Building a Custom Range Hood
About the Project
Custom range hoods can take your kitchen to the next level. Gone are the days of putting a microwave over the hood and calling it a day. Investing in your kitchen is proven to be one of the best investments you can make in a home renovation with regard to your return on investment. This project is a little more complicated but will save you a ton of money and build equity (double dipping).
Common Questions When Building a Range Hood
1. What kind of material should I build a range hood out of?
This is all preference. Some are wood, some are metal and others are composite.
2. What clearance should I have from the stove/range?
If you are building it out of flammable materials you need to ensure you maintain adequate clearance from the heat and flames. Using wood your clearance should be at least 36”, while others (like stainless steel) can be lower at 32”.
3. Do I need to vent my hood anywhere?
This all depends on the type of range hood. There are vented, ductless and even recirculating. I didn’t want to vent the air back into the kitchen and didn’t want to cut a vent into the hood so I opted to use a vented hood since we had easy access to the attic in this our new build.
4. What type of vent pipe do I need for the hood?
Rigid or semi-rigid vent pipe can be used but not flex duct. It is too thin and not rated for use in such application.
Tips When Building a Range Hood
Think through the whole process, including: how you are going to secure it to the wall, will it be one piece or two, is it built in place or offsite, how tall does it need to be, is the bottom opening for the vent big enough, how are you securing the vent to the hood, how are you trimming out the vent on the bottom, etc.
1. Build the vent in two pieces. Having two pieces makes it easier to move and install.
2. Use light materials for the framing. I used 2x4s and it was extremely heavy when I was trying to get it in place.
3. Take you time and make sure all angles are correct on the framing. If anything is wrong it’ll be hard to make adjustments after the finished outside is in place.
Identify Tools Needed to Build a Range Hood
Below are tools that are either critical to the job or that I would highly recommend to make your life easier. There’s nothing more frustrating than spending an extra 2 hours of time with inadequate tools just to save $40 by not buying what you need.
I am not the seller of these products, however, I have used these or similar tools in my projects.
Critical Tools
Recommended Tools
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