sink faucet that we can pull out and fill a pot on the counter and then move to the stove. (It was kind of pricey because it can also turn on/off by touch, has an indicator to let me know if water is cold/warm/hot, and other features.

 

[EKS]

What Annie G said.

[Katy]

I would go more by the price point of your home rather than how convenient they are.  Are you in an area where if people have upgraded to hard floors they are plastic laminate, or are they natural stone and real wood (NOT engineered)?  Are you putting in stone countertops?  Would Viking appliances be appropriate? Are your neighbors upper middle class or higher?  If not I'm not sure the pot filler is worth it in terms of resale, unless YOU'd love it and you cook a lot.  In which case design the kitchen for you.

[prairiewindmomma]

In that situation, nay. We decided to do a reverse osmosis unit instead, with a separate faucet that I can fill from the countertop (if my sink is full). 

[May]

Do houses that are selling in your neighborhood have them? If not, then unless it’s something you want, I wouldn’t spend the money.

[PeterPan]

When we built our kitchen 11 years ago, wall mounted potfillers were common. I don't know if they are now. I decided against one because we figured people would turn it on and make a mess. Instead we went with a *small* sink beside the stove with a high neck faucet, and YES YES YES you want it!! I'm not sure what a "deck mounted" potfiller would be, but with a sink it's wonderful. My stove is in the corner, and the sink fits in the tiny space, the pie wedge/angle between the stove and the runs. I'll try to go take a picture. 

So with the sink, I can drain things, add water, fill pots, on and on, super useful. I'll come back with measurements. 12 1/2X6 1/2 X 5 1/2.

Also, we ran hot water to one handle and filtered drinking water to the other. So if I want to add filtered water to something I'm cooking, it's right there. So it's a 2 handled faucet.

Edited October 4, 2019 by PeterPan

[katilac]

I was today years old when I learned what a pot filler was. 

[sassenach]

I would say nay either way, but especially not if it’s deck mounted. 

[BusyMom5]

Am I the only one here with one?  I saw them when we were planning our house, it's been 11 years, and thought it would be so handy with a big family to not be ferrying a cup back and forth to add water to things.  At the time I was tripping over twin toddlers.  I still use mine almost everyday!!!!  I love it, and would absolutely get one again.  It was about $300, and totally worth it!!!!!  Its not an issue of price point or comparable housing, it's a matter of if you think you would like one.   Do you often add water to pans?  Have to clear out the sink to fill a big pot?  Have more than one person in the kitchen?  Have a kid washing dishes, cutting veggies, ect. while you are cooking?  And for the record, after 11 years and many kids in my kitchen, I've never had accidental spills.  

[KungFuPanda]

I love to cook and own and use more kitchen paraphernalia than most people.  I think pot fillers in non-commercial kitchens are silly and gimmicky.  People aren't using industrial-sized pots at home and whether you use it frequently or not you'll have to clean it constantly because of it's location.  At home, your sink is just much closer than in a commercial kitchen so you're talking about installing a faucet mere feet from another faucet.

[Innisfree]

Pot fillers just came to my notice as I started thinking about some minor kitchen renovations here.

I will say, I've been wishing I could get a sink adjacent to the cooktop. Years ago, when we were dealing with my parents aging in their home, I read that it was much easier for older folks to not need to carry pots of water from sink to stove. We're also constantly tripping over each other to use the one sink. 

Trouble with pot fillers, as Annie G pointed out, is that they only eliminate the initial sink to stove trip. The water still needs to be emptied later. I imagine a pot filler could be useful, but I think I'd rather have a second small sink, if there's room, with an extendable faucet that would reach pots on the stovetop.

[medawyn]

10 hours ago, PeterPan said:

When we built our kitchen 11 years ago, wall mounted potfillers were common. I don't know if they are now. I decided against one because we figured people would turn it on and make a mess. Instead we went with a *small* sink beside the stove with a high neck faucet, and YES YES YES you want it!! I'm not sure what a "deck mounted" potfiller would be, but with a sink it's wonderful. My stove is in the corner, and the sink fits in the tiny space, the pie wedge/angle between the stove and the runs. I'll try to go take a picture. 

So with the sink, I can drain things, add water, fill pots, on and on, super useful. I'll come back with measurements. 12 1/2X6 1/2 X 5 1/2.

Also, we ran hot water to one handle and filtered drinking water to the other. So if I want to add filtered water to something I'm cooking, it's right there. So it's a 2 handled faucet.

This would be insanely useful!  Alas, the space configuration does not permit, but I would do that in a heartbeat.

[medawyn]

Thanks, Hive for weighing in.

Pros for me would be convenience filling large pots, but also topping up whatever is simmering, deglazing pans (esp if cleaning is the next step), giving the griddle a quick rinse to sluice off the grease, allowing other people to use (um, play in) my sink with less annoyance.

Cons would be location (mounted on the counter, so not able to reach all burners), cleaning it, the visual of the faucet sticking up, and, of course, the installation of a thing I may or may not use frequently.

[El...]

I would not do deck mounted.  I'd bump things on it ALL THE TIME.  But my kitchen is tiny right now, so I'm all about preserving space.  

[PeterPan]

39 minutes ago, medawyn said:

Cons would be location (mounted on the counter, so not able to reach all burners), cleaning it, the visual of the faucet sticking up, and, of course, the installation of a thing I may or may not use frequently.

I would not do this. (caveats in next post) I do think you'd use it, sure. How often do you draw pots of water or use the type of water that would be there? I make oatmeal daily and pasta only once a week, so filtered water was more important to me than water for a big pot. Look at what you cook.

Have you used a kitchen designer? Posted on the forums at Gardenweb? There used to be an avid community there of kitchen design obsessed persons, hahaha. 

You could post the layout here. Maybe there's something you've missed. Is this going into an island, penninsula? Negotiable? We did a two level island, so we have a maybe 5" backsplash for outlets. It is just enough to cover the view of the faucet, knife block, etc. from the great room. You might have more options. Still not sure how that gets you a potfiller, but I guess just think, post your drawings, etc.

Edited October 4, 2019 by PeterPan

[PeterPan]

Oh and the *reason* I would not do a deck mounted faucet like that is because you want to be able to use your surfaces many ways. Are your counters deeper? Mine are deeper than standard, per the suggestions in Don Silver's book Kitchen Design with Cooking in Mind. Super good thing to do if you have the space. So if your counters are 30" deep and you want to deck mount way back, I'd definitely consider it. Depends on the overall flow.

You want a long run of unbroken counter so you can lay out food for parties. As long as you have that, I guess do anything you want.

Edited October 4, 2019 by PeterPan

[Annie G]

49 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Oh and the *reason* I would not do a deck mounted faucet like that is because you want to be able to use your surfaces many ways. Are your counters deeper? Mine are deeper than standard, per the suggestions in Don Silver's book Kitchen Design with Cooking in Mind. Super good thing to do if you have the space. So if your counters are 30" deep and you want to deck mount way back, I'd definitely consider it. Depends on the overall flow.

You want a long run of unbroken counter so you can lay out food for parties. As long as you have that, I guess do anything you want.

Can you elaborate on why 30” countertops are better for cooking? I’m assuming you have to get custom base cabinets to match, right?   I use my 40” wide peninsula for rolling out noodles, etc., but I have to walk around because my reach isn’t super long.   But I’d love to hear why he recommended them. (And I hope I don’t fall in love with the idea since we just finished our kitchen renovation a week ago!)

[Lady Florida.]

10 hours ago, katilac said:

I was today years old when I learned what a pot filler was. 

So was I and I suspect I'm a good bit older than you. 🙂 

I'm with those who think they're gimmicky and not really that useful. Dh and I have been looking at both existing remodeled homes and newly built (in a brand new community) as we get closer to moving to our retirement home. Now that I know what a pot filler is I can say we haven't seen one in any of the homes or models we've looked at. I also haven't seen them as an upgrade option in the new communities we toured.

Edited October 4, 2019 by Lady Florida.

[PeterPan]

42 minutes ago, Annie G said:

Can you elaborate on why 30” countertops are better for cooking? I’m assuming you have to get custom base cabinets to match, right?   I use my 40” wide peninsula for rolling out noodles, etc., but I have to walk around because my reach isn’t super long.   But I’d love to hear why he recommended them. (And I hope I don’t fall in love with the idea since we just finished our kitchen renovation a week ago!)

So this is the book I was reading when I planned out my kitchen Amazon.com › Complete-Guide-Kitchen-Design-CookingThe Complete Guide to Kitchen Design With Cooking in Mind ...  He suggests you could pull out stock cabinets and put in side panels to hide. You are correct that my cabinets are custom. They were going to be custom anyway (all wood because of chemical sensitivities).

What I did for mine, and you see what you think your space will allow, is I made my counters fit the depth *I* could reach comfortably. I'll go measure and report back. Remember you have the overhang of the counter and then the depth of the cabs. And the cabs can be furred out a bit. I think I made my island something in-between, because 30" was too much for my arms. I'll be back with data.

[Annie G]

1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

So this is the book I was reading when I planned out my kitchen Amazon.com › Complete-Guide-Kitchen-Design-CookingThe Complete Guide to Kitchen Design With Cooking in Mind ...  He suggests you could pull out stock cabinets and put in side panels to hide. You are correct that my cabinets are custom. They were going to be custom anyway (all wood because of chemical sensitivities).

What I did for mine, and you see what you think your space will allow, is I made my counters fit the depth *I* could reach comfortably. I'll go measure and report back. Remember you have the overhang of the counter and then the depth of the cabs. And the cabs can be furred out a bit. I think I made my island something in-between, because 30" was too much for my arms. I'll be back with data.

Thanks for the info! we’ve done our kitchen but oldest Dd just moved into a house and the kitchen needs to be gutted. DH’s folks gave us a generous gift when we bought our house, intended for remodeling costs, and we’re planning to do the same for Dd. I’ll check out the book and see if Dd likes the idea.  

 

[Carol in Cal.]

4 hours ago, medawyn said:

Thanks, Hive for weighing in.

Pros for me would be convenience filling large pots, but also topping up whatever is simmering, deglazing pans (esp if cleaning is the next step), giving the griddle a quick rinse to sluice off the grease, allowing other people to use (um, play in) my sink with less annoyance.

Cons would be location (mounted on the counter, so not able to reach all burners), cleaning it, the visual of the faucet sticking up, and, of course, the installation of a thing I may or may not use frequently.

 

All those extra things you mentioned I handle by having a tea kettle that I fill with water to make pour over coffee daily, and then use the extra all day as needed--topping off, deglazing, rinse/soak, etc.  If I need more water for those things, I carry the tea kettle to the sink and fill it and bring it back.  Because it is covered, nothing ever spills on the floor.

I am really glad I don't have a sink or faucet on my kitchen island with the stove top.  This makes the counter space more useful and visually less cluttered.  I like having a big, open counter area for working at the stove, and having a 'hole' in it would make it far less functional.  I would not want a sink or a pot filler there.  I don't even want a fan overhead--luckily my predecessor felt the same way and put in a Jenn Air cooktop with a counterheight fan that controls smells better than any overhead fan I have ever had.

[Laura Corin]

I use an electric kettle too.

[PeterPan]

6 hours ago, Annie G said:

Can you elaborate on why 30” countertops are better for cooking? I’m assuming you have to get custom base cabinets to match, right?   I use my 40” wide peninsula for rolling out noodles, etc., but I have to walk around because my reach isn’t super long.   But I’d love to hear why he recommended them. (And I hope I don’t fall in love with the idea since we just finished our kitchen renovation a week ago!)

Sorry for the lag! I started to measure and then had to run. Here are our numbers and how I got them.

So my perimeter countertops are 28 1/2" deep. The actual cabs are 27" deep, and remember that does *not* include the drawer face. The door/drawer faces can vary, so cabinet depth (iirc) is for the cabinet itself. Then you have the overhang of the countertop another say 1 1/4". It varies with the product (laminate vs. quartz vs whatever). 

So 27" cabinets are not 30" like Don Silvers is using. If mine were that deep, it would be crazy! I'm shrinking and my arms are pretty short anyway on my frame. I have spices running along the counter under a run of plug mold and a bay window. You can google plug mold. It can be installed anywhere, is cheap, and it's the bomb for function. I have it everywhere it was practical to install. Anyways, at that depth (28 1/4 countertop), when I stand there I can reach my spice jars. If it were deeper, I couldn't reach them. But with 24" cabs, I wouldn't have room to have stuff stored on the counter AND work the way I do. I leave those jars there when I make noodles, host parties, anything. 

If you really want to get OCD, you can measure your baking racks to make sure they fit on your counters. So I can run my racks vertically or double deep horizontally without moving my spice jars. When I was picking the depths, I was literally measuring products and deciding it that way. Measure your stuff you'll be using in the work space.

My island countertop is 31" deep and the cabs are 29 1/2". They're deep like coffins, haha, but they're nice. I use that area to prep salads, so the drawers underneath hold my cutting boards, baggies, salad bowls, and dish towels. My largest Boos board will fit in that drawer with room in front for Clingwrap and foil. And again, I was measuring whether I would have room for the cutting board and the salad bowls at that depth. And I think that was the farthest, the absolute farthest, I could reach without bending or straining my back. I didn't want to be straining my back just to wipe counters.

So I've been in this kitchen about 11 years now and I like the mix, yes. If I were doing it with stock cabs, I would just fur them out to the depth that worked for me, assuming the floor space works.

[PeterPan]

3 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I am really glad I don't have a sink or faucet on my kitchen island with the stove top.  This makes the counter space more useful and visually less cluttered. 

Yes! Even though I have a sink in my island, I have the opposite counter run with nothing breaking it up. So if I host, I can put food on the island bar area and desserts on the long counter. It's also great for long projects like baking, canning, making noodles.

3 hours ago, Annie G said:

I’ll check out the book and see if Dd likes the idea.  

How fun that you get to help your dd with her kitchen! Silvers has some unusual ideas. He's really opposed to french door frigs, which are very popular. And I think the 30" thing definitely reflects that he's a man. I wouldn't need *all* my counters that deep unless I had a BIG kitchen. But even 1-2" can make things more spacious without costing that much more.

Here's that plugmold. Great stuff. https://www.legrand.us/adorne/inspiration/video/vanillaice-undercab.aspx 

[Annie G]

Peter Pan, Dd would definitely love the plug mold idea.  They just bought a French door fridge, and we did also. The difference is they have four kids at home! French door seems like a crazy choice for them. 

 

I have an alcove that holds a microwave and toaster oven but other than that the only thing on my counters is a large Boos block. Mom and Dad bought the Boos for me at our last house- we had a small cabinet on one side of the stove and they bought a Boos countertop to go there so I could roll noodles and knead bread. When we moved we took it with us, cut off the lip on the back, and it lives on my counter.  Man I love that thing. 

Dd keeps tons of things on her counters so deeper cabinets and countertops might really help. And her kitchen is huge so she has plenty of room to do that. I’ll tell her about the book but definitely not push the idea. 

I’ll likely limit my kitchen ‘help’ to $. Dear son in law is just learning how to do household repairs and renovations and sometimes he bristles when she calls us for reno advice before asking him.  It’s their house- dh and I love renovating together and hope they have the same bonding experience doing theirs. Hopefully they’ll build confidence to do what they can and the $ will free them to hire out what they can’t do. 

[Carrie12345]

If I were truly gutting my kitchen, I’d add one.

For me, it isn’t about the weight, but about the wait!  I super multi-task in the kitchen... and have ADHD. Waiting for a pot to fill is TORTURE to me, lol.  I do fill a lot of pots.  My faucet does move so I can fill on the counter if the sink is cluttered, but the angle is weird, so I have to hold the flexy faucet the whole time or it will bob around and make a mess.  I’ve tried!

I’d never add one as it’s own project, but I’d totally do it as a minor addition to a major project.

[medawyn]

2 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

If I were truly gutting my kitchen, I’d add one.

For me, it isn’t about the weight, but about the wait!  I super multi-task in the kitchen... and have ADHD. Waiting for a pot to fill is TORTURE to me, lol.  I do fill a lot of pots.  My faucet does move so I can fill on the counter if the sink is cluttered, but the angle is weird, so I have to hold the flexy faucet the whole time or it will bob around and make a mess.  I’ve tried!

I’d never add one as it’s own project, but I’d totally do it as a minor addition to a major project.

Oh, we’re gutting.  Down to the studs and moving walls.  I might lose my mind during the process, but I’m telling myself it will all be worth it.  I’m hoping never to do this again, so I’m trying to think of all the things!