I agree with Weissman. I had a friend who had no duct at all. She hired an HVAC guy to install ductwork by opening her drywall, installing the 8" duct between the studs (or was it the joists?) (just barely fit, she told me), and cutting a hole to the outside, including the damper. While it sounds like a big deal, she told me that in the end, actually it wasn't. She was lucky to have an empty soffit above her cabinets, and also did not have a long distance to the outside, about 6'. She says she is so glad she did it. The cost (she was surprised it wasn't so much) and any aggravation are long forgotten, but meanwhile she will have years of enjoyment from cooking with her hood and good ductwork. Of course it depends on each home and its setup, but you could at least look into it.

houses14, my Imperial range hood is not an insert, rather an under cabinet ss hood. However, the materials used, and the quality of construction, the fan motors, are the same with minor variances to allow for space restrictions within the smaller size of my hood. Construction wise, it is all that I had hoped for, was easy to install, and has functioned beautifully. Packaging and shipping were excellent. The ss is marine grade. This means that the amount of chromium in the ss will prevent rust from forming in the interior of the hood over time. The electrician informed me that their fan motors and switches appeared to be top quality. The warranty for my hood is 7 years, which is almost unheard of in the industry. Their specifications and installation instructions are right on to allow for optimal operation. For example, my duct is 8" from hood to roof jack and had to have a certain rise in height from the hood before the first angle in the duct work. Baffles remove and reinstall easily for cleaning. It was a joy to call Imperial direct with technical questions at their manufacturing headquarters in California. Someone was always immediately available to answer my questions regarding their vent hoods or recommended installation. My installer was promptly referred to their engineer for technical assistance as I requested that the wiring that would automatically turn on my hood once a certain temperature below the hood was reached be disconnected as I did not want that feature. To me, having that level of service available when answers are needed means a great deal. I found that the folks at headquarters were always honest even if it wasn't the answer I wanted and that they knew their stuff. Their light and fan switches are continuously variable which is rare on vent hoods. This means that they both function like a rheostat with a continuous increase, or decrease, rather than clicking up or down discreet notches, such as level 1 to 4. Also, I liked having the option of installing the switches wherever I wanted remotely, rather than being mounted to the underside of the hood. The hood easily handles removal of odors, steam or grease beneath it's surface. I've found that if the hood is allowed to run for about 10 minutes prior to cooking that it can be operated at a lower level and do a good job. The hood on low is fairly quiet but is noisier than I had anticipated at higher levels with having dual fans and baffles. Also, highest cfm level is 1000 which is a factor. However, I used a different size led bulb than Imperial recommended. I now have a gap around the bulb that needs to be filled with a rubber gasket. Also, the temporary roof jack is too large, and the correct one is waiting to be installed so the jury is still out on the noise issue. Noise level was quite an issue for me, but even if it remains unchanged, I would still buy the same hood given how pleased I am with the overall operation and that I can easily live with the noise that I now have. I'll have to look up the name of the online vendor I used and will add that information tonight.

Thank you for choosing the Appliance Forum. We hope to meet your needs. Air flow rate (CFM) requirements are not determined by the area of the room when the subject is cooking ventilation. Cooking ventilation works by capture and containment of the rising and expanding cooking plumes generated by the hot cooking surfaces. Hence there are two essential performance requirements: Capture requires that the hood overlap the expanding plumes. The plumes have various shapes and speeds, but for convenience we treat them as conical from each point on a hot cooking surface, rising upwards over a range of angles from vertical to ten degrees from vertical. This leads to the capture requirement of having the hood overlap (as much as practical and affordable) the contour of this distribution of cones, at the chosen height of the hood aperture. A three-inch hood overlap of the cooktop is often mooted as a simple version of this requirement, but in some cases is inadequate for full capture. Containment requires that the blower flow rate be high enough to ensure that the effluent in the plumes is moved to the interior side of the baffles and expelled from the house, with none allowed to reflect off of the baffles or other hood parts and escape from the hood. The nominal air speed that I suggest is adequate for residential cooking is 90 ft/min over the hood entrance aperture. 90 ft/min is equivalent to 90 CFM per square foot of hood aperture. Other points: The rising plumes can have a velocity of up to 1.2 m/s (somewhat less for induction) so the containment air velocity is used to block significant downward reflections at the baffle surface. Your two hoods should be treated independently as to requirements, except when make-up air (MUA) is addressed. I"m going to skip that subject in this message. Most importantly: Blowers are rated at zero static pressure across them, i.e., hanging free in the air. This is not the situation in the kitchen ventilation environment. Skipping the discussion of all the reasons why, I suggest you choose a blower that is rated at about 1.5X the intended actual flow rate calculated from the 90 CFM/sq. ft. requirement. Else, a more elaborate analysis is needed, and the MUA system is involved. This makes it somewhat recursive to perform. For a given flow rate, blower noise is reduced by using large blades moving a low speeds. (Consider the Casablanca fan, for example.) So it is true that a higher rated external blower will, at a setting below its maximum, be quieter than a smaller rated external blower running full speed. Typical Wolf/Broan or Abakka blowers mounted on the roof will be quieter than the baffle hiss if silencers are used in the duct path. In your case you will want two blowers and individual ducts, I think, with individual silencers. MUA comments follow in next message. kas

In the meantime.... First, I'd ditch the upper cabinets on the range wall and have the cabinets on the sink wall and refrigerator wall die into the range wall. That will (1) eliminate corner storage -- often wasted space, (2) open up the range wall more, and (3) allow you to move the windows to allow for windows + breathing space on either side of the rangehood. Second, I'd keep the upper cabinets on the both sides of the sink wall's window....but, I'd also probably increase the size of the window. Third, I'd get a more effective and functional rangehood. The one you're showing may look nice, but it isn't very functional. I'm assuming you cook and this is not just a show kitchen -- correct? You need a cavity/cup to corral the FOGSS (fumes, odors, grease, steam, smoke, etc.) for effective venting. A flat one doesn't allow for that. It becomes especially important when your rangehood is not flanked by upper cabinets and when it's flanked by windows. These two reasons are also major reasons why you should stick with your original plan for a rangehood at least 6" wider than your range. And no, don't count on the windows acting as ventilation over your rangehood. You need something above the cooking surface, not to the sides. FOGSS rises and expands, but rises more than expands. Also, if that range is gas, you may have issues with air from the windows interfering with the burner flames. The FOGSS expansion is why you need a wider rangehood -- to capture the FOGSS and allow the fan to vent the FOGSS outside. If you had upper cabinets flanking and up against the rangehood, you might be able to get away with a rangehood with a width = the width of the range. Unless...do you plan to grill or do high-heat cooking (e.g., stir-fry, frying in general, or even a lot of browning of meat)? If so, stick with the 6" wider rangehood. Other comments: Your kitchen really isn't wide enough for truly functional island -- you need about 13" more space to have sufficient aisles to allow you to be able to move around in the Kitchen with the island in the middle. The bare minimum needed: . 25.5"D Sink counters + 45"W aisle + 27"D island + 42"W aisle + 30"D refrigerator/freezer = 169.5" (5.5" more than what you have) (the 45" aisle is so you can have the DW open and still slip b/w it and the island.) 42" aisles are the minimum recommended for a one-person kitchen; 48" for two or more people. . Remember, though, that 48" wide aisles on all sides are better if you plan on having more than one person working in the Kitchen at the same time (two or more cooking or prepping or cleaning up or getting a snack, etc.) So, 169.5" + 3" + 6" = 178.5" (14.5" more than what you have) If you reduce the aisle b/w the refrigerator & island to 45", then 178.5" - 3" = 175.5" (12.5" more than you have) <== this is the bare minimum I recommend . Also, 27" is really a bit shallow for a working island, it's better at 30"D, with 36"D even better. Adding another 3" to the depth of the island: 178.5" + 3" = 181.5" (17.5" more) <== this is what I would prefer overall . Do you need to have cabinets/counters on both sides of the Kitchen? To be honest, right now those counters b/w the refrigerator and range are wasted space since they're not in a good place for a work zone. Would you be willing to switch the sink and range walls and eliminate the cabinets/counters on the left wall? If so, you could have an island with seating: . 30"D refrigerator/freezer + 48"W aisle b/w perimeter and island + 42"D island + 44"W aisle behind the seats = 164" ... exactly what you have right now! (13'8" = 164") I would KEEP the prep sink to make the island functional instead of just a barrier b/w primary work zones. E.g., right now, the island is a major "barrier island" b/w the refrigerator and the perimeter sink -- which will be your only sink if you eliminate the prep sink in the island. The island prep sink is the main thing that allows this Kitchen to be functional. If you take it out, you will have a very unpleasant place to work. Refrigerator & Freezer: Are these going to be true built-in appliances? Not counter-depth (CD) or standard-depth (SD), I mean built-in? I'm asking b/c if they are not going to be true built-in and, instead, are going to be counter-depth, then keep in mind that the majority of counter-depth refrigerators and freezers are actually 30" or more deep when you count the doors & handles. "Counter-depth" only refers to the refrigerator (or freezer) carcass -- the box only. The doors & handles add additional depth. The reason they're deeper is that the doors & handles of CD (and SD) refrigerators/freezers need to stick out past the surrounding counters, cabinets, walls, etc., to allow them to open fully. Standard-depth are even deeper (usually closer to 36"D). If they are CD, then you will need to add another 3" or so to the 13" I discussed above (so, 16" more). I'd move the DW to the right of the sink to get it out of the Prep Zone b/w the range and sink. Even with a prep sink in the island allowing the island to be the primary Prep Zone, that space b/w the range and wall sink will still function as a secondary Prep Zone. (You haven't told us about yourselves, so I don't know if both you and your husband cook, if you have children you will eventually be teaching how to cook & cleanup, etc.) . Let me see what I can come up with for you.