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bibliomom

Help - Cooktop vs. Range vs. Downdraft vs. No Vent!

bibliomom
14 years ago

The day I moved into our house I said, "You realize this kitchen has to go?"

Ten years and two kids later, it hasn't gone, just slowly decayed. We're *hoping* to remodel in one to two years by swapping the kitchen with the family room, moving walls, etc., etc. Because of this, I've refused to replace the horrible 20+ year old Jenn-Air downdraft island cooktop - yes, I have to light it manually and no the vent hasn't worked in eight years, but what could I replace it with that wouldn't require serious time and expense and have to be ripped out in the foreseeable future?

Unfortunately my bluff was called when the control unit burst into flame this week.

I had *wanted* to buy a range - Bluestar or some such that would allow me to boil water in under a half hour and had an oven that actually got hot and could hold a standard size cookie sheet (unlike my current 80s wall oven).

But there's the rub. Putting in the range I want requires taking a chainsaw to my island (which I don't particularly mind) and building a new one to hold it (which I do). It also *should* have a popup downdraft install (possible, since it's over the garage), both of which would have to be ripped back out with a remodel. But then my range could be moved over to it's new home, by a nice, easy to vent, exterior wall and I could try to sell the popup.

Option 2 is to wave goodbye to my range and get a cooktop with a popup downdraft. Less complicated and expensive, but requiring me to either sell off the cooktop and/or downdraft when I reno, and/or changing the kitchen reno plan. I don't have to rebuild the island, just re-design the whole kitchen. Easier short-term, but harder long term. And still requiring some work to make a popup downdraft work.

Third is the choice to do either of these with no net, er, ventilation. I haven't had working ventilation in 8 years, and while I don't like it, I am used to it.

On the whole, I'm just really loathe to spend money on something I'm going to have to rip out.

We do cook alot - 2 to 3 meals a day - so I don't think I can stand more than a few months of manually lighting the Jenn-Air. But I think I'd rather do that than voluntarily buy a new Jenn-Air, even if I do plan to sell it. Downdrafts are evil.

For other background, my current kitchen is awful -- gray laminate and black plastic everything. Oh -- and oak trim. On everything. Including the sink backsplash. DH's worried about could we sell the house in a pinch with a new island, range, and no hood. I don't think we could sell the house with the current kitchen anyway, so I don't know that anything we do could make it worse. And no, a hood isn't a possibility -- if it was, we wouldn't be planning to relocate the kitchen.

What do you think? Any brilliant advice? All you apartment/condo people with no vents and good stoves? I've been wanting to take an axe to this thing for 10 years, but now that I have to, I'm not sure what to do. And I've been reading about downdrafts and ranges and cooktops till I'm dizzy.

Thanks so much.

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