Kitchen Range Hoods
Range hoods serve two primary functions in your kitchen: to protect your walls and
cabinets from spatters and flare-ups, and to ventilate smoke and odors that arise from
cooking. The availability of ductless range hoods gives you peace of mind when designing your
dream kitchen, since they allow you to place your range anywhere, not requiring access to a
nearby wall or ceiling with access to the outside. Ducted range hoods require extensive
ductwork through your house's infrastructure so that they can vent to the outside, but they
use a system of fans and filters that are built into each of the unit. Ductless range hoods
are more than a utilitarian item: they can add beauty and eye appeal to your kitchen. Range
hoods come in a variety of designs, from island range hoods to stainless steel range hoods and
copper range hoods. Kitchen range hoods can be mounted to the wall or the ceiling, or suspend
from a chimney. Shapes and styles include sloping awning-type kitchen range hoods, sleekly
curved or starkly geometric European-style range hoods, and unobtrusive under-cabinet range
hoods. You can consider fine products such as Broan range hoods or a variety of styles,
designs and prices offered by many experienced manufacturers. Reading home magazines can
give you many ideas of how you would like your kitchen to look. Today the choices of
cabinetry, counter surfaces, hardware and appliances seem almost infinite.
Range hood can
help to define your motif, from the stark stainless steel that says "professional kitchen" to
curving canopies that capture old-world charm. You may choose to remodel with an all-in-one
stove, or use separate countertop cooking surfaces and wall ovens. Range hoods are often a
code requirement, and should be placed directly over your cooktop; they are not needed for
wall ovens, which generally have their own vent systems. Flooring and wall coverings may be
the finishing touches for your remodeled kitchen, but if you are doing a down-to-the-walls
remodel, it can be easier to install the flooring and wall coverings first, when there are no
cabinets or appliances to get in the way. Using a ductless range hood also means that there
will be fewer cut-outs required that might interfere with wall coverings. If you are
remodeling an existing kitchen, you may be limited in the type of range hood that will work.
However, it may be possible to remove cabinets directly over your cooktop to allow you to use
chimney-style range hoods or larger sloping canopy-style range hoods, rather than limiting you
to the under-cabinet type of kitchen
range hoods. If you relocate your range hood from its
pre-remodeling position, the wiring needed is relatively easy to move or extend. |
