“How’s it hanging?” That was the big question last week — not the casual greeting, but the much more literal: how were we going to hang this $60 range hood we found on Craigslist?
We’d planned to encase the hood in a DIY wood cover, inspired by images we’d pinned earlier, and we were thrilled about the price and the look. What we hadn’t worked out was the middle part — how to actually install it. The hood was an under-cabinet model, and of course we don’t have upper cabinets where it needed to go. I figured converting it to a wall-mounted hood would be straightforward, but my searches turned up little useful guidance. I started to second-guess whether it was even possible.
Then I found bracket kits sold for mounting range hoods to a wall when an overhead cabinet isn’t used. They weren’t for our brand, but finding them proved the idea wasn’t crazy. With that reassurance, Sherry and I sketched a plan, shopped for supplies, and prepared for what might be a successful install — or a spectacular failure. Our makeshift solution involved a couple of wood planks as a mounting panel and heavy-duty metal brackets to mimic the support a cabinet would provide.
Before we could mount anything, a few details needed attention. For example, we hadn’t tiled high enough behind the vent pipe. It was a quick fix — about 20 minutes to mix thinset and add spare tiles — but it was a reminder that little oversights can force you to backtrack. We laughed, winced, and moved on.
Next we mapped everything on the wall with painter’s tape so the hood and shelves would line up and the hood would be centered over the stove. The tape marked important points:
- 1 & 2: Placement of the floating shelves so the bottom of the hood and the top shelf would align (about 34″ above the counter, inside the hood manufacturer’s recommended 30″–36″ range).
- 3, 4 & 5: Stud locations, to anchor the hood securely.
- 6: Center point of the stove, so the hood would hang square over the cooktop.
Locating studs was easier because Sherry had the foresight to mark them on the ceiling before the wall was tiled. I taped a length of thread to each ceiling mark and dangled a paper clip to transfer the location down the wall — a simple, effective trick that our future crown molding will hide.
With reference marks in place we screwed in the first piece of wood. Although the hood was wide enough to reach two studs, the hood’s mounting slots didn’t align with those studs and we didn’t trust it to hold safely. So we attached a wider-than-hood plank to two studs with long screws and reinforced a third location with a heavy-duty anchor. A contractor we called gave the plan a thumbs-up, which calmed us enough to proceed to the scary step: drilling into tile.
I used a special glass-and-tile drill bit and, with steady pressure, bored through the tile for the mounting screws. We were both tense during each hole, but in the end it was just six holes and no cracked tiles.
After drilling, 2.5″ screws secured the thick plank to the studs. Feeling those screws bite into wood was a huge relief — the board felt rock solid. We added a second board to hang the brackets from, fastening it into studs and using anchors where needed. The vent pipe sat slightly off-center, but the future wood frame would hide that and make everything look centered. The blue arrows in our photos point to the screws the hood would hang from.
It helped to remember that upper cabinets are commonly screwed to studs and carry heavy loads of dishes without issue. That gave us confidence to proceed putting the hood in place. Lifting it up felt more nerve-wracking than drilling, but the tile stayed put and the hood went up solidly.
Sherry braced the hood while I attached the brackets to the wood panel and bolted them into the hood using the same slots it would use to attach to a cabinet. Once both brackets were secured, the hood felt very stable and we could stop worrying about Sherry balancing it on her head.
We completed a few finishing tasks: connected the vent pipe to the hood and plugged it in. Luckily, the hood’s existing power entry lined up nearly perfectly with our outlet. We also learned to use metal foil tape to seal the duct better than cloth-backed duct tape, so we’ll re-tape that seam with foil tape for a durable seal.
At this stage it looked a little raw — exposed pipe, visible wood and a big hole in the ceiling — but it was a solid start. The hood sits at about 34″ above the counter, comfortably within the recommended 30″–36″ range from the stovetop, and it has two light settings that we’re already enjoying.
The exposed wood sticks out an inch or so on the sides, but that’s intentional. It will serve as the attachment points for the custom wood cover we’ll build to finish the look. The filters also weren’t snapped in for many of these shots; once installed the underside looks much cleaner.
We were cautious the first few nights — we even pulled the stove away from the wall overnight — but after several days there’s been no movement, creaks, or signs of failure. Between the long screws into studs and the heavy-duty brackets, the hood is secure. After a few days of anxious holding of breath, we’re comfortable calling the hanging a success.
Next up: building and installing the wood cover to hide the hardware and finish the job. We’ll share those details soon. In the meantime — did you try any adventurous weekend projects lately? Any heavy lifting, tile drilling, or impromptu head-held support? Also, something big is starting in our house today that will keep us busy for the next three weeks, so we’ll report back once we’ve survived a day of it and have photos to show.