Can you disguise it as a wooden beam?

It's a possibility I like. But would it look strange to have only one right there along one wall and nowhere else?

If the steel beam is deep enough, and your duct would run near the middle of the span, assuming your joists are running in the right direction, you could go through the web of the beam. Shouldn't be an issue structurally (I'm a structural engineer). YOu would need an engineer in your area to design the opening (size of hole, reinforcing around the hole etc...) then get someone to do it. So, you could still be soffit free, but it will cost you.

I like the idea of a fake wooden beam as well and unless it's really NOT the style of the house - one wont stick out like sore thumb.
I hate soffits too. Mine are covered in "fake" cabinets. :o)

Ooof, advertguy, that sounds expensive. I could probably decoupage the soffit in $20 bills with the savings. :-D But thank you for letting me know that it might be a possibility.

Celineike: Fake beams would go very well with the style of the kitchen I'm planning. Maybe not the house, but that's another thread, heh. But I'm worried it would look weird to do just the one.

Just re-read advertguy's post more carefully. It would be right at the end of the span, nowhere near the center. Just as well, as I'm afraid my GC would be ordering a hit on me if I suggested it. I try his patience enough already.

anna, what about a series of fake beams, running in the same direction? Could you plan out 4 or 5 or whatever, all trimmed out the same way? Or would that run into your cabs, etc.?

Could you mirror the fake beam with another one on the opposite side? Just think of the glories of a wood beamed kitchen...... :)

Can you transition the pipe from 8 round to a rectangle 17x3 or whatever it needs to be? (3.14 x 4 x 4 =50.24 sq inches.) You could make the soffit as flat and narrow as possible.

In any case I would try to suppress its appearance and size as much as possible rather than making it bigger and hanging stuff off it unless you were going to beam the whole ceiling.

That sounds more acceptable aesthetically, marcolo, but I thought you'd yell at me for it. :-) I can work around the cabinet placement with it.

Dainaadele: I know, right? My fantasy kitchen is somewhere in Yorkshire with weathered beams and an Aga and an old chintz sofa in the corner.

(xposted)
Palimpsest: I don't know...can I? I'll have to ask the ModernAire people, I suppose. Or the town. Or both. GAH.

Can I realistically put fake beams in a low ceiling? I'll measure it when I get home and post pics for y'all.

I think Yorkshire cottages have low ceilings, don't they?

yeah, I was going to suggest the flat rectangular ducting, too. There are transition pieces you can buy (I have gotten them at a local HVAC wholesaler.) That would be the elast obtrusive.

Okay, new development: When I got home today the GC told me that he had figured out a way to duct the hood without building a soffit. We have a split-level ranch so there's a space between the joists of the half-story down (I can't think of a better way to describe it). He can use two 90-degree turns to make the duct run down and then out 25' to the side of the house. I know that's not optimal for noise reduction of the fan. We would also have to move the range over from where it's supposed to go in the middle of that wall and would have to reconfigure the sinks and dishwashers...though that might be an opportunity to fix the sink placement that everyone hates (see the Tricky Corner thread).

Given that alternative, I'm starting to like soffits, I think.

I'm going to go take some pictures and post them for you guys.

Stacyneil and palimpsest, would using the flat pieces increase the noise? That seems to be the implication based on what I'm reading about venting in the Appliances thread. I wish I understood the whole venting thing better.

Totally exciting update! After a long discussion with DH and GC we decided to go with the soffit option. I was miserable thinking that it wouldn't go at all with the hood surround I had designed to go around the ModernAire liner.

So because I had to call ModernAire to ask some questions, I idly inquired about the price of one of their hoods, which I had assumed was way out of my budget. It wasn't as expensive as I thought! So I am ordering a 48" hood that will look like this one in shape:

{{!gwi}}

My range is the Lacanche Cluny:

{{!gwi}}

So help me design my ModernAire hood! What I'm leaning towards is black powder-coated to match the range, with four brass bands (yes, I will have to polish them, no biggie; I can do it when I'm tarting up the Lacanche for company), no rivets and a brushed stainless pot rail with brass endcaps to mimic the ones on the range. Instead of the lip, I'd like to enclose the pot rail in bands like this one:

http://modernaire.com/Photo_Gallery.html#6

What do y'all think?

Next, should we build out the soffit to 24" and recess the lighting in it, or go with a shorter depth soffit that would only be as deep as needed? I think the latter...opinions?

I am so, so happy about this development. I was SO unhappy about having to have a soffit and now I am super-excited that I'm getting one of these hoods I've been drooling over. :-)

Bump--nobody wants to help me out with this? :-(

i love that hood SO much, just as you described -i will live vicariously :o)
I'd say keep the soffit at a minimum and black w brass sounds cool!!!

I would do the hood as you planned.

I would make the soffit only as deep as it has to be if that is shallow. If it approaches the depth of the cabinets I would make it exactly the depth of the top interface of the range hood, and so that the cabinet moulding stands proud of it. No overhang with lighting.

Since you have to have a soffit I would probably line up the top of the hood with the top of the cabinets so the soffit doesn't have to drop down slightly to meet the hood.

Celineike: I KNOW, RIGHT? I am practically peeing in my pants with excitement!

Palimpsest, please clarify:

"If it approaches the depth of the cabinets"
Do you mean the base cabinets? There will be no uppers on that wall as I want to keep it very open and airy.

"...so that the cabinet molding stands proud if it"
Again, are you referring to uppers here?

Just as a reminder, the run will be a little over 13 feet long, open to the stairs on one end and ending at a window. That's really long, so would you advise having some sort of crown molding on it? Or just framing it and painting it to match the walls so it disappears as much as possible?

Thank you both so much for responding! I had to share my insane joy with someone. :-)

Oh sorry I was looking at your picture of the hood with cabinets, I forgot that it was all open.

I would make it the full depth of the top of the range hood (where it meets a soffit or upper cabinet normally) and drop it back on each side to as shallow as it can be. If the rest of the room has crown I would put the crown at the ceiling line of the soffit.

Okay, that sounds like a good plan. Thank you!

rivets definitely rivets
to match the brass on the range

I LERVE it, Anna. Excellent way to mitigate the issue -- who cares about a stupid soffit when there's THAT HOOD to look at?

Another option might be some kind of modified tray ceiling? This helps normalize the soffit and makes it look intentional. Regular tray ceiling:
{{!gwi}}

Insanely ornate boxed tray ceiling that could be modified to make it more cozy and Yorkshiran:

Whooooaaaahhhhh, to quote Keanu Reeves. I would LOVE that...but our ceilings are only 96".

Insert frowny-face emoticon here.

Waiting for ModernAire to open in CA so we can call. Here's my dilemma. PLEASE help me solve it so I can have this hood.

We can use an 8" duct for this. MA said it will affect performance at the higher speeds, but with 1200 cfm already overengineered, I can live with that. That means we can fit it into a 10"-high soffit. The hood is 18" and the range is 36", which means the bottom of the hood will sit only 32" above the range. It's 24" deep, which I think is okay since the Lacanche juts out past 24" (28.25" is the depth with the spacer, I think).

Is 32" too low? I asked the GC the other day about minimum clearances and he said that it's a minimum of 36". So today when we discussed this and I asked him to talk to the fire inspector before I order, he said that if it doesn't work, we'll figure it out later. Ummm, no.

Oooh, good news...I'm on the phone with DH, who just talked to MA and they can make it 14" high instead of 18", which means the bottom will be at 36" so we should be okay.

Now...I know that it's better to have the hood extend over the sides for max capture. The range is almost 40" wide. We were planning to order the 48" but I'm wondering how often I'm going to smack my head into the corner of the hood. Should I order the 40" instead?

Minimum clearance for code is only 24" above gas, but certain ranges and hoods specify 30-36 for performance reasons. Plenty of people go with the hood the same size as the range, and never know the difference. The 3" to each side is heavily promoted in here and is probably more ideal but I don't think its an absolute necessity. I would not want to bang my head.

Isn't anybody else humming that old John Cougar song?

Minimum clearance for code is only 24" above gas
Everything DH found and sent to me pretty much said exactly that, so we should be okay. This is what he just emailed me:

"At 66 inches above the floor, you will not likely not bump your head since you are just about 66 inches tall and you lose a little height when you lean in to reach the back burners. Then again, I suppose you have shoes on, and at any rate, I'm 69 inches tall in my shoes - if we get the 18 inch hood and make the hood clearance 33 inches then our soffit depth is now such that we are back to the 8 inch duct. I take it this is what you have in mind."

Does that sound right? Should we go with the 18" and do an 8" duct? Do we really need 1200 cfm or should I be concerned with the MUA issue? Our house was built in the '50s and leaks like a sieve. We have a big house exhaust fan we often run, and though I don't know its CFM number, it has managed to not suffocate us so far.

jakabedy: Which one? I'm drawing a blank.

Here's how we housed the vent in our kitchen and Modernaire. This picture was taken at night. It is very bright during the day.

Our hood is 54" wide and the rangetop is 48" wide. We grill all the time and it pulls great with a 1200 cfm motor.

Man, I would cheerfully kill someone for that vaulted ceiling. What a jaw-dropper of a kitchen, sherri!

Here's the range wall so far:
{{!gwi}}

You can see that we don't have a lot to work with here, so I think balancing the visual oomph of the range and hood with open wall and plain sofft trimmed at the ceiling should work....yes? no?

New French doors and windows are in! I'm so excited. This is the first time in three weeks that we haven't had a gaping hole in the back of the house. They will eventually lead out to a deck...so I hope no one tries to exit that way for now...that first step is a doozy. (JK...the guys fastened them shut for now!)

And to celebrate les nouvelles portes françaises, we are having boeuf Bourguignon made in my little camp kitchen in the basement. I figure some of the world's best dishes were invented with less technology than I have in here right now.

Yes, jakabedy, I immediately thought of the song!

Anna, the Modernaire should be awesome!

Hah. I always think of the version by Pat Benatar!