[AZchic]

We're planning on tiling half-way or three-quarters up the wall that the hood will be on. Should we install the hood before or after we tile?

[Chuck]

If this is one of those fancy deco type hoods (as opposed to the old-fashioned $39.00 jobbers from the Depot, etc.), I'd do the tiling before the hood is installed.

Depending on how the hood installs, you might want to temporarily install it, so as to get a feel for how that works, and so that you can mark out exactly where the hood will sit, where the hardware will go, etc. After you've done that, take the hood down, put the mounting hardware back in place, and tile around that, making sure that you tile where the hood won't be.

This will allow you to easily re-install the hardware in its proper place, without having to drill through the tile, which can be a bear and half to do.

You could install the hood first, then tile around it, but it will make the tile work that much harder. There will be lots of tiles to cut, maybe some tricky cuts (multiple angles, small pieces) to make, and then you have to worry about scratching the hood when you do your grouting.

[torrus]

I'm with Chuck - tile before the hood...I'm now cutting the drywall out behind the canopy hoods and installing 1/2" plywood for the hood to be mounted against.
Tile over the ply and the install should be a snap!