What to do about a wedge between a hood and a cabinet

8 years ago

I bought an under cabinet range hood which is not as deep as the cabinets (at the top portion). My handyman installed it without thinking. So now I have this look, with the canopy making a 2-3 inch deep wedge with the upper cabinet. Plus it looks like the range is hanging about 6 inches lower than the recommended height by the manufacturer. Is there anything I can do? Alter the cabinet somehow? Install a trim? (The cabinets are IKEA, if that helps...) Thank you for your thoughts!

Featured Answer

funkycamper

8 years ago

Someone else just had this problem. Check out this thread:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3435226/help-range-hood-height-vs-venting?n=22

They bumped it out and it looks so much better. It's a pretty easy fix. Good luck.

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Comments (11)

Errant_gw
8 years ago
Yep, pull it forward the the edge. It's installed too far back.
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weedmeister
8 years ago
If it is designed to be wall mounted, or against the wall as it were, then you will need something behind it to fill in the gap. And if you're using gas, that something needs to be non-combustible.
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kasja70
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you, that sounds like a great solution! But what to do about the height? It is 23" above the stove while the manufacturer's recommendation is a minimum of 29" (and max of 31" - way to give us some room to play with!) I wouldn't have worried about 1-2" discrepancies but 6" feels significant. I will have a gas stove.

Any ideas on what non-combustible material would work? I would need ~3"x30" strip of it.
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User
8 years ago
You need a shorter cabinet above, and a piece of stainless steel at the rear. The easiest would be to have a local custom metal shop do a full height stainless backslash for you that incorporated a L bend to cover the blocking needed to pull the hood forward. You will also obviously need to redo your vent pipe, as flex duct is prohibited by all hood manufacturers.
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kasja70
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks Sophie, I'll do a search of local metal shops. I did think about a shorter cabinet, but that would lift me up by 10 inches which would make the hood 4" too high :) I've checked our state fire code and the manufacturer's brochure, neither prohibits the flex duct.
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funkycamper
8 years ago
I'm surprised the flex duct is OK because, in my state and town, you can't even use flex duct for dryer vents anymore. It's a fire hazard. Grease can collect in the crevices. In a dryer vent, it's the lint. After a time, it can build up and ignite. Even if it's allowed in your local code, it's really safer to change it to a smooth pipe.

A good cabinet person should be able to cut that cabinet to just the right height.
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User
8 years ago
who said anything about flex duct ???

Looks like ridgid metal ducting in the pic. If it were flex , there'd be no need for all that foil tape.
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scrappy25
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
IKEA cabinets are very easy to shorten. The issue will be finding the right size doors to cover the shortened cabinet. Do some creative thinking, scan the IKea doors, and see if there might be some that could fit. For example, with the old system, I was able to cut a 30 inch cabinet to 12 inch height and use two 15x12 doors.

For the gap behind the hood when it is pulled forward, use a right sized piece of metal glued to the wood that can then be screwed in place, before the hook goes back up. That is what my cabinetmaker did, a lot easier than custom-made metal.
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funkycamper
8 years ago
You're probably right, xedos. But the advice to avoid using flex stands for anyone else who might be reading.

If your doors happen to be slab, you can probably just got the doors to the proper length and then put the unfinished edge on the top. Although it would still be a good idea to seal the ends so moisture doesn't get in.
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kasja70 thanked funkycamper
kasja70
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you all for your thoughts. I am considering a couple more ideas in addition to shorten cabinet + bump out the hood. Idea #1: instead of bumping out the hood, make the cabinet shallower, since I have to customize its height anyways. Idea #2: take the cabinet out entirely, cover ducting with a cover and in front of it install wooden shelves. Make the lower shelf deep enough so that the vent can be fastened to it. I have not yet figured out what the best way to fasten this "shelving" to the wall or the cabinet railing yet...
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