range hood not vented to outside


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Old 06-16-06, 11:42 PM
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range hood not vented to outside

My home was remodeled by the previous owners sometime in the 70's. The kitchen was on the outside wall and they added a large den and darkroom onto this making the kitchen in the middle of the house and what was previously an outside wall is now an inside wall.

The kitchen is a narrow galley kitchen with the dining area at the end which opens into the den. The stove is at the far end, a laundry room at the end of that. There is not outside duct for the microhood (which doens't really work) but there is an exast fan in the ceiling in front of the stove so theoretically if you are using the range hood fan and the exast fan is on hot air and stuff should eventually wind up outside.

I don't know why they just didn't put a duct above the stove, there are a couple of cabinates above it, maybe they just wanted cabinate space. I am a new homeowner and am repainting several rooms that were previously wallpapered. The wallpaper was hiding the effect of the heat and moisture from the stove and I would like to correct that.

I don't know if replacing my fan and hood will be enough and I would like to put in a hood with a duct to the outside. I'm running out of money and it seems like an expensive project. It's a one story ranch house but the attic above the stove is the "old" attic and is difficult to get to because of the way they added the new roof.

My exast fan had quit working a few years ago and I did not consider how important it was and did not promptly replace it. Will a recirculating hood combined with the exaust fan be sufficient for my kitchen? What kind of professional should I contact for putting an exast vent over my stove? It seems like it will be expensive, because of the two roofs it's not as simple as merely going up in the attic and installing ducts, the new roof overlaps the old roof, it's a tight squeeze, even the AC people have an impossible time crawling around in there. There is a small hole for access in the old roof and the old access through the garage,

I'll have to post pics, it's hard to explain. I just want to know what my options are and I don't have the money for a major reconstruction project right now. Everything else they did when they did this additon seems so nice and well thought out, except for the overlapping roofs and the unvented stove that is.

I guess I can try and find a new working microhood and fix the exast fan and do some research for installing a vent. Taking apart some of the old roof would improve access but I don't want to weaking anything.

Sorry for the long confusing post, it's hard to explain. I also feel kind of dumb for not considering all this a long time ago. The previous owners were heavy smokers and I contributed the dingy ceilings to this but now I think some of it is due to burning food on the stove not being vented. It's kind of a bad place for a stove.
 
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Old 06-18-06, 10:05 PM
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A friend of mine is housesitting a very nice half million dollar house and it had a recircualting microhood over the stove! My friends parents live in a doublewide trailor and have a roof vented stove.

I think I would really like a nice hood vented outdoors but wont' be able to afford to do it for awhile, I guess I'll fix my exast fan while I do more research. I was surpized that the folks that had that nice home built opted for the hood that they choose. I guess it's not that big a deal.
 
  #3  
Old 06-19-06, 07:48 AM
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I don't see a lot of value in recirculating fans on vent hoods. The two main reasons you have vent hoods ducted to the outdoors is to get rid of the moisture created when cooking and get rid of odors created in the kitchen (similarly you need an exhaust fan ducted to outside in each bathroom for the same two reasons). If you don't get rid of the moisture it accumulates in the house and raises the relative humidity into the range where mold likes to grow.

Ducting that moisture up into the attic is no solution either, as you're just moving the place where the mold grows now to the attic.

The exhaust fan in the kitchen ceiling can perform the function adequately (by itself) if it is vented to the outdoors. It will also not be a major expense or project to get it ducted outdoors if it isn't already. If you don't know, then climb up into the attic and look. I see no reason to use the recirculating vent hood fan with the ceiling exhaust fan.
 
 

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