You cannot shove a cooking surface against a wall. Fire code clearances will prohibit that. You really need a 30” rangetop there to give enough of a safety zone. Or build a much larger space.

Hi, Sophie, Thank you for your help. I checked with my GC, who checked with the city inspector. Their recommendation in terms of clearance of range top installation is to follow the manufacture installation manual.

Capital Cooking recommends 0 inch clearance to the back wall, and 12 inch clearance to the side wall (even if the side wall is covered with non-combustible materials like SS or tiles) from any of their open burner range tope (such Cullinarian Rangetop), according to the tech support on the phone and installation manual that they emailed me. As for Bluestar, their tech service said there is 0 clearance to the side wall and 0 inch clearance to the back wall for their open burner range top (such as the Platinum unit). I am waiting for the manual to be emailed to me.

I can't make sense as to why the differences between these two open burner units from two different manufactures when it comes to recommendation for the side wall clearance. Would you be able to provide your opinions on that?

You mentioned about Fire code. Just wondering if you have references that you can direct me to so I can look it up myself.

Thank you ahead of time for your help.

I don't think Bluestar side clearance is 0 if there is a wall. I believe it is 6 inches minimum clearance to a wall. It is 0 to a base cabinet. The manuals are on the Bluestar website.

Is that a refrigerator on the bottom with no clearance as well? Could you post the whole kitchen?

That's a small enclosed space for two high powered wok burners. It'll heat up fast and require a lot of air flow through the doorway for a hood.

Thank you for your input.

Vinmarks: I'll check out the manual to make sure I get the correct information. Thank you.

jslazart: At the bottom is the convection oven. But it'll probably be moved to the main kitchen. Instead, it'll be a combo-steam oven there. The entire kitchen is posted below.

dan1888: We will be getting an 1400 CFM wall hood with external blower and silencer to provide the ventilation. I have asked Ferguson appliance expert and SnyderDiamond appliance expert, my GC, but none of them recommend/or have heard of MUA (Make up air) or have sold MUA unit. The general consensus from them is to open the window and/or door. Since the house is in southern Cal quite close to the ocean, it's thought that the outside air can be easily pulled in by the high CFM range hood to provide air for the cooking (and me breathing). (I usually just handle one wok cooking at time. So it'll not be two or more wok going on at the same time. But I may do some indoor grilling. I love grilled food.)

Here is the main kitchen and the wok kitchen. In the Main kitchen, the stove is actually going to be an induction cook top. Wok kitchen will have a high BTU 36" or 48" Capital or BS open burner styles of range top (need help to decide).

Haven’t even heard of make up air? That’s not a good sign.

I wouldn't necessarily expect an appliance person to know or care about makeup air, its more of a HVAC thing, but the GC should. It's part of the code most of the United States localities follow, however local enforcement can of course be variable. Even if it's not required by code or a lack of code enforcement, with 1400cfm in a new/newish (?) construction you probably should have it. Opening a window every time you run the hood will serve a similar purpose but this is obviously an expensive endeavor here, skimping on a safety issue or hiring people that are willing to skimp or worse don't even know they are skimping seems ill advised.

Have to wonder about the utility of this sort of secondary kitchen in the first place much less craming a huge cooking surface into it. You don't seem to need such a big cooking surface from your description. I'd definitely want the steam oven in the most used area unless you are getting two. The workflow in the main kitchen could stand some improvements if you can still make changes.

Also the bluestar installation manual, which is easily accessible online, will show you need 6" side clearance to combustible surface. The 0" clearance is the adjacent lower base cabinet.

Where we are anything over 400 cfm requires makeup air.

Dr.B477 Thank you for your input. I'll definitely speak with my GC and HVAC guy about the MUA. As to having a secondary kitchen, it's because I had one in my previous house and I really like that fact the wok cooking is done in a enclosed room instead of in a open-concept kitchen. It keeps the smoke, smell, and noises etc away from the "great room" where the main kitchen and family sitting area are. It helps with the asthma condition that runs in the family. I can have a not-so clean/neat kitchen that's out of sight. It definitely is a unnecessary luxury. I agree with you. I am very grateful that I can have the option of having a secondary kitchen.

The main kitchen layout is indeed less than ideal. I think mainly because of the "bump in" due to the very strict sideline restriction, which I had put up a fight for with the city but lost. I have gone through multiple designers and the forum for ideas and alternatives. And this is the best we can come up with. We are already at the stage of installing plumbing rough-ins, wiring, and will be meeting the cabinetry maker next week. I need to get my appliances' model numbers tp him. I'll have the steam oven in the wok room and the convection oven in the main kitchen.

I wrote to both BS and CC tech services and focused on the question whether they would change the recommendation on the side wall clearance if the side wall is covered with non-flammable surface (such as SS, granite/quartz slab, or tiles). BS said that they would still recommend 6 inch clearance. CC said it's ok to decrease to maybe 3 inches of clearance (from 12 inch if it's combustible surface). I still don't quite understand the differences in their questions. But I'll probably go with 36 inch Capital, just to err on the side of caution.

vinmarks: Thank you very much for letting me know about the requirement. Do you know where I can look it up on line so I can show it to my GC and HVAC guy? I have been going through websites after websites but can't really find the actual "code" in writing.

Thank you very much again for all your help.

a combustible surface like drywall covered in tile or stone is still consider combustible.

Dear Dr.B477 Just wondering, then why the back wall is ok to have 0" clearance from the stove? Isn't it because it's usually covered with some types of non-combustible backsplashes or SS guard? (not to be challenging, just for my curiosity...) Thank you ahead of time for your thoughts.

In summary you need a backguard, non combustible material behind the range/rangetop (including extending below the range) or 6" clearance.

You persist in reading the specs incorrectly. And you are creating a fire hazard, and a health hazard. You need someone with a clue on board.

Is a wok kitchen/wok room in the home common in certain parts of the world or common for people who frequently cook certain cuisines?

Make-up air (MUA) -- our favorite wallet-draining horror -- horror, that is, when we find out about it. MUA is the air that flows into the house/kitchen to make up for the air that is extracted by the hood system. There is always MUA, and the MUA flow always matches the hood flow, but if the MUA path is restricted, then a few bad things can happen due to the resulting negative house pressure relative to the outside pressure. These include: reduced hood flow rate, hazardous back-drafting of combustion appliances and fireplaces, pulling of exterior moisture into the walls, and pulling of dust out of the walls.

In most parts of the US, the International Building Code (and/or its subsidiary codes) are incorporated in some manner into the local building code, or the state building code, as applicable. Typically, the local code will call for a deliberate MUA system above 400 CFM rated hood flow rate. In some locales where perhaps a passing engineer had influence, the code is modified to relate to measured pressure drop, not an arbitrary hood flow rate that isn't actually achieved.

In relatively unique temperate climate zones such as around San Diego, and perhaps in Hawai'i, open windows will functionally suffice from a heating, cooling, and flow rate point of view. Nonetheless, their acceptability may still be questioned because they require human action to open the windows. And even open windows can have some pressure loss across their screens, so I would recommend carbon monoxide alarms if combustion appliances are used in a house using the window MUA approach when the appliances do not have their own source of low pressure loss MUA.

Bluestar's installation manuals are on their website.

"This appliance has been designed to be installed directly against rear walls and side base cabinets. It cannot be installed directly against tall side cabinets, side walls, tall appliances or base cabinets extending beyond 24 inches [610 mm]. "

Going further, if you look at their installation clearance diagrams, you need a minimum of 6" either side to any adjacent vertical face that is 24" deep.

MUA isn’t required in temperate CA. If it’s not in the local building code, then it’s not required. Carbon monoxide detectors are required and either built-into the fire alarm system, or a separate plug in unit. Have you taken into consideration how difficult it is to use a burner that has a wall on the right side? How could a right-handed person get their arm in there to stir a pot, etc? You definitely need counter space on either side of the cooktop.

This is supposed to be an area for using a wok. Even ignoring the fact that you probably need some staging space for ingredients, a 14" or maybe even 16" wok is simply not going to be usable directly next to a wall. That's a big pot. It overhangs the sides of the stove. I'd say, you need at least 12" on both sides of the stove to be barely functional. 24" on at least one side would be much better.

Personally, if I did design a wok kitchen, I'd go all out and put just a wok burner in there. A single burner is really all you need. There is no way you can stir-fry two dishes at the same time.

I'd absolutely love a commercial wok burner. But building and fire codes might not agree. And you might have to deal with a standing pilot, which isn't that much fun in a residential setting. And you might also be forced to install a fire suppression system.

So, a regular 24" residential wok burner would be a more likely configuration. There are not many companies that make those. But there are a few. And I think some of them are high-BTU and do fit a round-bottom wok.

I think fire suppression systems are mandatory in new builds and additions in CA. Even I have one in my garage in a 30 year old house. It’s questionable if it works because we’re on a well and I’m not sure our house pump produces the pressure it needs. In any case a biting pilot light in a CA home in the summer would be unbearable. Plus the cost.... go residential- doesn’t gaggenau have a module wok burner? I’m pretty sure they do. Totally agree with the clearances - you’re going to need the room.

Michelle, M and Heather, Thank you very much for your input. My previous house had a 24 inch wok burner in the wok kitchen. I realized then I do need more than 2 burners. I would like to do a quick vegetable dish in the wok while managing another dish, such as fried rice. That way, both dishes are done nearly at the same time and we can have sizzlingly hot food. (Heat is half the magic for some dishes...IMHO)

So I think I'll go with 36 inch Capital Culinarian (4 burners with grill in the middle). That way, I'll have 12 inches of counter top on the right side to the side wall, and 36 inches of counter space to my left hand. That may work well, don't you think so? I have both 14 and 16 inches woks.

In the olden days when I was a little girl, my grandma and aunties managed that pilot light for the wok burner (wood burning stove) whole day long without any problems. And wonderful dishes came out from that wok, meal after meal, day after day. (But I know these are bygone days.) We'll definitely have a CO detector in the kitchen. I'll check with city whether we indeed need to put in MUA system (hopefully not, since the house is in SoCal coastal area).

Kaseki, getting an input from you just made my day. We live in an area very similar to costal San Diego. Hopefully we can pass the MUA requirement with our single window in the wok kitchen. But I'll definitely put in a CO detector and will consider ccbinnovations MVA after speaking with the city, my GC and HAVC people. Thank you.

As kaseki points out, MUA is not simply something one does because code states it must be done.

" Make-up air (MUA) -- our favorite wallet-draining horror -- horror, that is, when we find out about it. MUA is the air that flows into the house/kitchen to make up for the air that is extracted by the hood system. There is always MUA, and the MUA flow always matches the hood flow, but if the MUA path is restricted, then a few bad things can happen due to the resulting negative house pressure relative to the outside pressure. These include: reduced hood flow rate, hazardous back-drafting of combustion appliances and fireplaces, pulling of exterior moisture into the walls, and pulling of dust out of the walls. "

Make-up air is the air that gets sucked out of the house by the hood. It has to come from somewhere. If you don't provide enough intentionally-designed fresh make-up air, the hood will pull from places you don't want it to (caused by negative pressure) and that could be hazardous.

Does opening a window suffice? Regardless of code, maybe, maybe not. It depends on the window, where it is located relative to the vent hood, and whether pulling from it short-circuits proper air flow across the combustion plume.

The newer and tighter the construction, the more important it is to properly design MUA. The addition of other combustion appliances like fireplaces, hot water heaters, and gas furnaces make MUA even more critical as you don't want to pull the needed air the wrong direction through those appliances ventilation stacks.

Just heard back from NextDoor (neighborhood communication app), one neighbor said that he had a recent kitchen remodeling done 6 months ago and put in a 1200 CFM vent hood, no need for MUAs (This issue did not even come up for him) and passed the inspection fine. A local general contractor also chimed in and said in our area (SoCal coastal area. Our neighborhood is quite close to the ocean), MUA is not required. So indeed, in temperate areas, MUA can be done naturally. This is definitely a good news for our project. Thank you all.

loobob: Thank you for your question. I am no expert in wok cooking or wok kitchen (knowledge wise or design wise). But I have noticed that recent/new built houses in SoCal (esp. Asian community) have wok kitchen next to their main kitchen. Some of the wok kitchen (or work kitchen) is basically a full-function kitchen with high BTU burners, refrigerator, ovens, sink etc. in addition to the main kitchen that already has a full suite of kitchen appliances. I've seen similar trend in some parts of Asia also. Hope this answered your question. Thank you again.

My wok is my single most useful pot. If I had to guess, I'd say it gets used for 80% of all meals that we cook. We use it both for Asian and Western cooking. So, I can absolutely see building a kitchen around the ability to use the wok. And in a way, that's what we are doing by choosing a Bluestar range.

To a lesser degree, I can understand having a dedicated wok kitchen. I do realize that smells from high-heat stir frying can a troublesome. My first reaction would be to simply improve venting in my main kitchen. But moving the wok somewhere more remote obviously helps, too. For that reason, some people move their wok burners outside. That also opens more options for really high-BTU wok burners.

What I don't understand is having two full kitchens, where one of them has a wok burner. Realistically, I'd only use the one with the wok burner. So, why bother having the second one. But then, everybody's use case is different. I am sure you have some scenario in mind, where having two stoves makes sense for your family.

I totally get it. It’s a custom home thing in CA. Do enjoy your new kitchen for many years to come. Now, to Figure out how to get Dim Sum out of my new steam oven. Can’t wait!

I kind of agree with the above comment. If you want/need to have closed off kitchen for the wok/spice/whatever, why not just have a single, closed off kitchen rather than duplicate kitchens? I love open space, but it isn't for everyone, and not if it requires you to build two kitchens.

And for an alternative view on it, if the only concern is smell, then consider seriously over-engineering the vent hood. It might cost you several thousand dollars extra. But that's bound to be cheaper than an entire second kitchen.

Maybe, @kaseki can chime in with ideas on how to design the perfect vent hood (as in, "what would you do, if money wasn't really a limiting factor?").

I am thinking of something like 1) big overhang, 2) high CFM rating, 3) optimally routed vent ducts, 4) dedicated MUA around the sides of the stove.

Having said that, it depends on your tolerance for food smells (does it have to be zero smells, or is a little bit OK?), on the foods you cook (is it "just" bamboo, Szechuan peppercorns and chilli oil? or is it stinky tofu, boiled silk worms and durian?), and maybe a little on the layout constraints (is the stove next to walls or is it in an island? is there space to run ducts?).

We regularly cook Chinese foods, we have a semi-open floorplan, and even the hood that came with the house did a pretty good job at keeping smells at bay. Chilli oil and fermented ingredients wasn't really an issue; but I never went to extremes such as stinky tofu. It was a decent'ish hood (1200CFM, I think), but it had inadequate overlap with the cooking area. There was a lot that could be improved with that design.

Ah, the durian challenge.

But before that let me note with respect to an earlier message that the CO detector needs to be near the potentially back-drafted combustion appliances, such as a hot water heater, and/or in the general living quarters, not near the hood causing the back-drafting.

The Greenheck Guide here is much more thorough covering requirements than I can possibly type into this thread. Essentially one wants a commercial kitchen hood and MUA system with a specific flow rate more or less conforming to the "Extra Heavy" column of the Guide's Figure 4, page 9. This is 185 ft/min = 185 CFM/sq. ft. A means to keep the MUA relatively laminar in the room (a wide source is needed for a small room) will minimize cross drafts at the cooking zone.

Under the hood would be a commercial wok stove, ca. 100k+ BTUh for each burner. All the requirements for safety would need to be incorporated into the kitchen, including fire suppression in the hood, lack of nearby combustibles, and commercial rules for the exhaust duct construction.

The kitchen would be modeled on Beijing hotel restaurants of bygone years (where coal stoves were used) by having tile on each of the six room surfaces. The floor would have a drain. A steam lance, pressure washer, or other means of directly cleaning the walls, along with stainless steel cabinets, counters, and sink area would allow speedy but thorough degreasing at whatever intervals were necessary. (The floor drain would likely need a grease trap.)

This construction may not be more expensive than modern kitchen renovations having expensive wood cabinets, stone counters, and magnificent floors.

Oh, and the hood exhaust up-blast blower may need to be on a tall stack if wanting to deal with durian but not wanting to deal with neighborhood torch and pitchfork parades.

Ok. I’m not Asian, so I may not get nuanced things, but the second kitchen is the kitchen this poster is going to be using most, and the great room kitchen is basically the new living room where everything is clean and ready for guests. I’ve seen this in the construction- both remodeling and new. It makes sense if you do a lot of high heat and spicy cooking and don’t want that seeping into the furniture, drapes, etc. Remember what smoking did to interiors? This poster definitely needs her second kitchen.

I’ve designed several “spice kitchens”. None were in danger of setting the house afire. Or sending the user to the burn ward as they knock the wok against the wall. This one is in danger of all of that.