What height to mount the range hood?

13 years ago

The hood directions say that the hood should be mounted 30 - 36" above the countertop. Which usually works out to be 66" - 72" from the floor. We will have standard height counters (36" right?).

I am 5'2" and DH is 6' tall. What would be a comfortable height? I imagine we'd mostly be looking at his height since he is taller, but since the hood is only 24" deep, we can mount it lower than 72", right? I want to still be able to reach the controls.

So what works for you if you have someone around 6' tall doing the cooking?

Featured Answer

annac54

13 years ago

I had ours mounted on the low side of the recommended height (sorry, don't remember the exact number). I'm tall, so have to be a little careful about not hitting it, but what drove my decision was the lights. There is a small strip of metal at the back of the area where the lights are mounted, and it reflects the light straight back into your eyes if the hood is above eye level. I would never use the lights if it was mounted higher. I like lots of light, but can't stand glaring light like that. I think I've only really bumped my head once or twice, and it's been installed almost 2 years now. I don't think all hoods are like this, but you might want to check it out if you think it would bother you. Since I'm the only one that cooks in my house, that's what I chose to do.

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Comments (9)

breezygirl
13 years ago
Many threads on hood height. I'll link one below.

My 24" deep hood is mounted 66.5" off the ground or about 30.5" off of the counter. I'm 5'8" and DH is 6'. We both bonked our heads once very early on as we've never had a proper hood before. Now we don't bonk, and DH thinks the hood height is fine, although I know he wouldn't be unhappy if it was slightly taller. Since my hood is only 600cfms over a fire-breathing CC rangetop, I mounted it on the lower end of recommendations to improve HOGS sucking. And I wanted the bottom of the hood to roughly lineup with the top of the double ovens that are about 39" to the left of the hood.

Here is a link that might be useful: One of many threads on hood height
wi-sailorgirl
13 years ago
We pushed ours up to 32 inches over the range (two inches taller than recommended by the manufacturer) and I'm so glad we did. Originally we had it mounted a touch low and my husband (6'3") cracked his head on it at least three times. No problems since we moved it up to where we originally wanted it. I'm 5'2" and can reach the controls but ours also came with a remote so that's even easier.
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cookncarpenter
13 years ago
I mounted mine 36" above the grates, or 73" above the floor. Mine is a 27" deep island hood though, so I didn't want it to feel like it was in my face, or block the view to the dining room, and vice versa. Works and looks great.
ginny20
13 years ago
Mine is 21" deep and 30" above counter height. DH about 5'8", I'm 5'3", so we don't need it higher. I did choose a hood with rounded corners to avoid puncture wounds in anyone taller than I.

AnnaC makes a good point about the position of the lights, though. Mine are in front, so not an issue.
calumin
13 years ago
Seriously, the best way to do this is to go to a kitchen appliance store, take a tape measure, and try it for yourself. My wife and I did and both came to different conclusions regarding what was ideal.

For us the answer was 31.5" above the rangetop - the lowest non-invasive height for me (6'0") while still being convenient for my wife (5'4") to reach the controls.
chanteln
13 years ago
We just went through this. I am 5'7'' and DH is 6'. Our old uppers were just above his eyeline and he smacked his head on open cabinet door corners all the time, which caused some unfortunately language and rough treating of said door.

What will the actual depth of the hood (or enclosure) be?Hoods are usually around 19 inches deep, I am surprised yours is 24 inches deep unless there is some reason is it coming out as far as your lowers. If it is a shallower depth, you do lose some overall height when bending forward, so you may be able to get away with being a bit below your DH's overall height, especially since you don't want the reach for you to be at an uncomfortable height.

Our range has a hearth with the spice cabinets, and due to some construction limitations, we had to bring the front of the hood enclosure out to 25 inches. I had originally requested it be mounted at the manufacturer recommended 67 inches above the floor, but DH did not fit under it. Despite his insistence that it "was fine" to bonk his head every time he came over to the range (??) I had the cabinet maker cut an arch in the cover, so the center of the arch is now at 73 inches. If DH hits his head on the lower parts of the arch, I will just remind him he said it "was fine." :)

I would really recommend being sure your DH has total clearance, even if it is only by 1/2 inch. And do factor in what type of shoes he wears, choose the ones with the thickest sole, have him put those on, if you are changing the flooring, account for any changes there, then measure. The last thing you want is DH cursing the new oven hood.

I like calumin's idea. If I had done that, I might have saved some trouble for myself. I really had made all the plans accommodate only me since I am the primary cook.

AnnaC54- I hadn't even thought about the lights reflecting! I will have to hook up some electricity before we finalize the placement. Good tip!

(edit note: just realized the depth was in the original post and corrected my statement)

This post was edited by ChantelN on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 1:59
annkh_nd
13 years ago
Ours is only going to be 27" above the stovetop (electric range). It is an under-cabinet hood, and I want to be able to reach the contents of the cabinet above (I'm 5'4").

DH is 6'4", and does most of the cooking, but we made a cardboard mockup of the hood in the proposed position, and it was fine for him.
Don Franklin
5 years ago
We are grappling with this right now... We have a 98.5 ceiling height and our 1200 cfm hood has min depth of 30" with basic chimney unless we modify the stack height... Figuring 36" range height and this puts us at 32.5 from range for hood.. I am about 6'3" tall, so this is about eye level for me... I dont want to whack my head, but not sure if modifying it to get another 3" is worth effort... It will also change aesthetic of our chimney hood because of a very short stack... Its a big decision and it needs to be made very soon. Anybody face similar issues?