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Vent Hood Height-Help Please

11 years ago

We are having a 42" Independent hood, 1200 cfm installed over the BS range top. The hood is 27" deep. The specs say to install it 30-36" above the range.

The last kitchen had a Viking, 30" above the range.

I measured 30" today. It seems so low. Is it because it is 27" deep? I have a line drawn on the wall (in case someone should show up to install it when I"m not there_ at about 33".

Will it look odd to have it that high? Or with the 9' ceiling is it ok? I just think that if we go too low it might make me crazy. We are having a 24" back guard with a shelf installed too. So a couple of inches might be nice above the minimum 30".

I see photos of 30" above the range and they look fine, including my old kitchen. But when I put the measuring tape at 30" high and 27" out from the wall, it seems to just skim my head.

Opinions?

(I'm 5'6", so not overly tall, dh isn't tall either)

thanks

Bee

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Comments (4)

bostonpam
11 years ago
You should check the range specification because that's what really decides how high the hood should be installed. Also, this is from the top of the grates which is higher than the counter tops. Our inspector measured all this (and has made other people move their hoods) but your inspectors may not be as thorough.

Mine is installed 36" above the range top and I have 9'+ ceilings and I think it looks fine.
taggie
11 years ago
Ours is 32" above the counter. I thought it would be iffy given I'm 5'8" and, like you say, it did seem really low when spec'ing it out with measuring tape before the install. But I've never once noticed it while cooking at the stovetop. It's not in the way at all. I think 33" is a good compromise for you between form and function.
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I don't know that I agree that the contractor just picking a semi-arbitrary number in the range suggested for the installation is off the hook. BTW, Best by Broan also tells you how to figure the requirements for installing higher and other variations. Back to the contractor -- this is the guy who has to make sure things fit, right? You are 5'6" and DH 5'8". He wants to put the front of that hood at 5'2". He doesn't ask you how you feel about having the hood 4" below the top of your head -- or more if you are wearing shoes? He doesn't ask DH if he's going to cook and if he's okay with a hood 6" below the top of his head -- 7 or 8" if he's in shoes? So it's all your fault? You do need to specify what you want, but I think that every designer and contractor should ask about your needs and preferences -- and they must ask, IMO, if they are going to do something that is not a customary and usual standard. Not that I'm an expert, but it seems that 30" is the most standard height. I had to do my research to get something higher.
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beekeeperswife
Original Author
11 years ago
thanks for the feedback. I did check the specs from BS, and coincidentally they suggest 30-36", just like the Independent hood. I think I'll go for the 33", especially since it is 27" deep.

I think a cardboard mock up is in my future....

Bee
billy_g
11 years ago
Bee,

We have a Culinarian cooktop with a 54x27 wooden hood with an insert from ModernAire.

Our counters are 37-1/4 inches high, in part because we're tall but also because this pushes the cooktop an inch closer to the bottom of the hood, given a fixed hood height. This allows us to push the hood higher without making it too far from the cooking surface.

Here are our finished measurements:
69-3/4 inches from floor to bottom of hood
32-1/2 inches from countertop to bottom of hood
31-3/4 inches from top of Culinarian stainless to bottom of hood (and the top of the iron grates are about 1 inch higher than the stainless, making the hood 30-3/4 above the top of the iron grates)

We planned to mount the hood higher but dropped it down when we realized it is not a danger to our heads. One drawback of mounting the hood to high (in addition to poorer performance) is that you see the undersides more easily and some complain about the hood lights shining in their eyes or in the eyes of people sitting at the island. Plus the perceived noise is higher if there's a straight shot from your ears to the underside of the hood.

We have never bumped into the hood and it would be almost impossible to do so because the rounded front of the Culinarian sticks out past the front edge of the countertop, making the cooks stand further out from the back wall.

The wood hood itself is 54W x 27D, so the opening is less (perhaps I should have made the opening this dimension). The hood actually sticks out only 26-1/2 inches from the back wall. This is due to the backsplash installed after the cabinets, as usual.

We have an Abbaka 1400CFM fan on the roof, and it sucks well, even with a couple of bends. We've had no problem with smoke from wok cooking.

To fit the insert in the hood we had Modernaire ship the insert directly to out cabinetmaker so he could build the wood hood to match the insert.

During the design phase we made mockups from foam board. I suggest you do the same if you want to play with the dimensions.

Good luck with your project! Your countertops and the rest look great!

Billy

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