Do-It-Yourself: Installing Range Hood Ducts

Ventilation hoods are an essential appliance for any commercial kitchen. However, range hoods also are popularly used in home kitchens. Even a smaller cooking area benefits from a ventilation system, which can keep out grease, contaminated vapors, and maintain a steady air pressure in a kitchen.

Though professional installation for range hoods is always a viable option, it is possible to set them up yourself. Here is a guide on how to install the ducts of a range hood:

  1. First, be sure that you are installing a hood with external ventilation. If your hood operates by internal ventilation, you do not need to set up ducts.
  2. Determine the length of vent pipe you will need to extend through the outside wall of your kitchen. This measurement will play an important role in your setup process.
  3. Be sure that your range hood is wide enough that it extends 3 inches on either edge of your stove.
  4. Purchase vent piping, pipe elbows, and a vent cap. Be sure that the vent pipe is 6 inches in diameter and matches the measurement you determined above, of the distance from your range location to the outside kitchen wall.
  5. Consult your manufacturer’s instruction manual to determine whether the ductwork is supposed to go into the wall behind the range hood, or up to the ceiling above the hood.
  6. Measure out the appropriate distance to fit your hood above your stovetop.
  7. Find the right spots to insert screws for the range hood into the wall. Place the range hood in the right place and fasten the screws to hold it in place.
  8. Run wiring from your range hood to the nearest electrical outlet. You will need to use this wiring to provide a power source for the hood’s fan and light.
  9. Cut a hole out of your wall for the vent pipe. Place the vent pipe over the wall and measure out the size of the hole you will need. Then cut it out. Center the vent pipe in the hole.
  10. Place silicone caulking under the vent cap. Then screw the cap onto your kitchen’s wall, directly over the hole you drilled above.
  11. Turn on the power to give energy to the hood’s fan and light.
  12. Mount the hood and connect the wires.
  13. Test that everything is working. Congratulations! You’re done.

Ventilation systems can be built at home, but heavy-duty exhaust hood systems are best left to manufacturing experts. At HoodMart, your one-stop hood shop, we have all your commercial kitchen ventilation needs covered.