How to Vent A Range Hood On An Interior Wall?

One of the “must-have” equipment present in the kitchen has to be the range hood. A range hood has different roles such as promoting proper air circulation, preventing greasy cabinet or countertop surfaces, and giving the kitchen a good and fresh smell. While small domestic kitchens might get away with alternative ventilation hardware, a functional under cabinet range hood is very essential for medium to large sized kitchens. This incredible equipment has the ability to successfully absorb the awful cooking smell, smoke, poisonous gas, and hot air. A range hood is also known by the name “extractor fan”. This equipment is usually installed above the fireplace in the kitchens.

However, installing it on an interior wall may seem a bit intimidating. But if you’re a DIY person and like to take up tasks to your hands, you can try installing it yourself which will save your money as well. In case you have made your mind to install one yourself but don’t know how to do it, this is going to be your ultimate guide on how to vent a range hood on an interior wall. This guide obviously applies to a ducted installation and not to the ones that are meant to recirculate. Check venting vs recirculating range hoods for more.

Related: Venting A Range Hood Through the Roof

Venting A Range Hood On An Interior Wall

The installation of a range hood on your wall is also referred to as venting vertically. Before installing the range hood, you have to first decide on your desired location for installation. You will be needing to cut out a hole in the wall for the ductwork for venting your range. You should always remember that the total duct length should not exceed the fan’s capacity. The set of tools including Power Screwdriver, Tape Measure, Power Drill, Stud Finder, Level Ruler, Stainless, Steel Tape, Mounting Screws/Nuts, and Pencils may come in handy during the installation.

1. Disband The New Range Hood

To begin with, you are required to dismantle the hood and separate it into different parts. This will help you set up the range hood easily as well as prevent damage to any of the parts. Remove the covering beneath the hood by detaching its double filter. This should be followed by the removal of connecting pipe and keeping it aside for later use. Next, you have to take out the 4-cornered pipe extension placed behind the connecting pipe carefully without bending or disfiguring any of the plastic or iron parts surrounding the extension.

2. Open A Hole

Mark a spot from the topmost units of the kitchen on the wall. Mark an inch below this spot and draw a vertical line over the wall. Then, at that point draw a four-sided figure of dimension 25x10cm (LxH). Proceed with puncturing a hole for the pipeline by a dry well saw. Try to be extremely careful while making the hole to avoid any hindrance. However, if you come across any, you can try moving the connecting pipe back or forth until that is present behind it until there are no hindrances. This will also help you keep a check on whether things are working fine.

If you still find difficulty in doing so, exchange the unit at the top of the pipe path with a rubric. In order to expose the barrier, make a hole on the wall and slash 15cm atop and 10cm beneath the path of the connecting pipe. The next step involves the construction of the rubric through two 5x10cm summers over a two-centimeter thin board piece. In this process, make sure that the sides of the rubric are reaching the two ends of the barrier. Then, make a twofold sill sheet by tying up the slimmer. Once done with the rubric, tighten a 5cm tall barrier trimmer to the entire size of the barrier in the wall. Ideally, these trimmers shall match the height of the barrier perfectly. However, expand the barrier trimmers if they don’t enter the hole. Then, tighten the twofold sill into the trimmers using nuts or screws.

3. Put in The Rubric          

Tighten the rubric with a screw, beneath the barrier hanging from the top. Fix in two small 5x10s in the middle of the rubric and sill for matching the entire length of the barrier. Tighten them perfectly from top to bottom of the barrier and cover the hole by putting fresh drywall over it. Use drywall tape and seam mixture to hide the drywall ends. It’s time for the unit you brought down to go back up there. Now that you have taken care of the barrier, drill the pipe hole easily from the interior wall to the outside and ensure the pipe can pass through it.

4. Installation Procedure

The installation will hardly takes any time once you are done with the steps mentioned above as they’re the most technical and tricky part of the installation process.

So, for installation, the electrical wires are required to pass within the oval extension hole at the end of the range hood. Make sure to tighten the wire with a clamp. However, if the wires are not long enough, try adding 2 cables of the same colors by utilizing cable connectors. The earth cable should be fastened to neutral before hanging the hood. Once hung, tighten the range hood properly and fasten all the nuts from the inner surface.

To give a good finish, put up a wall cap to conceal the patch and a steady drop of caulk on the extension of the wall cap. Finally, push it into the opening on the wall. Check if the pipe on the wall cap fits into the end of the range connecting the pipe. In case it does not fit due to the excess length of the wall cap, clip with alloy snips. However, if the length is short, add a duct to it. For adding a duct, buy one, cut according to the size, and place it in the middle of the wall cap and connector pipe. Fasten it with specialist duct tape and wrap up the process by securing the cap to the wall with screws.

5. Connect Electricity Source

Once done with venting the range hood on the interior wall, put the power on to test the working of the hood fan as well as the lights to validate your installation and connections. Look for the flips of the wall cap to dilate when the hood fan is working and shut down when it is not. Leave the hood on for few minutes to observe if your kitchen still has a pungent smell. Nevertheless, we believe if correctly installed, you are not going to smell the same awful odor that your kitchen had before venting the hood.

Conclusion

To wrap it up, you should always keep in mind a few essential factors while venting a range hood through a wall:

• Switching off the power before starting the installation is a must.
• The wall cap extension should neither be too long nor too short. Long or short extensions might give it a messy look.
• Be extra cautious while bringing down your kitchen cabinet to prevent any kind of damage or unforeseen accident.

A vented range hood helps the kitchen to be fresh and free of any grease debris, unwanted smells, or smoke. However, consider measuring before you order a range hood for your home. This will prevent any kind of unwanted issue at the time of venting. Follow the steps mentioned in this article to smoothly vent a range hood on an interior wall.