We discovered yesterday after opening my ceiling that there is no way to run duct between the joists to the outside of the house. Thus, the duct will have to run just under the ceiling in the kitchen about 3 ft and through an exterior wall.
I hate soffits, so my options are (1) leave galvanized steel duct exposed (it is 8 inches in diameter, so not subtle); or (2) Run upper cabinets to the ceiling and hide the duct in one of the upper cabs.
The kitchen is modern/transitional in style, and probably could get away with having exposed duct work as you see in lofts. The appliances and faucets are professional / commercial grade and also would be consistent with that style. I was, however, planning to have a more open feeling with the upper cabs, and am not sure I want them running to the ceiling.
Does anyone have any ideas about how to best handle this duct issue? Or maybe some pics?
Below are some pics of my kitchen in progress. The first pic, with the open doorway to the right, shows the gap for the range. To the left of that gap (and to the right of the window) is the wall through which the hood has to vent.
I have also attached a pic of the range hood, whose duct cover will be 24 inches tall and reach to the ceiling. The sides of the hood and duct cover are straight, so theoretically cabinets could be installed flush with the unit on either side.
Are there going to be any uppers on the sink / window wall? If not, I'd go for a tall set on the range wall: the contrast would actually emphasize the open effect of the one side. If yes, I'm more torn.
In my sister's kitchen we seriously considered the option of recirculating with a charcoal filter, so no outside vent would be needed. She previously had a hood that didn't work, so anything would be an improvement for her. Here the "look" is far more important than the function. In her case it turned out that the upcoming install to the outside won't be too difficult.
Are there going to be any uppers on the sink / window wall? If not, I'd go for a tall set on the range wall: the contrast would actually emphasize the open effect of the one side. If yes, I'm more torn.
This is exactly my dilemma! I really need uppers to the right of the window because I have much more space there than I have on either side of the hood, and I had wanted to stack horizontal cabs and use flyover lift up hinges like on the Varde cabs (i.e., stack two horiz. cabs; both horizontal doors open at once). One possibility for the range wall was to do marble all the way to the ceiling, eventually.
Alternatively, I was toying with the idea of doing stacked cabs to the left of the window, open shelving (maybe in wenge or ebony stained oak to compliment the floors) to the right of the window all the way to the end of that wall, and have stacked cabs that go to the ceiling on either side of the range hood. In that case, either approx. 1 ft of the duct would be visible in the upper corner (with shelves running perpindicular to it) OR I could put a piece of shelving material in front of it to hide it in the corner of the uppermost shelf. I have a magazine photo of a kitchen very similar to mine that combines open and closed shelving that way, and it does look cool, but I am a little concerned about being able to harmonize it with the abstrakt white on the other cabs.
Just to complicate everything, my kitchen was initially designed so that it would be either very contemporary (current incarnation) or, with a simple change of doors, could be a very traditional one with stacked glass front cabs over doors with solid wood ones (similar to the Something's Gotta Give kitchen that is copied everywhere). Hence the 15s over the 30s. I may have to ditch that idea but to the extent possible I would prefer to avoid foreclosing options for the future.
Regarding the soffit possibility -- that absolutely is a viable option (in fact, the duct cover over the range hood is only 12 inches deep and partof it could be covered also and be flush with the cabinetry) but I am really opposed to doing soffits because I just cannot stand the way they look, and in fact just finished ripping out some as well as redoing some unsightly beams in the house (removed them and placed new ones where they were supposed to be -- in the ceiling). Also, I really want to avoid anything involving drywall work and sanding because I don't think I or my floors can handle any more dust in the house.
I was not sure whether to laugh or cry when we opened that ceiling yesterday and discovered major plumbing and 2 headers in the way, but maybe it will inspire some cool solution that I otherwise would not have tried (hopefully!!!). For a split second I did consider ditching the hood and just getting a recirculating one, but ultimately I decided that true ventilation was more important and the range really should have a hood that is appropriate for it.
Last edited by yankeelawyer; Apr 28th, 08 at 1:37 am.
In my sister's kitchen we seriously considered the option of recirculating with a charcoal filter, so no outside vent would be needed. She previously had a hood that didn't work, so anything would be an improvement for her. Here the "look" is far more important than the function. In her case it turned out that the upcoming install to the outside won't be too difficult.
While the look is really important to me, unfortunately, no one even makes a range hood like the one I wanted that is recirculating. Ventahood does not make recirculating ones at all, and Viking only makes 2 -- one is teeny and the other is a chimney style that is not great. And the Viking range really should vent to the outside; if I had gone with an electric or induction cooktop or a regular range like the GE Profile we used to have it would be less of a concern. In addition, I really want something that removes grease, steam, etc from the house to protect artwork and some of the furnishings that we have.
Here's what mine still looks like, minus the sticker on the duct
At the very least I think it's proof that you can plunk any combination of cabinets and open shelves on your wall and it will look fine.
Ahem...still pondering what I want for a backsplash and what the chimney should look like...
The hood duct is exposed in the pantry behind, too, and I think in a home with high ceilings, it fits in and ends up looking right somehow.
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Thanks Splatgirl! I love those pics. Okay, now I feel better, except I don't think the space I have to work with is as cool as yours. Maybe wanna-be cool will suffice : ).
My range hood has a canape that is very similar to yours. Below is a not-so-great photo of the one I ordered, except the duct cover / chimney on mine is a single piece that is 30 x 24 and reaches to the ceiling (the below pic has stacked duct covers).
Since you don't seem to hate the look of exposed duct, I would def. stick to your plan of not having cabinetry to the ceiling and just let the duct stick out through the side of the chimney and run exposed. Honestly, I think it will look cool and fit right in with your more commercial/modern vibe. And I'm totally with you on being a soffit-hater, plus I am not a lover of having cabinetry to the ceiling and hemming in a hood chimney like that. I think it seems claustrophobic, particularly in a large space like you have.
And your space is SO not wanna be! I can't wait to see your finished product.
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