You should feel lucky to have 8' ceilings. Mine are just less than 7.5', and I'd *kill* to have 8'. Here's my 24" deep, 42" wide Rangecraft hood mounted 66.5" above the floor. On a good, non-stressed out day when I'm able to stand up tall, I'm only 5'8" so can't comment on using my kitchen as a tall person. DH is only 6' and has never hit his head on the hood. I actually wish sometimes that my hood was 27" deep to grab those front burners better. You don't need to cook a lot of grease to fully utilize the hood. Do you plan to stir fry? Sear protein? Boil pasta? All of these generate enough HOGS in my kitchen to use the hood, and when I use the front burners sometimes they do escape a 24" deep hood.

Colin3: - thank you for reminding me about space between ceiling joists. I THOUGHT my joists run in opposite direction, but after closer inspection, they run parallel to the direction of venting out. Yay: so I get another ~7inches!!! YAY! - I will check w/ my HVAC person about customizing the duct transition pieces. - The back of the hood = my familyroom. And upstairs = the guest room. But w/ PALIMPSEST's input, I may get another 2 inches, if I drop the hood to countertop height to 27" to increase effectiveness. Willtv: Thank you for the great info on the Proline/your experience. But weren't you nervous w/ all the negative feedback? I don't know if I can pull the trigger. I really like the high (er than Broan) CFM for the great price. W/ my layout, I do not have the luxury of a quiet hood, but all I care is that it'll suck the grease and smell of garlic and oil, etc, out! Davidro1: chicken or egg? Do I buy the hood that I want, and then fit it to my house? Or see what my limitations are due to my layout to deduce on which hood to purchase? There are so many beautiful hoods that I know will not fit into my layout/ceiling/up-left-out layout. Thank you, Amanda

The duct size is determined by the manufacturer of the specific unit you select but it is likely to be 8" round which will fit in a 12" dropped ceiling or soffit. A round duct is cheaper and more efficient but in such a short run you could use a rectangular duct to raise the soffit/ceiling a bit. The duct could rise vertically in cabinets and then run horizontally to the outside wall. Your kitchen designer can easily accommodate that standard detail. I've never seen a range exhaust duct installed in a wall. I can think of no reason for a remote blower unless the sound of the fan at the highest speed (rarely used except when something is burned) is seriously objectionable. Most people run these fans at the lower speeds to reduce odors in other parts of the house. In my experience a remote fan is common in a commercial kitchen but very rare in a residential kitchen. If you are going to use a fan larger than 400 CFM, you may have to provide an automatic make-up air system. that would only be worth it if you have a very large, high capacity, semi-pro gas range or the room is unusually large. I would not terminate an exhaust at a roof if I could possibly do it at an exterior wall. It's not a matter of efficiency but avoiding roof leaks and snow & ice in northern climates. I try hard to avoid all unnecessary penetrations in a roof because wall penetrations are easier to waterproof. I would do option C because it puts the termination away from windows and on a less important facade. Also, the ceilings/soffits can be easily built at 8 ft. from the floor and there would only be one 90 degree bend, and it might simplify the cabinet design. Be sure to get rid of the attic access hatch in the ceiling of the closet. You wouldn't be able to use it anyway and it is contrary to building code requirements.

That do not work worth a hoot. Completely insufficient capture area at that height above the cooking surface. Cooking effluent spreads out as ITV rises. A tiny little thing in the ceiling just means a Grady nasty ceiling next to it. And you have to climb up on a ladder over the cooking surface just to get to the filter. Which people will not do. So they will never get cleaned. They will just sit there getting more and more clogged up with grease. A big giant fire hazard.