LESLIE: Joe in New York, what’s going on at your Money Pit?
JOE: Alright, I’ve got a question on an over-the-stove ventilation unit.
TOM and LESLIE: OK.
JOE: I have one from – put in a long time ago. I put it in myself; Miami Carey. I think that company is no longer in business.
LESLIE: Is it just a venting hood or are we talking about …?
JOE: Yeah, it’s a venting hood over the stove. It vents outside the house (inaudible at 0:04:09.5). There was one when we moved in. It was an inside venting. I wanted to do an outside venting so I got brave enough to cut a hole in the wall myself and I installed it.
LESLIE: Yeah, but it makes such a huge difference.
TOM: Yeah, it’s so much better than the recirculators.
JOE: But the one I have right now is kind of old and it’s kind of looking pretty shabby and I was thinking of getting another one. Yeah, I’m looking for what you would maybe recommend that would kind of fit in the same type of area. I think it’s about six inches high, 30 inches.
TOM: Well, you know, it’s not so specialized as you might think. You’re describing the average vented range hood and I would be willing to bet you could find those at the average home center.
JOE: Yeah, but you don’t find too many with the outdoor venting.
TOM: No, no, no. You have to understand that most of these today are set up to either recirculate or vent outside. It’s the installation that changes that.
JOE: Oh.
TOM: There’s a knockout in the back of them and when you open up the knockout and usually change a damper, then they’re designed to vent outside or to recirculate back inside.
JOE: I’m wondering if the hole that’s on this one would match up with that.
TOM: You know, it may; it may not and even if you are able to find the same brand – if they do happen to still be in business – it still may not match up. But changing that is, you know, a little bit of a carpentry job but it’s not terrible. It is most important, though, that when you put this in, Joe, that you have good alignment between the range and the hole itself. I have seen unsafe situations where it didn’t line up quite right and perhaps the grease was getting on wood as opposed to getting into the metal duct on the way to the outside and that could be a fire hazard. So as long as you have good alignment and if you have to do a little adjustment to make that happen, I would concentrate on finding one that matches your style.
LESLIE: Yeah.
TOM: I would also compare the CFM – the cubic feet per minute – of the fan because you want something that’s good and strong and make your decision based on that.
LESLIE: There’s a company that has some really beautiful vent hoods – it’s called Vent-A-Hood, which is spelled just like it sounds, V-e-n-t-a-h-o-o-d. Their website is VentAHood.com. Also, Rangemaster, Broan. Take a look. You’ve got to find something that matches your design taste.
TOM: Joe, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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