I am happy too see this thread is still alive. Like I said before if Joe were in my neck of the woods I would hire him. I am sure there are clients that are in his neck and will hire him to which he will be duly compensated for. I would consider this advertising. If myrenokitchen moves forward with this kitchen and the addition becomes a reality how do we know Joe will not be hired to provide drawings? I did not see him draw her plans that can be submitted to any building department. This is what I refer to as good faith, or good will, if you put it out there as Joe and many others here on Houzz have it will come back to them in spades it's just a universal truth. And I did notice that Mona has posted on over 1000 pro bono discussions. If all of the advice given here were to expect compensation there would be no forum, so we need to watch out that we are not too critical here in these threads because that type of thinking takes away our Freedom of expression!

@Dura Cabinetry - As a tree farmer with an American Tree Farm System Sustainable Yield Certification, and speaking as both a forest steward and green building enthusiast (currently with two strawbale insulated post & beam dwellings under construction using 90% onsite materials including clay/soil based plaster), I would disagree with the narrow assessment of what is sustainable cabinet material (citing of lyptus or bamboo). From our own forest we sustainably harvest Douglas Fir, Cedar, Hemlock, Birch, several varieties of Pine, Grand Fir and more. And if our dimensioned lumber is used locally, there's next to no embodied energy (versus FSC plantation grown bamboo or Brazilian lyptus) for the transport or extraction. Since this is a thread dedicated to Green/Sustainable building, it had to be respectfully included.

Building codes are revised on a three-year cycle. As such, they tend to lag the state-of-the art of building science knowledge. While venting of a range may not be specifically mandated by a particular current building code, it is nevertheless a good idea because it helps to maintain indoor air quality-- which the current residential building code doesn't address, at least in Virginia. I'm hopeful that future building codes will address indoor air quality. I do not support Fred S.'s assertion that range hood exhaust fans are used to meet ventilation requirements to maintain a healthy indoor air quality, in particular because range hoods are operated sporadically and ventilation systems should be designed to operate either continuously or at established time intervals. While range hoods may not be required by codes in some states, building science certainly supports they are important to maintain indoor air quality by ventilating moisture, odors, and products of combustion (for gas fired appliances.) Range hoods for high capacity ranges and cooktops have high exhaust rates and will require make-up air to avoid depressurizing a home, particularly for "tight" home construction. I can't speak to code requirements other than in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With respect to range hoods, the 2012 Virginia Residential Code requires that: "M1503.4 Makeup air required. Exhaust hood systems capable of exhausting more than 400 cubic feet per minute (0.19 m3/s) shall be provided with makeup air at a rate approximately equal to the exhaust air rate in excess of 400 cubic feet per minute (0.19 m3/s) Such makeup air systems shall be equipped with a means of closure and shall be automatically controlled to start and operate simultaneously with the exhaust system. (Fred S. your claim that there is no allowance in the code to ignore the first 400 cfm is patently false, at least in Virginia. And no, the size of a duct supplying makeup air to meet the code requirements would not be astronomical; the diameter of the duct would be similar to a duct on the supply side of a remote blower--typically about 10" in diameter.) I am not aware of any requirement in the Virginia Residential Code nor any appliance manufacturer's specification that specifies the distance between a make-up air source and range hood. Broan's recommendations for our climate zone is that make-up air be no more than 25% of the capacity of the total air handler flow if introduced into the home's HVAC return air ductwork. Consumers who are interested in how to provide make-up air would be well served to consult a guide published by a manufacturer of make-up air damper systems such as Broan: http://www.bestrangehoods.com/PDF/Catalogs/BEST_Make-Up_Air_Damper_Application_Guide.pdf

I appreciate your advise. You gave me a different and very useful perspective on things. Luckily, we don't have any flexible ducts; its all metal. There is some ductwork in the attic and the local electric utility sealed this about 21 years ago. I don't know what it was sealed with but I vaguely remember the person used a backpack-like machine with a hose and the word mastic was used. That ductwork is now covered with a couple of feet of insulation so I'd rather not disturb it. There is some exposed ductwork in the basement and the joints were sealed with mastic metal tape five years ago. Its not insulated, yet it could be. But that still leaves the majority of ductwork that's in the walls that wouldn't be sealed or insulated to today's standards.