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baltra_gw

cooktop on peninsula - really an issue?

BalTra
12 years ago

After reading the request for photos of pendants over an island/penn with cooktop and hood, I started wondering whether it is a bad idea to put my cooktop on my peninsula.

Small galley kitchen. Peninsula opens kitchen to the dining room. Peninsula is ~80" long.

Only other option for the cooktop is along the West wall run, 12" away from the back window, which is sort of behind a partial wall and I'd forever have my back to the in-house non cooking action. Also, that location would leave little counter space between cooktop and sink - ~24".

Am I the only one (certainly not . . . ) to throw the final kitchen plan up in the air right before install????

BT

Comments (39)

  • dianalo
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    How deep is your peninsula? We have a stove in our island and used wall cabs on the back side to create a buffer. I'd make sure you have at least some extra space behind the cooktop if there is no wall back there. If you can't add depth, then I'd build the back side up some to make a small bs behind it. If you add a bs of approx a foot, you would still have an open look/view, but would protect anything on the other side.

  • cawaps
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think GreenDesigns pretty much covered all the bases. Island cooktops have occasionally been demonized here, but they can work, if you address ventilation and safety, and aren't giving up real estate that you would rather use for an activity that you spend more time on (prep).

  • BalTra
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the careful replies, GreenDesigns + cawaps + dianalo!

    I can't post design due to my ineptitude and my computer.

    But, it's a galley kitchen with Southern windows.

    From Southern window along West wall:
    12" dead space (window is lower than countertop height)
    30" Drawers base
    15" Recycle base
    30" Sink base
    24" Dishwasher
    30" Drawers base
    no uppers
    run of base cabs ends at basement door.

    Peninsula starts 36" out from South wall.
    There is a NS running partial wall at peninsula origin with HVAC. Kitchen side of wall will have open 8" shelves,
    Dining side of wall will have 24" deep enclosed pantry space.

    Peninsula cabs:
    24" Drawer cab
    30" Cooktop (induction) Oven cab. no hood. (induction, have outside in wall fan, I don't fry foods)
    30" Drawer cab

    Dining room is on other side of peninsula.

    Room Dimensions:
    From the West kitchen wall to the East Dining room wall = 217"
    From South kitchen wall to North kitchen wall = 179"

    The frig will be recessed through the North kitchen wall and enclosed on LR side (sounds odd but I've seen it in another house with identical floor plan).

    Hanging design issues:
    where to put microwave & toaster oven? Likely will end up on countertops (boo!)

    Hope this is more clear than MUD!

    And hope someone has a fantastic twist to this configuration. I originally had the cooktop along west wall and felt like counter space was compromised. But maybe that's just the deal.

  • Cloud Swift
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'll post more later, but having had an island cooktop since 1985, it has never been an issue for us.

  • michoumonster
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i have my range in my island right now. functionally, there are no issues, except for the vent hood. i currently have the same size vent hood as my range, which i regret. if i did it over, i would get a wider vent hood with more power since the island is more open so harder to capture smells.

  • Buehl
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "Island cooktops have occasionally been demonized here..."

    They're only "demonized" when they're poorly planned...without sufficient safety zones, adequate workspace, adequate venting, etc. If they're planned properly they'll work...but you have to do it right to make it truly functional! Some people try to cram them onto islands (or peninsulas) when they don't have the room and/or don't want to vent them properly b/c they don't want to spoil their view or have a hood hanging in the middle of the kitchen.

    To add to GreenDesign's very good post...I would say you should have at least 24" on one side & 36" on the other side or the cooktop...both for safety and function. The 36" side for prepping, the 24" side for landing space (and safety zone)...a prep sink in addition is a very good idea - outside the 36" prep space (so, 36" prep space + 18" prep sink + 6" or so on the other side of the prep sink = 60" on one side would be ideal).

    For behind the cooktop, I suggest 18" of counter space behind the cooktop with no seating b/c grease splatters pretty far when there's no wall to stop it and b/c steam, smoke, etc. expand rapidly as they rise and unless your hood is very, very good (and installed properly), it probably won't capture everything - and you don't want to splatter, scald, or smoke out someone standing behind the cooktop (and they will be standing if there if you have a counter!) or even just walking by.

    Cooktop island/peninsula depth with seating behind it:
    1.5" counter overhang + 24" cooktop cabinet + 9" cabinets (or empty space) + 1" decorative door or panel + 15" overhang = 50.5" (49.5" if you skip the decorative door or panel on the back of the island or peninsula cabinets)

    Cooktop island/peninsula depth with no seating behind it:
    1.5" counter overhang + 24" cooktop cabinet + 16.5" deep cabinets + 1.5" counter overhang = 43.5"

    Minimum "ideal" island width:
    1.5" counter overhang + 24" cabinet/landing space + 30" cooktop + 36" cabinet/prep space + 18" prep sink + 6" tray cabinet + 1.5" counter overhang = 117"

    Minimum "ideal" peninsula width from the wall (includes the corner):
    36" corner susan + 30" cooktop + 36" cabinet/prep space + 18" prep sink + 6" tray cabinet + 1.5" counter overhang = 127.5"
    ...or...
    24" cabinet from wall + 6" tray or other cabinet + 30" cooktop + 36" cabinet/prep space + 18" prep sink + 6" tray cabinet + 1.5" counter overhang = 121.5"
    ...or, if sink/prep sink is around the corner on the wall side fairly close to the corner...
    36" corner susan + 30" cooktop + 36" cabinet/prep space + 1.5" counter overhang = 103.5"

    (Add 6" to above measurements if cooktop is 36" wide.)

  • huango
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Previous owners did NOT plan my stove in peninsula well:
    - no vent (not even downdraft)
    - 12" from the main/only aisle (aisle happens to be only 28" WIDE!!!)
    - there is a 12" overhang, but with the way I cook, I can't have anyone or anything (papers, computers) there because of the splatter, heat, etc.
    Can't wait to demo this kitchen!!!

    Amanda

  • _sophiewheeler
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    A wall fan isn't sufficient ventilation for doodly. And it has no filter mechanism. It doesn't matter if you don't fry. Just boiling veggies will spread plant oils all around your nice new kitchen. Oil attracts dirt. You need to do an overhead vent.

    And although it sounds like you have enough room on either side of the cooktop for landing space, you're probably going to end up prepping next to your sink, facing away from the cooktop. And it doesn't sound like you have enough overhang on the other side for safety.

  • nyccarrie
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My set-up is going to be very similar to yours but actually a little smaller. I am opening up a galley kitchen in NYC. My peninsula will be 90 inches with a 30 inch cooktop and oven and 30 inches of counters on either side of the cooktop. We are getting a 36" vent. I don't fry either but everyone I spoke with said a vent was essential. We chose one with a very low profile. It was one of our biggest splurges but I thought it was worth it given its importance. We'll have 12 inches of counter depth behind the cooktop. It's a small space and we have no choice in how to configure. I guess the lack of choice is one of the blessings of a small space. I really think it is going to be fine and I'd much prefer to cook facing the room rather than with my back to the room.

  • ellenm08
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I too love the idea of a cooktop peninsula, but I kept my stove on the wall and really appreciate having family sit at the peninsula counter it while I cook. I think GreenDesigns covered all the bases for sure. I love reading the KitchenLab's articles and thought I should pass this one on to you for some things to think about.
    To address your final question: "Am I the only one (certainly not . . . ) to throw the final kitchen plan up in the air right before install????"
    Most definitely not. It's now or you redo everything later on (which gets very costly). You have some great advice here and will be just fine!

    Here is a link that might be useful: [How to plan your kitchen - a great reference[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/house-planning-how-to-set-up-your-kitchen-stsetivw-vs~390964)

  • palimpsest
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    But the minimum ideal length of the island at 117" (lets round this to 10 feet) with a 36" aisle on one side, a 42" on the other and likely 25.5" of counter depth on one side, with an L + island plan = a "minimum" length of kitchen at 18" and a minimum depth of kitchen at 25.5" + 42" aisle + 55" depth of island + 65" seating + walkway = 15+ feet

    So the minimum recommended kitchen size with an island without seating except at the island is roughly 18' x 15' or 270 square feet, which is larger than the average square footage at their peak size a few years ago, which effectively eliminates it as an option for most kitchens. Thats almost the same as demonizing it, just more polite.

  • stephct
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would never put a cooktop in an island or peninsula if I had a choice. That said, I don't have a choice. My cooktop is in my island, it has zero ventilation and no prep sink. I do 90% of my prep right next to the cooktop. No sink, but my sink is directly behind me. I'm pretty sure I have no where near 36" for my prep space. So it is totally do-able (but we make do with anything, right?) but I would never chose it. I bet the layout gurus here will totally be able to help you either move it or make it the best it can be as greendesign and Beuhl described.

  • bmorepanic
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I had a range in a peninsula and I loved it. I didn't have enough space beside it to prep, but I did it anyway. One of the things I gave up in the remodel was the peninsula. The separation of work areas and an increase in prep area became more important to us.

    I must admit that I haven't missed a minute of that stress when I tried to be polite to dh when he tried to use my 20" of prep counter.

  • Cloud Swift
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It is also statements like this one by GreenDesigns that show the extreme negative bias here about island or peninsula cooktops:
    It's always better from a functionality standpoint to have a cooktop on a wall

    It isn't always better from a functionality standpoint. It certainly isn't for my kitchen.

    Our L is 14' by 10'. The fridge and double oven cabinet take almost 6' feet of the wall space of the L and the corner takes 2 feet of the wall on each side.

    The pass through window takes about 5 feet of the remaining wall space and the range can't go under it. The sink and dishwasher can. We need the rest of the wall space for uppers - unless we want to put uppers over the island - yuck! Plus we also want the espresso machine, coffee grinder, bread machine, toaster oven and stand mixer on the counter under the wall cabinets. All of those except the stand mixer get used at least a couple of times a week. Having the cabinets and counter appliance space on the L is important to the function of our counter.

    We don't want the clean up sink front and center on my island, but even if we were willing to do that, it wouldn't help unless we were willing to get rid of the window.

    On the other hand, the rangetop on the island is very functional for us. We don't have as much space around it as buehl thinks is essential. The island is 8 feet long. To the right of the rangetop, we have a prep sink, 20" wide but 13" would have been okay. We went wider partly because we wanted it to be useable from the side of the island as a secondary prep area. We wouldn't need or want the 6" that buehl recommends between it and the side of the island. It needs to be right in the corner so it can be used from both sides.

    We have 2 feet between the prep sink cabinet and the range top. Sometimes it feels like an extra 6" would be nice there. But I have a short reach - with 2 feet between the prep sink and range top I'm close enough to the sink for rinsing things and the rangetop for stirring. An extra 6" or the foot that buehl recommends would be too much to allow that.

    Our rangetop is 36" so that leaves 1 foot to the left of the range. An extra 6' would be nice, but this is what we have available and it is enough for us. I never have splatters go more than a foot and I stir fry on the front burners - I don't get splatters beyond the back of the ranggetop or past the 1' counter edge on the left.

    We have seating on the back of the island - since the remodel, that island edge is 27" from the rangetop (row of 12" deep cabinets plus 15" overhang. The old one had 24", just a 12" overhang which was okay but not as comfortable. I like that because it puts pots on the back burner out of arms length from our young grandchildren when they are there.

    We have a hood since the remodel. The old electric smooth-top didn't have one (probably for around 30 years). The cabinets over the old island did have some damage over the cooktop - not singed or greasy; it looked more like damage from steam bleaching out the color and finish. A hood would be better. We have a high power gas range now so a hood is essential for us.

    The concern that I have about your situation is the closeness of the range top to the dining room. You don't mention any overhang or edge behind the cooktop and it is next to your dining area. Will there be any buffer between people walking around the table in the dining room and pots on the back of the cooktop?

  • BalTra
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    OH BOY. Now I'm convinced I need to move the cooktop off the peninsula. Cloud - very good point about the proximity of range to the dining room. Steam alone.

    The convention in these rowhomes is to have the cook top next to the South window, a bit of counter space, then the sink. Not much prep space between the cook top and the sink then, especially because the same run of cabs ends at the basement door.

    I could extend that run of countertop by 12' if I allow it to butt into the South window ledge. As I mentioned, the window ledge is below counter height, though the window itself is not.

    I do not want the sink on the peninsula. Dirty dishes in the dining rooom!

    I will try again to post the original KD's drawings. Maybe I need to return to the first concept, but tweak it a little.

    Feeling desperate, but exhilarated too as I am really really appreciating this feedback.

    -BT

  • BalTra
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This has uppers in it, which I intend to eliminate. (but sound critique welcome!)

    Here is a link that might be useful: BT's elevation

  • BalTra
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    And here is the birds eye view

    SAVE ME FROM MYSELF!

    And quickly.
    I meet with my (grumpy, tired of my mercurial designs) contractor tomorrow morning.

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • _sophiewheeler
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If you get rid of the idea that you are Emeril and everything you do in the kitchen is so fascinating that others need to gather round and watch, then you can do a 30" island cooktop in a 60" x 30" island. That will give you 15" of landing space on either side, and will give you room for a pony wall behind the range. You will still need an overhead vent, and it will still need to be larger and suck more than a wall vent would need to be with the same cooktop on a wall. You won't have enough room to prep next to the cooktop, and you can't have seating, but you can cook.

    And that's why there is a bias against putting a cooktop in an island. It's not that it doesn't work well for cooking. If you pay attention to the traffic flow and your venting requirements, it can work quite well. The problem comes in when you want that island to do multiple duty. Something has to give. Do your prep elsewhere or get rid of the seating. You aren't auditioning for the next Food Network star. You're making dinner for your family and friends.

    When it really comes down to it, most people would rather prep and sit at the island. And that makes total sense, since prepping is 70% of the work done in a kitchen. It's when you try to cram that 10% of the time where you apply fire to the food on the island that you run into trouble with running out of room. So, don't try to cram it in and create a safety hazard.

  • BalTra
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Loving the brutal honesty :)
    And definitely under no illusion of being a show-chef. I cook. I don't perform. I am fairly awkward, actually, and prefer to do it in secret - hee!

    So, what do y'all think of the drawing I linked to above? What would you change? Note that the frig will actually be recessed through the wall, not sticking out, and I don't have pantries planned on either side of the frig because of this.

  • palimpsest
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    In your plan I would definitely Not put the cooktop on the peninsula because of the way the entry doorswing is recessed into the peninsula on the working side. That directs people right to the corner of the cooktop location.

    I am not against peninsula and island locations as a hardfast rule and I don't think putting one there is a result of exhibitionism or delusions of granduer, or other personality flaws, but that is a dangerous location in your layout for the cooktop.

  • cawaps
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think I'm with Pal on this. The traffic flow would make an island cooktop awkward.

    Can you swap the sink and cooktop locations? That would put the dirty dishes a bit out of view behind the wall. You'd still have your back to the action when you were actually cooking, but you wouldn't also be tucked away in a corner.

  • BalTra
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hee haa!

    I *definitely* have personality flaws, but delusion of grandeur is not one of them :)You guys are cracking me up with the peninsula/cooktop being a rorschach test.

    So, TIME TO CRITIQUE THE LAYOUT. Anyone feel compelled to move things around? Is this the best use of my space?

    Again: there is not currently a plan to put pantries around the frig as the frig is now to be recessed through wall between kit/LR.
    And:
    not currently planning to put uppers in. Though seriously reconsidering. It was partially an expense thing.

  • Cloud Swift
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    While putting the sink in the corner to hide the dirty dishes may be tempting, function may be better with the sink on the right and the cooktop on the left as shown in the picture. The flow of getting produce from the fridge, rinsing it in the sink, prepping next to the sink or across the aisle and then moving it to the cooktop is nice. Not sure if yours is a multi-person kitchen ever, but having the sink on the right would allow someone setting the table (from drawers and cabinets near the sink), filling a water pitcher, making salad, etc to be out of the way of the cook. Someone coming in the door will have to go past the the cooktop either way.

    Since your cooktop will be induction, when you are prepping before cooking it will be a smooth surface and your prep area can extend into it. When we had a ceramic cooktop it would get used that way. Since it looks like you have a very big sink planned, you might also consider a cutting board that fits over part of the sink to extend your prep area when you don't need all the room in that sink exposed.

  • aliris19
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Just dropping in to say that my original plans for a cooktop in an island were demonized, I listened, even nixed a window to make room for a perimeter stove ... and I'm happy I did so. I imagine other arrangements could have been done and would have been lived with, perhaps even happily. But in the end, a mid-room location is inherently flow-through and ranges have air that prefers to be captured. There's just no getting around this. Downdrafts work poorly at best, and I wasn't willing to stick a mountain from my ceiling. Those are the immutable limits. Something has to give somewhere, tolerance for fumes, sight-lines, a window, perhaps....

    Now back to the regularly scheduled layout guru machinations....

  • Cloud Swift
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    for responding to that.
    I don't think putting one there is a result of exhibitionism or delusions of granduer, or other personality flaws

    The accusation that one is just wants a cooktop in an island because one has seen it on TV is one of the things that makes me feel attacked for wanting/having that layout. Actually, we bought this house in 1985 with an island cooktop long before I ever saw one on TV. (I wasn't aware of Julia Child's show.) We liked it right from the first so our preference for that in this kitchen has nothing to do with TV chefs.

    I also don't buy that 70% of time prepping, 10% cooking statistic. It may apply some of the time like when I stir fry. Other times for slower cooking, I'm cooking and prepping at the same time. I might be cutting a carrot but I'm also keeping my eye, ears and nose on the onions sauteing next to me and giving them a stir from time to time. A time and motion expert might divide that into cooking and prepping time because of the motions that he can see, but that doesn't reflect that I'm doing both at the same time.

    The other issue with that stat is that cooking usually comes at the end of meal preparation so it is happening when people are gathering. If I want to be chatting with people as they gather, I want to be facing the island not the wall while I cook. Sure not all layouts accommodate that, but ours can and we like it that way.

  • colorfast
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like my peninsula slide-in range but I agree you need to have a hood that works. My old fan was junk.

    I don't understand your situation enough to see why you have an exterior door proposed where you do. Did you have other posts on this point? You are creating a railroad through your workspace whether you cook on a peninsula or against a wall.

    If it were me, I'd shorten that back run and put the exterior door next to the door to the stairs. Make the stairs have a pocket door or no door if needed. Your sink could go where the window used to be.

    Please forgive me if this has been discussed in another thread.

  • total_remodel
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    wow reading this i just got a shiver...i am planning my kitchen remodel and want my cooktop on the island. My budget doesn't allow for me to be moving appliances around and thats where it is currently. Plus like cloud i like the idea of facing folks while i cook. KD is coming on friday so hoping she can design an island that will not meet all the issues/concerns from above.

    Cloud cross your fingers for me lol

  • BalTra
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi all!

    I continue to extend heartfelt thanks for all who reply with their opinions / experience and expertise!

    Colorfast, I can't move doors around, sadly! this is a 1948 interior rowhome. The south side of the kitchen leads to the backyard, the north side leads to the basement.
    I actually have eliminate the TWO other doors in this small galley. One will be used for the frig (hence my need for a 30" wide frig), and the other went away with the tear down of the wall between my kitchen and the DR.

    I would indeed love to have cooktop in a space that is communal. Like CloudSwift, much of my cooking is slow & I tend to linger over the cooktop and enjoy chatting while I cook.

    But! One can not have everything, and each space has its limitations. I wish my layout would accommodate it safely, though.

    The SINK - will only be an undermount, and in a 30" cabinet instead of what is shown on drawing. I want more counterspace.

    Anyone want to bite on my more recent post "Tweak my layout" ??

    Yes uppers, no uppers? Love the clean look of no uppers!!!

    This link shows my dream kitchen -- completely out of context as it is enormous and has windows etc.
    Care to guess as to what this wood is?

    Here is a link that might be useful: [d r e a m y ![(https://www.houzz.com/photos/divine-kitchens-llc-contemporary-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~66877)

  • bmorepanic
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If I had your kitchen (and I have in the long ago past), I would see if I could scrape the money together for either/both of two things.

    1. Move the door by transforming into a slider or paired doors in the dining room window opening. Then put a "plain" window up in place of the door and window, continue the counter around in a "L", make the island smaller.

    2. Move the sink/dw to the peninsula. Push it a bit towards the back door instead of centered. Push the range towards the ref but avoid the dw door.

  • BalTra
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    bmore - I so wanted to do this with the doors!
    HOA won't let me :(

  • palimpsest
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am assuming that the back yard is landlocked?

    I looked at a number of row houses in my area that the backdoor led outside, but "outside" was as small as a Can someone really come In that back door without going OUT of it first? If not, the same rules may not apply.

    On top of this I have a general question.

    The current trend in a lot of kitchens is to put in a "statement" hood. Large, relatively high off the cooktop surface, and a focal point.

    Yet the same hood, seen in three dimensions, as in over an island, is considered an eyesore by many in here. Sure it is more imposing in three dimensional space, but not really that much more.

    I don't get it. I have never designed an island cooktop myself, and in all honesty have done mostly blower inserts camouflaged by cabinetry, but this has been a function of the type and size of kitchens I have designed. But a 42" hood 30-36 off the countertop against a wall is not all that much different than one of the same dimensions 42" further out in three dimensional space (across the work aisle from the wall location).

  • BalTra
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your assumption is somewhat correct, palimpset. Mostly those coming in the backdoor will have recently gone out of it. There is a good sized backyard for gardening and play, though. It's just not a main entry (groceries/mail/end of day won't happen through there).

    I am not in love with hoods as a design statement, at least not in my small kitchen. Venting my cooktop, if along the wall side and not the peninsula side, I'd try to achieve something small and non-detracting from overall appearance.

    having the cooktop about 15 - 20" to the north of the south window along the West wall of the kitchen argues for upper cabinets so that I could camouflage the vent - yes??

    And still have to figure out what to do with the dang microwave.

    Palimp, what is a 'blower insert'? Does it vent outdoors, or just have a charcoal filter?

    BT
    'ps- I just left my house with contractor busily making the kitchen space an empty shell!!!

  • Cloud Swift
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Palimpsest (I'm so tempted to shorten that to just Pal). I do and don't get it. People feel that putting the big hood over the island interferes with the openness of the kitchen. But I don't entirely get that because a) people (sometimes the same ones) will ooh and ahh over the wonderfulness of pendants, a chandelier or even a chunky pot rack over an island; b) I have said big hood over my island and don't find that it interferes with visibility - the old over island cabinets did because they went across the whole island length while the hood only goes over part of it and doesn't even fill the space over the burners since it narrows to a chimney. There are also less substantial looking ones that one could use; we went with a pretty hefty one. The island hood doesn't get to have the "statement" backsplash under it like the wall hood does.

    In a kitchen with a floor above, an island hood also presents the problem of how to get the vent from the hood to the outside. That was no problem for us because we are in a one story and could go straight up through the attic space. From the floor plan, BalTra's is probably two story. If the joists in the ceiling run the right way, a vent might be able to go through them to the backdoor wall, but it would also have to get through or around the wall with the HVAC. Even a hood on the West wall might need a soffit to get a vent to the outside if it can't fit between ceiling joists.

    Some people go with a recirculating hood to at least filter grease, odors and smoke over an island hood because of the difficulty of running a vent.

    In our case there was a joist right above where the vent should go if it ran straight up from a hood positioned properly over our rangetop. I've seen a home with the vent hood half over the cooktop and half over the island counter behind it which I assume was for this reason. In some cases one can cut that part of the joist out running it to adjacent joists that have been sistered, but in our case, the joist in question was already sistered to make the light box space. Our solution was to have a slanting vent cover made.

    We love the way our layout works for us, but it does have some cost. Because an island hood has to support itself from just the ceiling and be finished on all 4 sides, it usually costs from $500 to $1000 more than the wall version of the same model. In our case, the custom vent cover added a couple of hundred over the cost of a standard one. It was worth it to us.

  • Cloud Swift
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    A blower insert is the inside of a hood - when there is a cabinet or wood hood cover enclosing the venting, it is what is inside the wood to channel the air to the vent and often to provide a place for the blower motor to attach and any hood lighting and controls.

    To get a no uppers look, you might have a small soffit painted to match the walls for the vent to go through. If your joists run the right way and your hood is a normal one rather then high power, the vent might be able to go in the kitchen ceiling between the joists to the South wall.

  • dianalo
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    total_remodel - you currently have this set up, so are a better judge if it works for you in your home than the many "experts" who tell you it can't be done unless the moon and stars line up just so!

    You can put a shield/barrier as a small bs behind a cooktop if there needs to be protection for what is on the other side. If you do it in the same material as the counter, it can look quite nice. The one in the link below has a thick back to it. You can also go thinner, but I could not find any images in my quick search. I'd recommend doing even higher if it open to the dr. You'd still have a view in either direction when standing, but not as much when seated at the dr table, which is ideal. If you want to seat people at bar stools on the other side, that can be done.

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • palimpsest
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The row houses here have joists from party wall to party wall so the joist direction does not promote venting right out to the exterior in the joist space. However, it can be used to go across to the wall and then straight up along the wall like you would with a wall-located hood

  • colorfast
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't often weigh in on the layout posts, but your door location jumped out at me.

    Bmorepanic's idea to move your door to the dining room would be such a good solution too. What are his objections to moving the door to the dining room? It could be an opportunity to "bring the outside in" and be a chance to have gatherings expand into the backyard during nicer months.

  • BalTra
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Colorfast - yes! I would love love LOVE to do this, and in fact several people in my neighborhood have done this. But the current HOA (dreaded homeowner's assn) will not allow it. For now. If I could do it, it would change things so much. L-shape kitchen layout, more light, etc.

    I have several drawings of this layout. :(

    To darn many doors in my kitchen! ! !

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