I don't understand why you can't just add a hood?

I'm pretty sure code doesn't actually require ventilation for home use of residential appliances.

Dacor has a gas range that works with one of their downdraft units. I believe that covers the entire selection for the topic - but someone could have developed something that I'm unaware of since I researched this.

Basically, downdrafts are for cooktops. If you have a downdraft, and also want an undermounted oven, I'm not sure how many choices you have if the oven is also under the cooktop. There's only so much stuff that can be crammed into 24" of depth and downdrafts take up a fair amount of depth.

You might read reviews about Jenn Air slide-in ranges with downdrafts. They are available in both gas and electric models. Some people like them and some people hate them.

If you're near a Sears outlet center, they often have a pretty decent selection of these.

Have you considered an island hood? Or search in the appliance forum?

hmm i'm confused. sorry, not too experienced with appliances ;)

i can't just add a hood because there will be no wall in bac of the range. open concept. and i need an oven, not just a stove/cooktop.

re: Dacor...not sure i understand...so the downdraft unit (what's that?) comes separately from the range?

re: jennair...they carry a gas downdraft range but it's 2,500k give or take, much more than i can spend.

not sure what an island hood is...but this won't be an island. it's an 'L' shaped kitchen open to the fam room. so it has to vent from underneath :(

thank you!

This is an island hood. You can also use it over a peninsula. You vent it through the ceiling. It is 900 cfm which is great for venting when we cook. And we cook bacon and make stir frys quite a bit. My sister has a downdraft and in doesn't work nearly as good as my hood...

Island hood over cooktop in an L shaped kitchen/peninsula.

Downdrafts are expensive and useless.

Island hoods are expensive and although less utilitarian than a wall hood still usefull.

You will have a ceiling above range?

An island hood is suspended from the ceiling. I linked an inexpensive one below. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but this is in the low end of prices.

Yes, the downdraft units that I'm talking about are separate and rise up from the back of the cooktop when used and sink flush when not. There used to be a couple of them, but as far as I could tell, its just dacor now and their warranty is only in effective if its paired with a dacor range. Again, its the issue of how much can be crammed into a space 24 inches deep.

You could also retain a slight bit of wall about 3 inches wider than your range immediately behind your range and put a wall hood on it. The advantage of this is the hoods are way cheaper. If you're using a 30" range with a 33" wall behind it and the rest of the wall is gone, would that feel open enough?

Here is a link that might be useful: Pretty modern, but an example island hood.

hm def some food for thought lol thank you!

in back of the range will be a half wall/breakfast bar with seating. so not sure how a hood coming down from the ceiling will work with that if ppl are sitting there.

also, there will be a beam above for support so i don't know if a hood can be attached to that support beam :/

Show us a layout pic.

IF you have seating directly behind the range, be sure you have at least 24" between the back of the range and the edge of the seating overhang behind it.

Is your range going to be a slide-in range with no raised backsplash behind it? If not, I think you will find it rather intrusive - BmorePanic's idea of leaving a partial wall seems like a better idea if you have a traditional range.

As to the range hanging from the ceiling...it will be less of an issue if your countertop is all one level - i.e., not a raised bar. Most hoods are mounted 30" to 36" above the cooking surface, so it should not be in anyone's way when sitting at the counter.

Some things to keep in mind with a range/cooktop in a peninsula or island:

• Have at least 24" on each side for emergency landing space as well as safety buffer

• If there is no seating behind it, have at least 18" between the back of the range/cooktop and the counter edge behind the range/cooktop for a safety buffer

• If there is seating behind the range/cooktop, have at least 24" behind the range/cooktop.

"...my contractor tells me..."

Have you worked with a true kitchen designer at all on this project? Most contractors are clueless when it comes to good kitchen design work. (Sorry for being so blunt, but that's been my experience both personally and from what I've gleaned from the many posts/projects on this site over the years. Yes, there are a few out there that either do understand kitchens or admit they don't and either hire one for their business or send their clients to one, but most would just rather a client keep their current layout b/c it's easier and don't know how to design a functional kitchen. The same, btw, for architects. Architects, at least, can design a pretty kitchen, even if it isn't functional!)

It seems a pity to spend so much money on this and not end up with a kitchen that works well with your addition, the flow of the house around it, and is a pleasure to work in functionally as well aesthetically.

Also, why is changing the layout not an option?

thank you :)

very small kitchen and small budget... and the only exterior wall we had was the one where the range sits so no matter what we'd have to figure out a venting option :(

not sure how deep the space will be between range and seating..will check

there will be two levels of countertop...one on same level as range and a second one a few inches higher for the breakfast bar countertop.

its such a small kitchen i'm worried an island hood might be too big for the space even though we have a large fam room behind it...it's a short kitchen if that makes any senses. if i'm facing the fam room from the kitchen, there's only perhaps 5 feet to the right exterior wall in the new space/interior wall in current kitchen.

If it's a traditional range, I guess two levels might be necessary to make it work. However, it eliminates one of the big advantages of single-level peninsulas/islands - the wonderful expanse of same-level workspace for large projects (baking, cooking, crafts, school/science fair, etc.) as well as a nice large area for staging food during a party.

Additionally, raised counters can sometimes take away a bit of room on the lower level - if the raised counter has a bit of overhang on the lower level side, it reduces the usability of that space b/c the overhang gets in the way.

Counters higher than 36" (counter height) are harder for children and older people to use b/c of the need to climb up into the 6" higher chairs and perch there. In fact, even counter height seating can be difficult for some older people to use.

As to the hood, I'd be more worried about all the grease, smoke, steam, fumes, odors, etc. spreading to the adjoining rooms that are open to the kitchen. Grease in particular can be problematical - it settles on walls, ceilings, furniture, curtains, etc. Then, dust, hair, etc. settles on the grease and, together, they make a "gunk" that is difficult to remove. Please, do yourself a favor and get a decent range hood - and be sure to vent it to the outside!

A range with a backpiece to it is 48"H. Bar height is 42". If you do a 48" wall behind the range, it will be too high for seating, especially for small kids and older people. It will also be impossible to find stools for this without going full custom.

Island cooking and a smaller budget do not mix well together. The Jennair is actually the cheapest option available, because the only other one is the Dacor, which is almost triple that cost. None of that includes any of the needed ductwork that will need to be installed to carry the waste products to the exterior. You'll need A HVAC pro for that. Any other integral downdrafts are on cooktops, or are separate popups that are only designed to work with cooktops. That leaves you with putting in a wall oven somewhere else as it won't fit under a cooktop with the vent there. That means a higher appliance and cabinet budget as well as the HVAC that will be needed.

The best option from a ventilation standpoint would be an overhead island hood vented externally. It will still run you every bit of what the Jennair will, or even more and you will still need a pro to put in the ducting. Island ventilation just isn't cheap.

Or move the cooktop to a wall where you can buy an $900 range and a $300 vent that will actually do a better job than the Jennaire which is double the price.

I am afraid that GreenDesigns put her finger on the problem -- There are no inexpensive options to vent a range in an open space.

Q:
Also, why is changing the layout not an option?

A:
very small kitchen and small budget..

It seems to me that the layout has to change in order to meet the budget constraint.

In addition to GD's observation that you can get away with a much cheaper range on the exterior wall, I infer from your first post that you already have one that is suitable, save for the venting.

thanks very much everyone, really appreciate the time you spent helping me out.

unfortunately there's nowhere else to put the range other than where it is now.

re: the breakfast countertop height...the jennair model specs say 35" height...am i missing something? but ya, i know the height will be an issue even still :(

will talk to my contractor about an island hood possibility...not sure b/c the support beam will be there as well so it might look ackward.

Green designs is talking about a non-slide-in where the oven controls, clock, etc are on a higher piece on the back. The piece on the back doesn't change the height of the burners but it does change the height require for the entire unit.

Slide-in

Regular Range

I think a picture of your layout might make it easier to give you the best advice. I think you might want to check out Electrolux downdraft hoods (maybe Kitchen Aid). One might work out for you behind an oven (under cooktop) but might require a deeper than standard 24" cabinet. Give the manufacturer a call. However, not sure if this would be an affordable solution for you or fit in your kitchen design.

It sounds like you are planning on taking out a wall to add a family room without reconfiguring the kitchen other than by adding a seating overhang. The range is on the wall that is coming out.

If the existing range is one that will work in the peninsula, then perhaps you could still use it and add an island range hood. That might be the lowest cost option unless you kept part of the wall to do a wall hood.

There are many versions of island range hoods (which of course can go over peninsulas too - "island" means in this case that it hangs from the ceiling rather than a wall). They generally cost more than a wall hood because they have to be finished on all sides and have the structure to support themselves from the ceiling so if you need to buy a new range and the range hood, you are probably not going to get much below the cost of the Jennair, but you will have better venting.

Our island range hood. We have 8' ceilings and the hood doesn't interfere with seating.

If you are a Costco member, check online as they had, about a year ago, an island hood for either $500 or $600, which is considerably less than what you'd pay elsewhere for a good quality hood.

A friend of mine was in a similar situation - she was replacing a Jenn-Air and was looking into alternatives. An island hood would have required ducting - a real hassle and expensive. Ultimately she ended up with another Jenn-Air - but at least this one is decent - it has powerful burners which the previous one did not. Her only other alternative would have been to go without ventilation which she was reluctant to do.

Not certain this will work but might want to research it further. If could extend depth of the peninsula with seating by perhaps 4", might be able to use a slide in range with the following behind it: Electrolux EI30DD10KS. May require use of an external blower. If any interest, contacting Electrolux directly might be the first step. I do not work for them. Just that I was trying to design something similar a couple years ago but then went a different route.

thank you again everyone! after much thought because of the layout of the space i don't think an island hood would look right :(

if i purchased a stainless steel range with a flat cooking surface (no higher piece in back) and found a downdraft vent system such as the electrolux mentioned above, that might work? but just looked at prices and $800 for the dd vent plus another 1k or more for the range, i might as well purchase the 2k jennair dd range :(
i see ss ranges for less than 1k but they have the higher pieces on the back. would it be possible to install a downdraft vent in back of that?

Most ranges - even slide ins don't allow for downdrafts to be installed behind them - the ranges with the tall backsplash clearly don't. Dacor is the only brand I know of that has a downdraft that works with their range - but it's not cheap. Most downdrafts are made to work with cooktops, not ranges.

Is ventilation required by code where you are or is it just something you want (I agree it's a good thing to have). Yes you can get cheaper ranges but depending on how or what you cook, the current Jenn-air isn't a terrible choice. I acutally tried to initially talk my friend out of it, but she insisted she needed some kind of ventilation and that was the best of bad options. At least on this new Jenn-Air the burners actually get hot enough so she can actually stir fry.

We are building a "modified" A-frame and the ceiling over the kitchen will be 15-20 feet and will part of a living/dining area about 30x30. I want my gas cooktop in the island. Rural area so no regs to deal with. Anyone have this set up without ventilation?

I have the exact problem but gas slide in range. What solution did you come up with?

''We moved the range to a different location where a vent will be easier and less expensive.''

That's the smart move. Better functionality, and better for the budget as well. Too many people have ''Emeril Syndrome'' though to see through the reality that island cooking demands.