I think there's a lot to figuring this out.

You need to first determine how many cfm you need. Refer to your range or cooktop's manual. Then you have to go from there. I think it's the guts that drive up the price.

I have that Viking chimney hood you posted. I bought just the hood, and then added the motor. We needed a 1200 cfm motor. If you need 600 cfm then you can get that mounted inside the hood (cheaper) but 1200 is externally mounted, more $$.

Make sure you focus on the "function" vs "form" first when considering this purchase.

A custom made hood is going to be the most expensive option for you.

Wood hoods through cabinet manufacturer's are very expensive. People seem to be happy with Best by Broan in terms of a stainless hood. There are a lot of people on these boards that have Modernaire hoods - they are VERY stylish looking! You should be able to get the cfm's you need no matter what the look. If you have a gas range that has a high output burner or if you will have a grill on your range or if you do a lot of wok cooking you will need more cfm's. if you have electric or induction, you won't need as much.

There is a lot of money to be made in selling hoods. Nobody thinks about them until too late. Nobody knows the right questions to ask, and when the manufacturers give incomplete answers there is no recourse and people have to buy something anyway. I would love to get into the hood business.

There is a lot of money to be made in selling hoods. A blower motor, lights, a switch, a sheet metal enclosure: what's this cost all told? Easily a hundred. People pay a lot more than that. I would love to get into the hood business.

Hth

Wow. Well, we're doing a 36" gas range. I'm looking at Bluestar, GE Monogram or Electrolux all burner (no griddle or grill) range.

So the cabinetry option would be the most expensive I take it? The next would be having our contractor do something out of sheetrock or something? Then the prefabbed hoods come next? I've looked at Best by Broan. Modernaire is in my dreams but way out of my budget for this build!

Trevor Lawson has recently become a distributor (different than retailer as his cost basis is lower) for Modernaire and I think will be offering discounts to architects and designers so perhaps you could work this angle? or maybe he has a floor model he can sell for less. His store is Eurostoves and he has a close outs section on his website.

I am partial to stucco hoods. Maybe you could have your carpenter do something like that?

do you like this one?

I do like that. I would like something to be a focal point since its what you will see from the living room. Thanks!

You will need quite a bit of CFM if you go with one of the high BTU ranges you listed. That necessitates a larger duct size, larger capture area, and larger fan than you would need for a "regular" plain jane range. Just the actual internal parts and pieces of your hood and vent will be in the $1000- $2000 range, and that's without any labor to create a custom surround. I'd expect the labor to create something custom from either wood or stucco to run from $800-$3000. A wood pre designed hood from a cabinet company (minus the already mentioned internals) will run you $1500-$4000. A stainless chimney hood will run you $2K plus in the CFM range that you will need, while an under cabinet hood will be $1000+. All will depend on which range you purchase because that will determine the amount of CFM and the size of the ducting that you will need.

Your ventilation needs will also most likely require makeup air, which can also get to be in the 3-8K range depending on your location and whether or not you will need a Heat Recovery System engineered into the makeup air. You should check with your local building inspectors as to the exact requirements for this as it's location specific. However, if your municipality hasn't yet gotten on board with makeup air, it's still not something you should skip if you have other gas fired appliances like a water heater or furnace. Using a high CFM fan without a source of makeup air can cause those combustion sources to backdraft and fill your home with their exhaust.

Prosumer ranges require prosumer exhaust systems, which are a lot more expensive than most people budget for. If the minimum 5K for all of that is too much for your budget, you could always go with a "regular" 4 burner 30" range and a "regular" 400 CFM plain under cabinet hood that could use your existing 6" vent. You'd be talking maybe $600 for your venting needs then, not to mention the savings on the range as well.

Green Designs makes a good point on make up air. We are doing a 60" Capital Culinarian and need a 1500 cfm unit. In our county we are required to have make-up air (new build) and it is a location that also requires a heat recovery system. I am budgeting $10-15K just for make up and heat recovery. I am ok with that and can budget for it but would have freaked if came as a surprise down the road.

When we were remodeling, in general, all else being equal, costs ranged from low to high:

Low: Hood installed under a cabinet over the cooktop
Mid: Stand-alone hood (SS)
High: Wood or other "custom" hood

I think island/peninsula hoods rank up there with the highest, btw.

We went with the mid-range.