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myrealnameismama_goose

Blowin' smoke...my range hood project.

Seems like a slow day here, so I'm revealing my range hood, even though it's still sitting on my work table. I need help to mount it on the wall--don't know when that will happen, and I want to show it off now.

I'm so pleased with the way that it's turned out that I'm giving it an album and thread to itself. I started with an old feed bin that had been in our barn since we bought the place. One day as I walked by it, I thought, "Hey, that's the shape and size I need for a hood--maybe I can make this work!"

For about $350 in materials, including a $217 Broan hood insert, I'll have a vented range hood, which I've always wanted--we moved the stove across the kitchen, to an outside wall, to make this possible. I'm going for vintage style on a very tight budget--and this hood fits both requirements. It's my first metal-working project, except for a couple of copper panels for an antique cabinet. It has flaws and dings (and in some places may be tear-streaked), but I did it myself!

Here are my inspiration photos--I didn't save names, but I know that some belong to GW members. Thank you to each of you for sharing your pictures and experiences, and thanks to all of you Smaller Homes friends for your constant encouragement.

Inspiration photos>.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Comments (21)

  • Shades_of_idaho
    12 years ago

    HOLY COW WOW WOW WOW You did an amazing job. This looks so good. Loved all the pictures on how you did it too. To me working with metal seems impossible and yet you made it look so professional. I am in AW such a cool idea too. Love the recycle part of it all.

    Chris

  • User
    12 years ago

    Mama, you are nothing short of AWESOME. Your feed bin is no longer trash but treasure. Was this in your mind to use when you moved your range over to an outside wall?

    I'm showing the pictures to my DH, not for him to do it, but to let him know that such creativity is on the Smaller Homes forum and one reason I so enjoy the time shared with all you folks.

    In your link to other inspiration pictures, were some of those also made by GW people, or DIY folks in other forums?
    That copper tub with the handles was different, not exactly a modern range hood, but sure got my attention. :)

  • lavender_lass
    12 years ago

    Mama goose- Your hood is just beautiful! What a clever way to reuse an item you don't need, to create something wonderful for your kitchen.

    I am so inspired by your pictures, it makes me want to use more found items at our place, when we redo the farmhouse. Now, I'll be thinking...how can I use that?...as we're cleaning out the old buildings :)

  • schoolhouse_gw
    12 years ago

    Congrats. It looks great.

  • mama goose_gw zn6OH
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    shades, thank you, that means a lot, especially from a talented artist and 're-purposer'. Oh, and an added bonus--I used the left-over flashing to make an AC duct to run under one of the base cabinets. I'm using a cheap soffit vent as a toe-kick register cover. I'll try to remember to take a pic and add it to the album.

    moccasin, thank you for the kinds words. I don't remember when the idea for using the bin started to form, but I've been scheming to get a vented hood for 16 years. When we added on the new addition in 2008, I knew the stove would need to be moved--we'd no longer have the option to run ducting through the cabinets, to the outside, even if I was willing to give up that much cabinet space.

    When I presented my idea to my husband, and he said it could work, I started saving pics, and pestering him about materials and hood inserts. I have a brother-in-law who restores old cars, so he's become my adviser.

    I didn't save any information on the pics in the inspiration album--I don't recall any of them being DIY, except the copper boiler, and I believe I found that one on the HGTV-RMS site. Some are from pro sites--Modernaire, VentaHood, and others. The first I ever saw was on the Kitchens forum--I then searched on 'barrel hoods', and the wheels started turning. I just got lucky that the bin was the right size for the space available above the stove, and when I went into the attic eaves on an exploratory mission, I found that the pilot hole I drilled between floor joists is centered over the stove, within 1/4"!! The duct will run straight up and be vented through the wall above the mudroom roof. I'll try to remember to take pics of that process.

    lavender, thank you, now you've got me thinking--one of those old square metal laundry tubs might work, too... :)

    schoolhouse, thank you!

  • jakabedy
    12 years ago

    That is fabulous!

  • TxMarti
    12 years ago

    Oh my gosh! You did that all by yourself? I am so very impressed! It looks great.

  • User
    12 years ago

    MamaGoose, I just realized that I must source a range vent before next winter. My kitchen will not be as traditional as yours and I don't have a feed bin lying around the yard. But it is tempting to make a hood for it and then add a venting fan as you are doing. I'd like to make the fan remote, like some bathroom fans are, so the noise will be up in the attic close to the hole in the roof. That is my thinking at this time.

    Your work is an inspiration for me, so I will be keeping close contact with your installation of this amazing hood.

  • mama goose_gw zn6OH
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    jakabedy, thank you!

    marti8a, Yep ('aw shucks' expression, here). I even ordered the insert on line, which I wouldn't have attempted by myself before, so I guess I've arrived in the 21st century. (But my kitchen will still harken back to the 1920's!)

    ml, thank you, as always for the encouragement. I'll post more pictures a soon as the hood is installed. Right now I'm waiting to get an electrical outlet moved. It was used for the fridge, but is too low for the hood. And the hood isn't hard-wired as the old one was--it needs a GFI outlet. Although I'll tackle carpentry and metal-working, I'm leaving the electrical work to someone who knows what he's doing!

  • Nancy in Mich
    12 years ago

    Mama Goose, I wish I had a fraction of the energy and determination that you have. Your hood is a beautiful thing! Your kitchen is turning out so special, I am sure your family will love every minute that you spend i it together.

    Thank you for sharing your processes with us. Your precise explanations for how you accomplished your projects are great. They show how ingenuity, creativity, and a willingness to try something new (and maybe fail) can work out for the best.

  • mama goose_gw zn6OH
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks, Nancy! And thank you for inspiring another project--I re-used the worn-out latches from the vintage cabinets on a closet door. The pics are in my kitchen album.

    Here is a link that might be useful: closet door, pics 76--80

  • shelayne
    12 years ago

    I just don't even know what to say, but that is ALL kinds of AWESOMENESS!

    I was so impressed with your hood that I peeked at the rest of your kitchen album, and all I can say is WOW! Your solution for the bifold doors was so darned clever! You have an amazing talent, and your kitchen is going to be nothing short of spectacular--and it will be ALL YOU! I so love it already!

    Congratulations and keep posting pics!

  • mama goose_gw zn6OH
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    shelayne, Thank you for the encouragement and compliments, to me and my kitchen--I'm happy that you love it.


    Well, it's on the wall, and I think my BIL is as happy with the hood as I. He did a great job, and most of the heavy work--mounting the wooden brackets and hood, and holding the blower up while I attached it to the deck. I got the job of crawling through the hot attic space to drop the vent pipe. :P

    It works, but I'm waiting for a wall cap that had to be ordered--I couldn't find a local source.

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • shelayne
    12 years ago

    That looks fantastic!

    I still cannot believe you made this out of an old feed bin. It is nothing short of genius!

  • User
    12 years ago

    Mama, what is a wall cap in your use of the item?
    To cover the old electrical no longer being used for access? Or......?

  • mama goose_gw zn6OH
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    shelayne, Thank you! Now I know why those things are so expensive--lots of time spent on details!

    moccasin, the wall cap is the vent cover, similar to the vent cover for a dryer, but 6" diameter, with rodent-proof baffles and a damper. The pipe is vented through the back exterior wall, but at present is covered to keep crawlies out. If I turn the hood on I'll 'blow my cover'. Arrrrgh, sorry.

  • desertsteph
    12 years ago

    that's just awesome, awesome, awesome! you're an inspiration to all of us to just look around us and SEE what is available for our use!

    it's beautiful. any dings, streaks etc will just enhance it! every time you see one of them it'll ping your heart with the pride of a job well done!

  • Shades_of_idaho
    12 years ago

    LOL Blow your cover. Yes it is awesome and I also enjoyed reviewing your album.

  • User
    12 years ago

    Aren't you all a witty bunch here~~blow your cover, blowing smoke, ping your heart.....I like them all. Especially does ping your heart speak to me. I know exactly how that feels.

    So....Mama......are you ready to use your hood now?

  • mama goose_gw zn6OH
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Funny you should ask...the wall cap finally arrived, so I installed it, and the ducting last evening, and it works! The neighbors probably wondered why I was on the roof with a jigsaw, but no one came to investigate. My daughter made tacos today--it's nice to have a vent hood again.

    And speaking of neighbors, another neighbor and a friend came by to set the vintage upper cabinet for me. I forgot to tell them about the stacked-book method that you use, moccasin! Pics soon on the kitchen thread...

  • User
    12 years ago

    Congratulations on a job well done, lady!

    MamaG, it is just as well you did not reveal our little secret. I do have another do-it-alone method to put up the tracks for track lighting too. First I wired the hub to the original ceiling wiring. Then I got the extend-a-pole for the paint rollers, something that can extend up to 12 feet I think, but the good part about it is, when you get it extended as far as you need, you twist-lock it, and it jams against the ceiling and the floor. The way I used it, I stuck one end of the track into the wired hub, and then I scooted the extend-a-pole along the far end of the track as much as I could, jammed it up against the ceiling and floor, then screwed the track to the ceiling. I think it came in 48" increments, so I had two joined to make that 8 foot side, then the 4 foot going across the kitchen, and then another 8 foot strip of track going down the other side of the kitchen. It worked perfectly and I was so proud of myself. I usually did this kind of project in the wee hours of the morning when none of my friends would be available to help anyway.

    My most hair raising project was the night I took my brand new tiger saw (reciprocating saw), and made a pass through by removing some kitchen shelving by the sink so I could see through the family room to the bayou. I proceeded to tear down the dry wall over the original brick in the family room at MoccasinLanding. I stopped when I looked at all the 2 x 4 framing, and realized, just maybe, they were there to HOLD UP THE ROOF. It took two more years to knock them down and paint the bricks white.

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