I would ask what he meant by "not holding up". Seems to me, no expert for sure, that cleaning would be equal.

I think he means over the years the heat can affect the wood? And that wood would be harder to clean than the steel.

It really depends on a few things, such as the quality of the wood/paint, how well the actual vent works, what type of cooking you do, how often you clean etc.

A SS hood will last longer in my experience, but if you properly take care of a wood one and invest in quality materials/products it can last for awhile too.

I had a white-painted hood two homes ago. It was harder to clean for sure (I’ve only had SS hoods since then). And at the edges, there was wood bleed-through. Some little bit of paint crazing on one side. Having said all that, that hood came with the house, and I am not sure about its quality to begin with, though from far away it looked high-end. It wasn’t my taste either. I like a metal hood, I always thought the painted wood hood added a heaviness and affectation that didn’t do that kitchen any good. But that’s just my personal taste and that particular kitchen.

I have a stained wood hood and have not had any problems with it - have had it about 3 years.

All things being equal, stainless steel is going to be easier to maintain and clean than any kind of wood hood because you just can't clean wood with the same kind of cleaning products as stainless steel.

That said, wood cabinets (stained or painted) theoretically have a surface that is more durable than ordinary wood furniture. I had a kitchen with painted cabinets - very durable enamel type of spray finish that was done by a professional - and they cleaned up reasonably well from various splotches and messes as well as greasy effluent (that kitchen had not vent/hood) so areas around the stove had deposits which would otherwise have gone into the vent.

I would assume it would also depend on how good your vent is and that it is the appropriate size - i.e. needs to be larger than actual cooking surface as well as what that cooking surface is and what kinds of foods you normally cook.

I was going to get a wood hood cover but wound up with a copper one instead - not as easy to clean as stainless steel but my copper hood is not shiny copper so I don't have to maintain a shiny copper surface as it has a patina already :-).

I have a stained wood hood and the steam from cooking has damaged the finish.

Seems like it might depend on how far the actual hood insert extends? So in picture one, it doesn't extend far and thus the wood is directly over the heat/smoke/steam source.

In the second photo, that hood would provide more area for smoke/steam/heat, so the wood is not directly over the heat/smoke/steam source.

I had a custom hood that extended out further, similar to photo 2, without problems. However, I use lids a lot, don't fry a lot, and didn't have a gas stove.

As far as cleaning, that just seems odd, because all of the bad stuff should be going up through the extractor. The top of my hood got dusty (if anyone has a remedy for removing all of the dust in a house, would love to hear about it) but cleaning the bottom insert part is no different than cleaning my current non-wood hood version.

Good luck!

Thanks for all your input! I really appreciate it!

We've a wood surround painted white with an insert. 17 years old. No problems with it nor with keeping it clean. We cook several times per week and that often involves high heat, sauté, pan frying, and other things that produce a fair bit of greasy effluent.

If your builder says they don't hold up then ask him what he's doing wrong. And then wonder what else he doesn't do well

Photo of 17 year old well used wood hood painted white: