DIY Range Hood or how to build a custom range hood - SimplySwider.com
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DIY Range Hood or how to build a custom range hood

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Jason Carter

DIY Range Hood or how to build a custom range hood

DIY Range Hood

Building a range hood was not exactly the most exciting part of the kitchen renovation but it was quick, cheap, and more importantly the last construction project in the kitchen! All that’s left to do now is replace the stove and the kitchen will be officially complete. Now back to the range hood: we knew we wanted the high-end look of a range hood as opposed to an over the range microwave (remember we installed our microwave under the counter?) or one of those small and high cabinets that no one can ever reach.  We spent an afternoon searching through Pinterest to narrow down the style we wanted; and we decided to go with a slightly angled hood with a board and batten detail to tie into the detail we added to the island and fireplace.

First up, we had to make the range hood actually functional. Originally there had been an over-the-range microwave in this area so luckily for us all the electrical was already in place. All we had to do was install a new fan into the soffits. Cody also opted to add two new pot lights and a new light switch for up lighting. On the bottom right you can see the new switches we added to control the fan and the lights.

DIY Range Hood

Next, it was time to build the frame for the hood. Cody pretty much made the whole things out of scrap wood in the garage. He started with a piece of of 1/2 in plywood that he cut to create the angle the hood would come off the cabinets.

DIY Range Hood

Cody put the whole thing together so quickly that I wasn’t able to get any good construction pictures so bear with me here. The frame is built out of pine 1x2s with the matching plywood pieces at each end. Once the frame was put together using a nail gun, he covered the front of the frame in 1/4 in cabinet grade plywood.

DIY Range Hood

Here’s what the front of the hood looked like with just the top piece of plywood missing. Because of the angle the plywood had to be cut into strips and attached individually rather than as one piece.

DIY Range Hood

Once all the plywood had been attached, Cody used more stain grade plywood to create a boarder around the front of the range for a board and batten look. For more info on how he did that see our island cover panel post. Next, Cody used joint compound to fill in all the nail holes and the seams between the plywood pieces.

DIY Range Hood

Finally, we installed the hood above the stove using a nail gun. We filled all the holes with joint compound and caulked all the edges. Once that was dry we gave it a good sanding then one coat of primer and two coats of paint with the paint that was matched to the cabinets. It’s nice to not have to look at that gaping hole above the stove anymore.

DIY Range Hood

Here’s a view from further back. The bright whiteboard and batten are really hard to photograph. It’s much more obvious in person.

DIY Range Hood

It feels so good to have finally completed the construction phase of the kitchen renovation.  It feels even better to see how far we’ve come since we bought the house and the kitchen looked like this:

Kitchen

Next up is replacing the black stove which now stands out like a sore thumb.

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