Replies

1. 
   Dave45 | Oct 28, 2006 03:31pm | #1

   I've been asked about this and usually try to discourage it.  It looks great in a showroom kitchen but I don't think it's very practical.

   All kinds of "gunk" rises up off the stove when cooking and it's gonna collect on the hood.  No exhaust fan that I know of pulls 100% of the heat and "gunk" into the hood so some will collect on the outside.  It's fairly easy to clean a metal surface, but cleaning wood is a whole 'nuther deal.  And, it's an even bigger PITA to clean wood if it has moldings or other detail work.

1. 
   TimNott | Oct 28, 2006 05:33pm | #2

   I agree - stainless steel is your friend here.

2. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Oct 28, 2006 06:21pm | #3

   "All kinds of 'gunk' rises up off the stove when cooking and it's gonna collect on the hood." ??

   If that were true, wouldn't it collect on the upper cabinets flanking the stove in a conventional kitchen?    Or, to put it another way, that gunk probably does land on the doors of the uppers in a usual kitchen, but we all manage to deal with it.

1. 
   Dave45 | Oct 28, 2006 09:08pm | #4

   It certainly does - lol.  That's why I try real hard to minimize the "gunk" collection surfaces as much as possible - or at least make sure they're fairly easy to clean.

3. 
   jellybean06 | Nov 02, 2006 06:50am | #5

   Thanks for taking the time to answer.  I appreciate the imput.  Think I'll stick to pre-made stainless steel fixture.   I wish magazines would let wives know the impracticality of the pictures they show. 

1. 
   Dave45 | Nov 02, 2006 04:26pm | #6

   Magazines and showrooms are vital to my business because they show dreams and get people to thinking about what could be compared to what is.  Without those dreams, people probably wouldn't even think of doing something new.

   The downside to magazines and showrooms is that they usually depict some designers fantasy (wet dream? - lol) and those are often really pretty but also really impractical.  As a designer/builder, I get stuck introducing practicality into the equation.  Sometimes, I'm actually heard and sometimes I just have to build it - secure in the knowledge that I don't have to live with it - lol.

   Recently, I was talking about a kitchen with some upper cabinets hanging over an island that separated the kitchen from the family room.  The HO thought it would be really nice if they had glass doors on both sides to provide cabinet space with minimal visual impact.  I told her that it was definitely do-able but that she would need to be careful with what she stored in them.  The contents would be seen from both rooms and cereal boxes aren't as atttractive as nice china.  She got a thoughtful look and said that she may have to think more about that - lol.

2. 
   ETG | Nov 02, 2006 10:21pm | #7

   One other point to consider - not sure what type of range you have(assume you have a range and not a stove - sorry, range is residential, stove is commercial) but the larger the exhaust fan you put in, the more air you remove.  That means heated air in the winter and conditioned air in the summer.

   Commercial vent hoods usually have two fans - one for exhausting fumes and one bringing in fresh, make-up air from the outside.  The two fans work in sync so you have good air movement under the hood but not outside the hood.

2. 
   Ricks503 | Nov 03, 2006 07:51pm | #8

   Some of these are metal and designed to have a wood panel or veneer put on over it. I have not seen any completley made of wood.  As for power, you can get external powered fans that will give you over 1200 cfm and will suck the smoke from a the fireplace in the next room.

    

    

   " There'll be no living with her now" - Captain Jack Sparrow

3. 
   ricardo | Nov 03, 2006 10:16pm | #9

   HI,

   IM THE LAYOUT GUY @ A CABINET SHOP IN SAN LEANDRO, CA, AND WE MAKE 3 OR 4 HOOD HOODS A MONTH, THE CONTRACTOR OR HOME OWNER PROVIDES THE LINER(SS), VENT UNIT, ETC. AND WE MAKE THE BOXES AROUND, WITH TAPERED SIDES AND FRONT, AND SOMETIMES WITH CURVED SIDES AND FRONT. HEY WORK GREAT, AND WE NEVER HAVE ANY COMPLAINS, ABOUT THE "GUNK".

   A WOOD HOOD IS NOT EXTREMLY COMPLICATED TO MAKE BUT I BELIEVE IS OUT OF THE REALM OF THE AMATEUR WOODWORKER.

   I DESIGN THEM USING "AUTOCAD", (ABOUT 2 TO 2 1/2 HOURS OF WORK) AND OUR FOREMAN (30 YEARS EXPERIENCE BUILDING 2 TO 3 KITCHENS A WEEK) BUILDS THEM IN ABOUT 4 TO 5 HOURS.

1. 
   MaxYak | Nov 03, 2006 11:34pm | #10

   Regarding gunk build-up, I have one question and one comment:

   Do you line the interior of the hood with a material that's easier to clean than wood?

   Not having heard a complaint is different from not having a problem.  "Gunk" build-up can take several months even in a kitchen that's used every day; longer if your clients eat out a lot or don't do much frying :-).  I can imagine most folks not even thinking to complain about cleanability after such a long period of time.

   Or perhaps your hoods are larger than most to ensure that the gunk only gets on the inside of the hood?To the man with a hammer, all the world is a nail.

1. 
   ricardo | Nov 04, 2006 02:36am | #11

   MaxYak

   Ussually a 30" stove takes a 36" hood, 22 to 24" deep, all the bottom is covered in SS, you only have a 3/4" edge all around the bottom, if the cabinets are to be finished wood, it takes 2 or 3 coats of lacquer, wich the guys @ the shop spray very thick.

   I been at client houses to pick up doors to be refinished, specially near the D.W. some of them get large amount of vapor out, but we never had any calls about hte hoods.

2. 
   jellybean06 | Nov 25, 2006 10:25am | #12

   Dear Ricardo,

   Thanks very much for taking the time to reply, and for some realistic info on the investment in tackling this kind of work.  I live in Medford, Oregon, just over the border from California on I5, and haven't found anyone too interested in this kind of work.  Do you think you'd be interested in building hoods for appliance stores selling the "power packs" in this area.  No appliance store can give me a "confident" referal to local tradesmen, or put a "total package" together for me, including design issues/install tips for working with sheet metal components (is it as easy as just fitting parts together from Lowes/HomeDepot, and binding with duct tape?), fire safety issues (is it safe to use normal paint on outside of hood?  Water based best?), cost difference between "paint quality" construction versus finish quality), weight of "wood-based" unit versus SS unit (SS for 42" approx 40 lbs) etc, etc .  I'll be happy to pass your name to the 3 area stores which sell the hood components if you think you can work with homeowners directly - suggestion - offer hoods which you've already designed and know that they work, take some digital pics and post on net site, or have ready to email to show results, also include tips on fire safety, ducting installation, and cleaning/maintenance.   Lot's of handymen in this area who could probably tackle install for homeowner, but they don't want to invest time to design and bulletproof project to be able to delivery a well built and finished product, both for paint / or for natural finish.  Lot's of Bay Area real estate millionaires moving into this area due to (relative) low cost, and low tradesmen cost (typical woodworking handyman at $35 to $55 per hour which is probably much less that Bay Area).   Let me know if you've interested.   Richard Manrique  (541) 941-0271,  2080 Antelope Road #320, White City, OR 97503.   [email protected]