Hood, there it is. Well, for the past few weeks it’s felt more like “hood… there it isn’t” in our kitchen as we worked through a quick Phase 1 update.
We removed our over-the-range microwave before painting the kitchen and decided a 30-inch gas cooktop would be a better fit. The microwave was the only appliance slated for replacement in this phase: it dominated the space above the stove and we generally prefer range hoods to microwaves when it comes to ventilation performance. For now we replaced it with a stainless countertop microwave that will eventually be installed in the pantry once an outlet is added, but that left us without over-the-stove ventilation.
Since the hood we chose was intended to be temporary — we’ll likely install a more permanent exposed hood in Phase 2 — we didn’t want to overspend. We found several used vents on Craigslist priced under $30, a range that made sense because we could resell it later. When a crisp white 30-inch hood showed up for $25, sized correctly for our stove and with top-venting that matched our setup, we jumped on it.
The hood didn’t include any mounting hardware since it was meant to hang under a cabinet, so we expected to engineer our own solution. Past experience had me bracing for a complex install, but this time most things aligned: the duct and electrical were already in convenient locations. The hood could vent out the top or the back, and its top opening lined up with the rectangular vent in our upper cabinet. I sealed the unused back opening with proper silver HVAC tape to make sure air flowed the right way.
Wiring was already present inside the wall in the correct spot, so there was no need to hire an electrician. I removed a small metal tab on the hood housing with a screwdriver to create a cable access point and pulled the house wires in to connect them to the hood’s junction box.
The main obstacle was a lip beneath the cabinet that prevented me from simply screwing the hood directly to the underside. To work around it I built a small “sandwich” of scrap wood blocks, screwing them into the cabinet sides so the hood could mount securely while appearing flush from the front.
The part I was most concerned about was holding the hood in place while fastening and wiring it. Instead of wrestling with that alone, I used a simple trick I found in a how-to: clamp a thin 1×2 scrap board across the cabinet opening to support the hood during installation. Removing one cabinet door temporarily made it easy to clamp and position the board, and it was a game changer for stability and ease.
With the hood resting on the temporary support, I raised the clamps until the hood sat flush against the wood blocks and checked that the duct aligned with the hood’s exhaust port. Once satisfied, I sealed that connection with extra HVAC tape and tightened the hood in place using screws and washers through the keyhole slots accessible from inside the hood after removing the filter screens. After securing four screws — front and back on both sides — I completed the wiring in the hood’s electrical box.
The entire install took about 45 minutes from start to finish, most of which was cutting scrap wood for the mounting blocks. It’s not a flawless, custom-built solution, but for $25 and under an hour we reclaimed proper ventilation above our stove and eliminated the cramped feel caused by the old over-the-range microwave. We’ll probably list that microwave on Craigslist for at least what we paid for the hood, so this quick Phase 1 swap won’t impact our budget much.
My favorite feature so far is the halogen lights. They don’t replace under-cabinet lighting, but they add a bright, polished glow while we’re finishing the rest of the kitchen.
In short, this little corner of the kitchen has gone from cluttered and crowded to cleaner and more functional.
Next up: hanging floating shelves along the sink wall and starting to paint the cabinets — a project we hope to tackle over the holiday break and maybe welcome the new year with refreshed cabinets.
Have you swapped a vented microwave for a hood? Was it complicated or straightforward? It’s always satisfying when something you worry will be difficult turns out to be fairly simple.