You need a vented hood. Get quotes. The smoke gets really bad - need to act on this asap.

My experience with a non-vented hood was it just didn’t work. Then for fifteen years we lived in an apartment with a window but no vent - and dust and grease everywhere.

When I redid our galley kitchen, I moved everything around, just so we could install a vented hood. My prior experience made that non-negotiable!

Might your kitchen have had a wood or coal burning stove at some point? In any case, building codes have changed, and things that once could be vented into an attic now have to vent outside.

Generally speaking, the hood should be wider than the stove, not narrower. Of course the pipe is narrower, but it should be as short and straight as possible.

Yes, was planning to get a 36" hood which is another reason we couldn't use that indentation... We actually rented it for 4 years before we were able to buy it so know all about the smoke situation! My sad attempts to blow the smoke out the window with a fan above the stove were worthless...

I guess I'm just looking for advice for the most cost effective way to get this done. And if any of the existing vent structure can help us at all. Was really wanting to spend less than $700 including the hood and labor...

You are going to have to get a pro in to answer all your questions. So many variables that we cannot see to answer your questions.

You don't need to go through the ceiling or attic just put your stove on exterior wall and vent outside. You can look at the book Period Kitchens to see what some old fashioned kitchens used as vent fans. Also send us pictures of your entire kitchen. The photos you have provided are not very useful.

When you say that you grill a lot, I assume that your cook top has a grill built in to it? In our new house we have a grill in the cook top and my wife does a lot of cooking. He have a 900 cfm fan attached to a 10" pipe that runs up into the attic and out the side of the house. For it to work properly we have to open an adjoining exterior window. Even this set up is less than perfect because the hood itself is not as deep as it needs to be. Some smoke escapes the smallish hood. I have had to permanently disconnect the smoke detector in this area. I dont know if any of this is useful but thought I would share my experience. I'm not sure what you can do for $700 though. Good luck.

Have you considered rearranging the kitchen since having the stove up against a wall isn't the best anyway? Do you have a floor plan of the kitchen as it is now?

cpartist, if money was no object and I didn't care about losing the original cabinets then I would consider that but this is not the case.... :) The kitchen works for us as is, this is the only improvement that we have deemed necessary.

At one point we were considering more changes to the kitchen but decided our money was better spent elsewhere.. I did have a post about that back then (with photos of the whole kitchen) if you are curious. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/linear-galley-kitchen-breakfast-nook-laundry-room-ideas-to-improve-dsvw-vd~4717975

"is it worth it to get a vented hood? Would it the cost and hassle be worth it or should we just get some sort of non vented hood?"

In my experience a non-vented hood will catch some of the grease that is carried by the hot air that is pulled through your filter but it will do nothing for smoke. Catching some of the grease is better than nothing but only you can decide whether that meets your needs. I

Depending on where you live, current code may also require you to vent outside. Though that probably would not apply to you until you did more involved renovations that required a building permit.

Any chance that you can use your $700 budget to buy a vented hood that matches the style of your kitchen and you DIY the installation?

Thanks all, it is now pretty clear that getting a vented hood is the way to go but guess I was just hoping there was some sort of 3rd option that would make it cheaper?? Doesn't hurt to ask. :) I have someone coming to give me a quote for install on Tuesday, hoping its no more than like $400-500 for labor. There seem to be some decent hoods that fit the style I want for about $400 so thinking in reality we'll probably be in it for about $1000.

Larger diameter duct size gets you more cfm. Or same cfm for less noise. Vent hood noise is important to me. If you are unable to have a conversation with the hood on then it isnt worth having IMO. Typically an inline fan or roof mounted fan that pulls the air from inside and a larger diameter duct cuts down on the noise. Higher cfm vent hoods with the motor right above the oven and/or a duct diameter 6" or smaller are typically quite noisy.

All true. My fan is in-line in the attic. But I think that is going to add cost so I did not suggest it.

Thank you Vith and schreibdave, very helpful. Noise is important to me too so that would be great if it could be in attic. I had not considered that before but will ask the contractor who is quoting on the job next week about it. Maybe since we already have a hole in the ceiling putting it in the attic may be a better option??? Hopefully the contractor can advise on this once they look at our setup.

Hi Mira, can you share an update?

Not much to update.... we got a quote from some recommended guys and they said that due to laws they can only do the installation of the hood, not do the roof vent. So that will be an additional cost from a certified roofer. I did get some good suggestions from NextDoor to use a company that has people who can do both install and roof but now the hubby is saying "he has a friend who can do it for cheap and will call him soon" so you know how that goes.... lol. Overall its a lot more cost and hassle than I was hoping. But do hope to get it done soon, will send an update once I do.