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Installing a built-in hood in the kitchen with your own hands

Installing a built-in hood in the kitchen is a great way of improving the décor of the room while at the same time providing more efficient ventilation. With a few simple tools and some handiness, it's a job that can be done by hand in a few hours, with no need to call in a professional. Aside from the aesthetic value, the hood helps to reduce odors, steam, and smoke from the room, as well as providing protection from potentially dangerous fumes. With a few simple steps, you can have a sleek built-in hood with all the advantages and quality of a professional installation.

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A rare kitchen set does without built-in appliances. The compact built-in hood has become such a popular add-on of furniture that almost every upper tier is equipped with it. Do-it-yourself installation of the hood is relatively simple if you act consistently and follow our instructions.

Installing a built-in hood in the kitchen with your own hands

Furniture design requirements

The very design of a cabinet for a built-in hood is quite trivial. It has two side walls with the total depth of the upper tier, fastened by an upper horizontal partition and without a bottom. There should also be an internal shelf located between the walls. It is better not to order an additive for this part during manufacture: four confirmations can be drilled manually in place, but this way the hood will be installed as tightly as possible. You can add a few more details to equip the interior of the cabinet, we will talk about them later..

The situation is more complicated with the size. In order for the equipment to harmoniously fit in after embedding, without forming significant gaps and gaps, the hood or its drawing with the main overall dimensions must be on hand by the time the furniture is produced. The size of the hood is selected in accordance with the width of the stove or hob, in fact, the body is a couple of centimeters larger.

Installing a built-in hood in the kitchen with your own hands

The widest bottom part defines the main dimensions of the cabinet. The outer dimension of the cabinet must exactly match the width of the hood. The depth of the furniture case can be increased by 50–60 mm, in this case the hood moves to the front edge, and the open area at the back is closed with a thin fastening partition. Please note that the housing of the hidden hood unit has a gap of 10-15 mm from the cabinet walls – this is one of the most important conditions for the installation of built-in electrical appliances.

Installing a built-in hood in the kitchen with your own hands

The height of the cabinet is still less clear. In general, the distance between the worktop and the bottom of the upper tier is 50 to 65 cm, while the recommended distance between the cooker hood and the hob is 75–80 cm for gas hobs and 60–65 cm for electric hobs. It turns out that the section with the hood usually falls out of the general row, the height of the cabinet can be 80-120 mm less than the rest.

Hood height from stove

Attaching the hood

Depending on the type of housing, there are two ways to secure the hood. The first and simplest case is the vertical orientation of the technical unit. In this case, the hood is attached to the wall, and the cabinet plays a purely decorative function, hiding the installation and all its technical details..

When installing the vertical unit, you just need to first hang the case without doors, attach a hood from below and mark the mounting holes. After that, in the shelf, you need to make a cutout for the exhaust duct with a jigsaw, which is usually located close to the wall.

Hoods with a horizontal technical unit are mounted in a slightly more complex pattern. It is good if the instructions include a map or template for marking the mounting holes. Otherwise, you will first have to measure the top wall of the hood housing, pushing off the edges and taking into account the gaps between the hood and the cabinet walls. The task is simple: mark 4-6 holes for the fastening screws and mark the center of the hole for the exhaust duct. It, which is typical for horizontal hoods, is not located close to the wall, so the hole is not cut from the edge.

Installation of a built-in hood

The easiest way to secure the hood tightly is to first screw the shelf to it, then turn the cabinet over and insert the resulting assembly from above. It remains only to mark and drill holes, and then pull the shelf to the walls with confirmations.

Installation of a built-in hood

Rarely, but still it happens that the hood does not have standard mounting holes. In this case, its body is fixed with ordinary self-tapping screws with a frequent thread pitch (as for gypsum board). You just need to make sure that the tip does not damage any of the internal equipment..

Exhaust duct device

When the hood is operating in recirculation mode, no further action is required. The exhaust air is directed into the cabinet, which has sufficient natural clearances. As a last resort, the duct runs along the entire height of the cabinet and ends immediately behind its top wall with a simple mesh filter..

However, if the extract air is planned to be discharged into an external ventilation duct, an air duct installation will be required..

The first thing that comes to mind is an aluminum corrugated pipe. It is quite convenient to use: it is easily deformed, it needs to be joined in only two places: on the flanges of the hood and ventilation duct, it is simply crimped with screw clamps.

Exhaust duct device

On closer examination, you can find a number of disadvantages of corrugation. Internal ribbed walls create high aerodynamic resistance, as a result, the actual extraction power may be lower than expected. Fat inevitably collects on the inner surfaces, dust sticks, and with intense air movement, the corrugation is much louder than other types of channels.

Plastic ventilation ducts have a more noble look, are less prone to clogging and look much more harmonious when laid on cabinet furniture. Sometimes the corrugation is given a rectangular section for greater compactness, but this, as you understand, is not the most technologically advanced approach..

Exhaust duct device

The main disadvantages of rigid plastic ducts are a slightly higher cost than that of corrugation, as well as the obvious complexity of installation. But there is another side: such a channel can be drawn directly inside the cabinets of the upper tier, having previously made the passage holes. You can also lay a channel along the “roof” of the upper tier: it will tightly press against the cabinets and will not be visible from a height of human growth.

Exhaust duct device

We have mentioned the additional details of the built-in hood cabinet. The lower part, where the technical unit is located, can be closed with a blank partition. Another solution is also common: this part is closed with a small cut of the facade material, which is fixed permanently, and above, where there is still a little free space in the cabinet, there is a door of any convenient type. Inside the cabinet, you can also assemble a small case in which the exhaust duct will be located, and divide the remaining space with a pair of shelves..

Exhaust duct device

Nobody denies the difficulty of installing a rigid air duct: both precise trimming and the correct selection of adapters and connections are needed. But the result is definitely worth it: the channel will be compact, neat and will not limit the hood functionality in any way..

Electrical connection

The built-in hood has a side or rear outlet for the power cable. It is enough to plug in the power cord and you can immediately use the equipment. Hoods with built-in lighting may require pre-installation of lamps. It is better to do this after the installation is completed, so as not to damage the lighting devices inadvertently.

Connecting the hood to the mains

Difficulties begin when a plug socket is not provided for connection in the immediate vicinity. In this case, the most convenient way to apply power is to extend the wire. The conductors must be twisted, soldered and insulated with heat shrink tubing. The ventilation duct itself is often the most convenient route for laying..

Soldering wire connection

The wire must be pulled into the hood and then laid inside the chimney. To lead the cable out of the duct, a hole with a diameter of a millimeter less than the thickness of the conductor is sufficient so that the passage does not have to be additionally sealed.

Option for solving the issue of lack of power

Most inexpensive built-in hoods are compact, but this advantage comes at the expense of the power of the air pump. This can be eliminated with a simple modification..

We are talking about installing an additional duct fan anywhere in the exhaust duct. This requires only a couple of adapters and laying the fan power cord in parallel with or inside the duct..

Installing a duct fan in the kitchen

Installation can be carried out in order to increase power, that is, taking into account the parallel operation of a standard air pump and an additional duct fan. It is also possible to completely replace the built-in fan with an external one with an output of 1500-2000 m3/ h against the standard capacity of 800-1000 m3/ h – these indicators are typical for most inexpensive equipment.

It is worth remembering that the switch for multi-mode hoods may not be designed for parallel connection of an additional fan. If you can’t figure out the circuit, it is better to install an additional case switch, since for this you just need to drill one additional hole in any convenient place.

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Comments: 3
  1. Giselle

    Is installing a built-in hood in the kitchen something that can easily be done by a beginner DIY-er or should I hire a professional for the job?

    Reply
    1. Zoey Grant

      Installing a built-in hood in the kitchen can be a moderately complex task, especially for a beginner DIY-er. It involves electrical wiring, drilling, and possibly ductwork. If you’re confident in your skills and have prior experience with similar projects, you may attempt it yourself using thorough instructions or video tutorials. However, it is generally recommended to hire a professional for safety and to ensure proper installation. A professional will have the expertise and tools needed to handle any unexpected challenges that may arise during the installation process.

      Reply
  2. Wyatt Brooks

    How difficult is it to install a built-in hood in the kitchen without professional assistance? Are there any specific tools or skills required? Any tips or recommendations before attempting to do it myself?

    Reply
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