Man Kitchen

Finally getting around to building a fish cleaning/deer processing/squirrel gutting/mushroom cutting station

I’d like some input for ideas, changes, and materials.

I’ve got 118″ of length to work with. Existing garage with somewhat fixed utilities. There’s an old sink/counter in the picture that I’m pulling.

Would like to knock the project out this week and not spend a million dollars on it.

The left side is an inside corner with 120V and 240V power, then 118″ of wall space, with water overhead and drainage to a floor drain on the other side of the wall, then an outside corner to the right.

Currently I have a 43″ wide sink and some 42″ wide wall cabinets that I got from demo job. Looking to add a big countertop and a used electric oven/stove for frying fish etc.

The stove pretty much has to be on the left (power source), but the sink/cabinets/counter could go anywhere.

I’m also all ears on what to use for a counter top and the best/cleanest way to get it to drain into the sink. I picked up a flexible sheet of white plastic from Menards today, was thinking of using a few of them on the walls but think some would work as the counter top too (and flex over the edge of the sink) (Could still use a wood or poly cutting board on top of it if I felt the need)

For under the countertop I’m looking at a pair of new 36″ kitchen cabinets to store meat processing equipment in, or maybe could find some outdoor patio cabinets that would work even better?

What would you do for layout? What types of materials? Any and all ideas welcome!!!!

I’ll get some pics up in a minute.

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sounds solid!!!

Can’t beat stainless steel for cleaning fish or cutting up meat on. FB has a lot of used stainless steel tables from restaurants you can pick up for a decent price. I have a 6′ stainless steel table that’s brand new I would part with but it’s stored up at the lake and I won’t have access to it for awhile. Stainless steel wipes down easy and won’t absorb anything.

Yeah, I would think SS tables so you can pull them away from the wall to clean it. I’d try and keep any seems away from where there could be water. Maybe the plastic panels fit that bill but I would think the seams would get gnarly.

How are you going to vent it?

i worked with SS for 28 years…..its hard on knives working directly on it. stainless is great to clean up, use cutting boards on top.

personally i’d use a Formica type countertop. cleans up well. a splash type guard up against the wall!!

and a jug of the DAWN Powerwash nearby!!!!

Matt Moen wrote:

Yeah, I would think SS tables so you can pull them away from the wall to clean it. I’d try and keep any seems away from where there could be water. Maybe the plastic panels fit that bill but I would think the seams would get gnarly.

How are you going to vent it?

I’d like to make something fixed with a big backsplash that’s watertight and drains directly into the prep sink.

There’s commercial worktables available but they’re thousands of dollars…I don’t need to go quite that far lol

As for venting? I think for now all I’d do is open the window next to where the stove would be in the corner. It wouldn’t be used very often, but would be nice for burning fish, boiling skulls, browning bones for broth, finishing maple syrup, etc (stuff I’d rather not do in the house). If I got really ambitious it wouldn’t be hard to add a range hood and vent it out the exterior wall though, something I hadn’t about about until you brought it up

B-man wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
Yeah, I would think SS tables so you can pull them away from the wall to clean it. I’d try and keep any seems away from where there could be water. Maybe the plastic panels fit that bill but I would think the seams would get gnarly.

How are you going to vent it?

I’d like to make something fixed with a big backsplash that’s watertight and drains directly into the sink.

There’s commercial worktables available but they’re thousands of dollars…I don’t need to go quite that far lol

As for venting? Assuming you’re referring to cooking, all I’d do is open the window next to where the stove would be in the corner. The stove/oven wouldn’t be used very often, but would be nice for burning fish, boiling skulls, browning bones for broth, finishing maple syrup, etc. (stuff I’d rather not do in the house)

What you want is a clean dishtable for a restaurant. It will have a backsplash and a rolled side and front to keep the water off the floor. It can be hooked to the left side or right side of your sink. Get a piece of cutting board to actually clean on and you are set. 48″ is all you will need but larger in 1′ increments are available. 48″ used should be had for between $250 & $450 depending on what you find. If you need more info shoot me a PM.

Apologies for not reading all of it, I may be repetitive.

Stainless steel counters with removable HDPE cutting boards, in sizes that easily fit in sink. I see many posted on Marketplace (SS tables).

Wall or ceiling mounted hoist for deer/ quarters.

Backsplash for walls, sucks cleaning walls.

If you would like a 304 s/st top custom built just let me know. I can build you any size and shape of top/drain board you want. I can even label it NSF if you wish.
The most common used clean dishtables you will find will be 30″ deep and have a 8″ tall backsplash and a 1.5″ wide x 3″ tall rolled front edge. They are designed to have the drain board at 34″ AFF to adapt to a standard dishmachine opening. You will need a 20″ deep “Y direction” sink for the standard opening turndown that’s formed into every table.
PM me if you have any questions.

I take it that the wife doesn’t want you cleaning in the house.

You have a solid plan with some great answers.

Charles wrote:

I take it that the wife doesn’t want you cleaning in the house.

You have a solid plan with some great answers.

It’s actually the opposite

Washing meat tubs and big cutting boards in the house just plain sucks. Letting the hot water fly against a backsplash in the garage is awesome

At our last house I converted an 8’x2′ garage closet into a cleaning station. It had a 6′ self-draining cutting table that went into a laundry tub. Best thing I ever did.

It’s what I miss the most from our last place, and we’re overdue for a new one. I want to pick all of your brains for things that you found useful or that you’d wish would have done different.

Here’s a pic of some 3-year-olds you guys might know pretend practicing with butter knives back in the day. They use real knives now

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Good lighting.

I’ve built quite a few custom garage kitchens over the years. Hardest part is getting past perception of how you’ll use it and reality. Reality is your limitted when you build for specific needs. Try to visualize what would make life easier by changing everything you hate about what you have now.
For me, its time constraints. So I have my pole barn set up to be as universal as possible and the easiest/fastest clean up. Uses change, might be deboning meat that was shot up and a ton of blood, or cutting finished steaks/roasts. Might be an assembly line butchering three elk or cleaning a half dozen walleyes, or grinding meat. Regardless, I have plastic cutting boards that fit my counter and I start with worst mess closest to sink.

I did learn quickly to power it like a real kitchen. Extension cords suck donkey balls when water/wet surfaces are involved. I have GFI quads and multi circuits so that no matter where I want the sealer, electric knife, grinder, sharpeners…..all have a place convenient to plug in.

lights & cabinets- don’t cut yourself short on lighting and storage. Early on for myself, I found that all my butchering supplies now have a home and EVERYTHING is there. No hunting around looking for crap. Its there, well lit, and ready to roll.

BTW, if your having upper cabinets made, ditch the idea of “standard” depth cabinets. I have a custom builder that is about the same price as buying box cabinets with a few upgrades. My standard kitchen wall cabinets are 14″ interior depth. For garage/shop I recommend 16″ depth. Additionally, chain store box cabinets are usually rated for about 50# of storage. the cabinets I have made far exceed that. Makes for superior storage of all the tools and supplies

Counter height and five foot high power outlets. The higher outlets allow you to keep cords up and out of your way.

Also, wall mounted J-hooks allow you to coil long cords and hang excess out of the way. Keep eight inch hook & loop straps in a drawer, great for keeping coiled cords together. (I was a data network engineer and project manager, love cable management stuff).

Brad Dimond wrote:

Counter height and five foot high power outlets. The higher outlets allow you to keep cords up and out of your way.

Also, wall mounted J-hooks allow you to coil long cords and hang excess out of the way. Keep eight inch hook & loop straps in a drawer, great for keeping coiled cords together. (I was a data network engineer and project manager, love cable management stuff).

These are excellent and often overlooked ideas! I know a lot of people use cordless tools now, but also a good shelf to house chargers (plugged in) and extra batteries would be very nice.

Brad Dimond wrote:

Counter height and five foot high power outlets. The higher outlets allow you to keep cords up and out of your way.

Also, wall mounted J-hooks allow you to coil long cords and hang excess out of the way. Keep eight inch hook & loop straps in a drawer, great for keeping coiled cords together. (I was a data network engineer and project manager, love cable management stuff).

No doubt the higher outlets help keep things dry, just remember if your using any “standard” kitchen appliances, you’re often limited to a 2 foot cord

I made mine out of 2×6 and Stained it and a bunch of layers of lacquer. Like a giant cutting board and cleans up easily. Main reason was because I wanted one end to hinge up for freezer access.

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Its like 5 years old now could use a recoat.

Big ol’ fat Sauger in that pic, Jeremy! (sorry, off topic)

But B-man, you already got the tough part taken care of with plenty of access to plumbing and wall space. Plans look good, love the idea of oversized and heavy cabinets that you wouldn’t hesitate to put a 15 lb. meat grinder or big sausage stuffer in. I seem to see plenty of used stainless tables of all varieties on FB Marketplace for sale – usually for a pretty reasonable price. Not sure if your current situation is up-to-code (or if you care) but I believe any outlet in proximity to a water source needs to be on a GFI circuit. Easy enough to switch it over if it’s not already.

Keep us updated on the progress!

ThunderLund78 wrote:

Not sure if your current situation is up-to-code (or if you care) but I believe any outlet in proximity to a water source needs to be on a GFI circuit. Easy enough to switch it over if it’s not already.

With it being a garage, all 120v receptacles have to be gfi/tamper protected regardless if by water or not. The stove will also need to be gfi protected.

AWESOME~
First of all FRP for the walls ( fiber reinforced plastic) we put that in our coffee shop~ cleanup is way easier
Second I would add some sort of pull down electrical cords on an auto rewind style reel to keep any needed power cords out of the way.
Floor drain/

If you’re putting plastic down for a surface you’ll be cutting on, make sure it’s UHMW. The cheap stuff isn’t the same and won’t hold up.

Add a frig???

Not a necessity, but I would love to have a system that I could use for bird cleaning inside the man-kitchen. Ideally, it would have a dust-collection system for loose/primary feathers as well as a hot wax system for sub-feathers/down.
An industrial-qualified in-sink disposal would make bird cleaning extremely convenient if the septic system is up for that.

Second I would add some sort of pull down electrical cords on an auto rewind style reel to keep any needed power cords out of the way.

for sure!!!

Thanks for all of the ideas guys!

I’m in a rush to get it done, so I went with a standard Formica countertop.

The existing outlets are GFI, but there’s none on the wall where I’m building it (long story, but it was a “temporary wall” installed 25 years ago, the previous owner lived in the garage while building the house)

For now I’ll just run a cord reel off a ceiling outlet (I still have one from our last garage), if I get ambitious in the future I can drop power down from the attic and have real outlets over the counter.

A winch was brought up, I have one mounted in the big shop but still have another one from our old place too. I might hang that near the floor drain on the other side of the wall and put up some plastic sheeting over there too (future project)

I found a decent range/oven local for $50, gotta pick that up tomorrow.

Spent a lot of time shopping today and only worked on it for part of the day, but got a good start on it. I put glued down some fiberglass paneling down on the floor that I got from dumpster diving a few years ago at a jobsite (47″x48″ chunks). Figured it would be good to have a moisture barrier between the concrete and particle board cabinets. Also got the plastic sheets up behind the station and started playing with the cabinets to get the water to drain to the sink.

Here’s a pic of my main concern (and has been from the start on paper). What’s the best way to tie the countertop to drain into the sink? I have some “gator-wrap”, which is essentially adhesive backed flexible rubber, thinking about that? The sink is about even with the countertop right now, but I’m going to cut the legs down a little to have more of a drop.

The sink has a rounded edge, so a pile of silicone to fill the void isn’t the answer lol

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glenn57 wrote:

Add a frig???

I’ve got a dorm fridge out there right now, yet another thing I pack-ratted from a demo job

Going to keep my eyes open for a big stand up freezer, always wanted one!

Also going to pick up a stainless table at some point and put it on wheels. It would be nice to have some more counter space that could roll around.