Couple of thoughts - I'd double check the Wolf specs, I'd didn't think anyone's "rangetop" was rated for a downdraft except Dacor's.

You can get standard depth cabinetry (except the range base) and just pull it off the wall. Order extended end panels and save a ton of $$$.

How about a 6 burner rangetop or drop in and a fitted grill plate? Some also double as a griddle. Not exactly the same but not what you have now and potentially less dough.

Doubt you have less than 2x10 floor joists so a 10" duct should fit or a rectangular equivalent.

There is a WORLD of difference between a JennAir downdraft electric "grill" and a gas fired high BTU indoor gas grill. NO downdraft will really be able to handle the smoke produced by a pro grade grill. Many overhead vents have a hard time coping with indoor grilling!

You really and truly need a pro HVAC person to do an in home assessment of how to properly overhead vent if you want to go with a grill indoors. Just because there is a bedroom above doesn't mean that it's impossible. You may be able to go horizontally through a floor joist with a rectangular vent, or you may be able to build a small drywall chase through one wall of the bedroom above and go through the roof. Either expense if preferable to you asphyxiating yourself with smoke from an indoor grill.

Agreed. You NEED a proper overhead hood if you want an indoor grille. Period. There are ways. If you dont want the hood, you don't want the grill badly enough. If you install it wrong, without a proper hood, you will not use it anyway.

No popup will work with ANY gas grill. Don't care what Dacor says, ask the few suckers that bought that combo and regret it. Dont work and fills the house with carbon monoxide and smoke.

I had to deal with the same type of issue if I wanted to move my cooktop out of the island, much less consider anything other than a downdraft. I have a bathroom above the hood and we were hoping that the vent would run in the back of an extra deep linen cabinet. It was close enough to be hopeful, but wasn't going to work. We have 12" floor joists, so there was about 11" to deal with. We ran the duct up, turned 90 degrees and out to the other side of the kitchen. You may be able to do the same.

I wouldn't rule out a hood in front of windows -- A simple one, especially the glass ones, can look great in front of a window -- or between windows.

I would encourage you to get an expert to come evaluate your options if you have not already done so. Look at every possibility -- two or three times. Stand on your head if it helps (kidding -- sort of). Remember that all the time and headaches spent in planning are a lot cheaper and easier to deal with than the ones that come during installation or afterwards when you find out something doesn't work right.

If you are still convinced that you have to do a downdraft, it doesn't mean you have to order all that wall of cabinets at custom depth -- or even pull them from the wall, which is easy enough to do. I have a hutch pulled to about 27" depth to balance 15: uppers. It's just some added wood between the cabinet and the wall -- under the counter where no one knows. But you also have the option of pulling out just the cooktop. It's not at all uncommon to have a cooktop or sink pulled forward a bit.

Sounds like you've thought about this a lot, but still have some more exploring to do. Remember -- this is the time to do it.

antss -- Can you tell me more about how a fixed grill plate might work with a drop-in? I am not sure I know what you mean by the fixed grill plate. Are you talking about something that is basically a grill pan to use on top of the burners or something different?

here ya go:

Several co.'s make these as well as does Lodge Cast Iron. Some fit exactly with their maker's cooktop grates, some fit OK, others simply lay on top of the grates.

Here is a link that might be useful: grill plates - sorta

If I understand correctly, the reason for the makeover of your cooktop is that you need more than 2 burners sometimes, and you want to keep the indoor grill.

I agree that the downdraft exhaust is not optimal. But if it works for you when you use your indoor grill, you might want to consider an alternative answer to your need for a third burner. I believe you can get a freestanding countertop induction cooktop for just a few hundred $$. That would give you the third burner you need, and you won't have to undergo all the upheaval and expense you are contemplating.

Induction burners are, I believe, state of the art in electric cooktops, based on what I've read about them (we have gas). If all of this is really about getting a third burner, this might be your answer. Do a Google search on induction cooktop and find out what there is.

We also had venting drama...our KD told us: "In my 25 years of being a KD I've only come across a handful of kitchens that couldn't be vented outside...and yours is one of them."

Our GC told us: "External venting is impossible in your kitchen."

My response? I refuse to accept that w/o more information. So, I asked for details and then I told them to start thinking outside the box and come up w/a solution and how much it would cost. Then, I told them, I'll decide if it's worth it. For several of weeks we went round & round with this... It caused a "stop work order" to be put in effect b/c of this + a couple of other issues (they thought that would make me give in b/c our kitchen & PR were totally gutted)...but I told them I'd rather have the delay while we work everything out than settle for less.

Issues we had w/venting externally: Shower drain pipe blocked access
We had smaller ceiling/floor joists than expected & they were closer together than expected (just barely met code) [We have part of the MBR & all of the MBA above our kitchen]
Ditto for the wall studs in the wall behind the cooktop

Well, after about 5 weeks they came back w/a cost of $4,800 to move the shower drain. They also insisted there was no way to fit the 8" round duct in our ceiling...I mentioned a rectangular duct conversion and they both claimed they didn't know of any; but my KD came back the next day and said she had called Vent-A-Hood and they told her yes, there was such a thing. We decided to build the wall out 6" to allow the duct to run up the wall. So that left the shower drain issue.

The estimate was ridiculous! So, we went and got 3 outside estimates for the move...and they came in ranging from $550 to $1,000... Needless to say we went w/an "outsider" (all the while our GC claiming anything other than their solution wouldn't pass inspection...wrong!)

After 9 weeks of no work, we finally ironed out all the issues for venting (and the pantry issues & measuring issues we knew about) and began work again.

Bottom line: I very much doubt there's no way to vent externally. I would get an outside opinion b/f accepting what your KD or GC say. What I also learned, btw, is that if a GC doesn't want to do something, they will usually do one of two things: (1) tell you it cannot be done or (2) give you an outrageous estimate hoping you'll say no (and if you don't say no, they make killing on you!)

So, if they do present you w/a ridiculous estimate...get outside estimates on the work like we did!

HTH!

The best option IMO when overhead ventilation isn't an choice is Gaggenau's VL 051 (below), a separate unit that fits between your burners and grill (designed to match Gaggenau's cooktops and grills, but can be used with any brand if you don't mind it looking a bit different). It's just a few inches wide, and when not in use it retracts into the countertop. To use it, turn a knob and it raises to the level shown here, and you can swing it left or right to be above whatever you're cooking. When you're done, turn the knob the other way, and it automatically straightens out and retracts into the countertop. You can even tell it to run for 10 minutes before retracting.

Unlike every other downdraft or telescopic ventilator i've seen, this one actually puts the exhaust intake above the steam or smoke, so it doesn't attempt to defy gravity and pull it downwards.

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