The wife and I are having a new house built. The builder suggested we install a 36-inch Range as a focal point in the kitchen. The layout of the cabinets, island and range will look amazing.

So last weekend during a trip to Home Depot, I thought I would look at 36-inch ranges. I was surprised to learn that they did not have any in the store. When I had some free time this week, I started checking them out online. Holy Crap they are expensive. $3,000 -$12,000. That got me thinking, how much discount does a builder get on appliances?

Does anyone have any experience with builder discounts on appliances?

Does anyone have any experience with these behemoths of the kitchen? Recommendations on brand? What I should be looking for? If I am going to invest thousands, I want to make sure I make a good decision.

I put a 48" Viking range in the home we built in 2006. It was a joy to cook on but we had some reliability issues. It was beautiful but as I recall it was north of $8k and it did have a few repairs in the first 5 years.

36" no way, I'd stick with the standard 30" range. Going to a 36" limits your choices.

Discount 10%

Using odd ball sizes now just makes for headaches down the road when they need to be replaced.

I hardly think that 36" is considered an oddball size anymore. It's pretty common in higher end houses these days. Do you have a high end appliance store near you? We have one locally and they have a clearance area that is awesome. They sell scratch and dent, repaired etc but they all have a full factory warranty.

I'm for utilitarian. Vulcan 36C-6B Endurance Restaurant Range 36". Ugly and bullet-proof. $4600

http://www.vulcanequipment.com...-Oven-and-6-Burners/

One thing you have to consider is the fuel supply line for your range if you are going true professional you will have to make sure you have an adequate fuel supply.

36" range is a great choice if you either entertain or have a large family and hold the gatherings there.

If neither of those are something you do then just get a 30", it will save you quite a bit of money and give you a lot more options.

I've done a ton of recent resesrch on this. First, stay away from Viking. They have had a lot of issues lately. The best is Wolf, then I would go Thermador and then the more budget friendly good option is Jenn Air.

My in-laws' ranch house has an older Wolf commercial range with 6 or 8 burners. I think it's a 48". The cooktop is great but the oven isn't insulated very well and the kitchen gets awfully hot when the oven is in use. Might be worth investigating to be sure the range you select has a well insulated oven.

We have a 48" Wolf range in our kitchen. Can't remember what it cost (4 years ago) but I want to say around $9K. It's great but so much better than others that it is worth the premium price. If the high-end appliances weren't expected for resale in this area, I probably wouldn't have done it.

As mentioned above, Vulcan commercial ranges are a great choice. If I had room for a 36, that is exactly what I would get. Check these out:

Central Restaurant

They offer free shipping on these.

While they might not be as pretty as a Wolf, etc., they are very functional.

Do it. The extra space is awesome. I love being able to get a large stock pot on the stove next to a large fry pan and still have room for several sauce pans.

when we were selling to builders, the discount rate was totally dependent upon the amount of buying they did.

Phil worked on two homes a year and paid a totally different price than

Bubba who put up 36 homes per year.

plus
some folks want to stipulate the number of pieces and the quality of the pieces.

so it was not uncommon for Phil to get pretty much the same deal as Bubba, 5 or 6 times per year

quote:

Originally posted by Ozarkwoods:
One thing you have to consider is the fuel supply line for your range if you are going true professional you will have to make sure you have an adequate fuel supply.

Along there lines, you will likely need to up the CFM rating of your exhaust fan for the addition BTU's of the range. Particularly if you chose one with an integrated chargrill or griddle. Our Viking had a built in chargrill and we loved being able to grill indoors in all weather conditions.

quote:

Vulcan commercial ranges are a great choice.

Check with your insurance agent prior to installing a commercial stove in your residential kitchen. You may not be covered if it burns your house down.

Commercial units are not designed to be installed in your typical residential setting. It's not safe. Commercial style residential units is what you want to be looking at.

A friend of mine has just outfitted his new townhouse with all slightly used high end KitchAid stuff from scouring Craig's List ~ all at a fraction of NEW price.

We bought a floor model 36" Wolf from the local dealer/store when they were changing displays and saved quite a bit. We ended up paying $3500. I would have paid more. It's been great.

We built our house in 2011 and installed a 48" GE Monogram with gas burners and electric oven. My wife cooks constantly, and it has never missed a beat. When we were looking, we ran into the same QC questions regarding Viking. I was leary about the GE, but we've been nothing but satisfied with it.

quote:

Originally posted by wxdave:
As mentioned above, Vulcan commercial ranges are a great choice. If I had room for a 36, that is exactly what I would get.

Do Not put a true commercial range in your hose unless you have a commercial kitchen. They are not designed to sit up against cabinets. They require an up draft vent and they require make up air for the air the vent sucks out.

Wolf is the gold standard for home. Viking is junk, just a regular range with two oven burners instead of one. Electrolux and Jenn Air will give you the look and perform well.

You can also put in a 36 or 48" cooktop and a couple of 30" wall ovens.

The real bottom line is are you actually going to "cook" on this or is it a "focal point for our new kitchen"

quote:

Originally posted by Appliance Brad:
Do Not put a true commercial range in your hose unless you have a commercial kitchen.

The only people I know who put this in their kitchen had to put it in a brick alcove; they always complained about the heat. The 60" range I've worked on has practically no insulation; the oven doors are a burning hazard; I could not work on one oven while the other was preheating.

A customer gave me a Garland a while back. I left it next to my back door and pan-cooked steaks, fish, onions. Loved the control on its burners. Kept the range covered with sheet steel when not in use, used it thru all seasons for a couple of years before trading it off. Bet it was not rated for residential use.