Options when your custom hood is too tall

10 years ago

Hoping I can get some sane advice. I am trying to isolate the issues to see if I can divide and conquer each thing. Our goal is to get the remodel done as fast as possible and get the contractor out as I outlined in the other threads.

We ordered a custom hood from Modern-aire. The hood that originally came had dents and it had to be redone. Now we discover that the hood is too tall and a tad too wide. The height issue is likely our fault as we signed off on the design without rechecking the measurements.

What would you do.

The hood is big. 57.25in wide X 30in tall x 30in depth
Counter height --> 33.5in (we designed so as we are short)
Counter depth --> 30in
The ceiling height is just 91in
The hood is 30in which goes all the way up to the wood t&g ceiling.
The problem = the backsplash and the distance from cooktop is just 27.5in. Too short !

Should I still install and see if it is workable? Or this is too short. Atleast until the inspection is over and the contractor is out of our lives.
Cut out the tongue & groove wood ceiling to raise the hood above (We have an attic).
Sell the hood and get something else that is shorter - either 24in or 27in tall (30in or 36in from cooktop)

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Comments (8)

1929Spanish
10 years ago
I can't help you due to bias, but I can share a story.

I found my Modern Air hood on eBay from a woman in Pasadena who installed it and realized it was too big.

So my bias is for someone who can benefit your situation. That being siad, I had a very low clearance on a range top once and really disliked cooking on it as a result.
michoumonster
10 years ago
if it were me, i think i would trim back the ceiling and use it. or if you can find a good metal cutter, maybe you can cut the hood back a tad at the top. you can always apply a little trim or something to hide imperfections.
though i think spec-wise, a lot of hoods recommend to go anywhere from 26" to 36" above a hood for best hood performance, so 27.5" is not too short to pass inspection, though it probably too short for comfort.
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gwlolo
Original Author
10 years ago
I will consider the ceiling trim option. Wondering if there are any examples of hood clearance of less than 30inches on GW?
Fori
10 years ago
Don't install it without mods. Us short people should never have to cook like tall people (bruised foreheads). Also a megahood mounted that low relative to everything else will look ridiculous. Do see how hard it'll be to chop it or stuff it into the ceiling.

(Also, assure me that this wasn't your architect's error. :0) )
islanddevil
10 years ago
Agree with Foir on all accounts. If you're only 5' tall and it's still too low for you, no way. Hopefully you can modify it, but if it's also too wide I think it will be the elephant in the room.
live_wire_oak
10 years ago
Why is the ceiling so short? That would be the first thing to investigate. That has more ramifications that just getting the hood up further out of your face.
shanghaimom
10 years ago
Our hood is 26" from the top of the range. The range and hood manufacturer (Bertazzoni) specifies 25.5-31.5 for clearance but our strict and annoying city code did not allow me to go higher than 26". I thought it would make me crazy but it doesn't seem strange or uncomfortable. I am 5'8" and use the range almost every night. It is a 6-burner 36" gas range.

Sooo...I have 8" on you AND my hood is 1.5" lower than what you're proposing. I do think you'll be quite comfortable cooking! What does make me wonder, however, is how that very large hood will look with your unusually low ceilings? Might be worth doing some sort of mock-up to get a feel for the proportions.
gwlolo
Original Author
10 years ago
Fori, Island, Livewireoak --> On the question of low ceiling - My house is old and the ceiling in the kitchen is redwood tongue & groove boards. I did add 2 skylight wells to add some light in there and some airiness. It feels OK. The hood depth is kind of proportionate to the uppers which are 18in deep. The hood is PS26 model and has uppers on both sides. And my base cabinets are also 30in deep. The width of the hood makes sense as my cooking zone is 36in induction + 12in gas. With a 2in space in between, I basically have a few inches extra width on the hood at 57in to cover any smoke escaping.

I spoke to Modernaire today and the rep urged me to really consider installing it and then seeing if I still find it an issue. He feels the scale of the hood on the floor is making it feel big but it will be proportionate.

I have to verify the code issue.