Beautiful azur granite. Your mom was forward thinking.

As to the venting situation, check the state code if you're in the States. When I researched venting two years ago, a "change out to new vent" of the old ventilation system triggers new current code vent enforcement. So if your mom leaves the old system (not ideal at your own admission) then perhaps she has wiggle room not to upgrade her vent.

In years pass, Dacor stainless gas cooktop was known for it's ease in cleaning. Indeed I had one, replaced with higher end, and still miss the old one for that reason. Whether Dacor makes one compatible with the granite hole is another story. My Dacor gas cooktop simmered fine and cooked great.

Good luck.

I've never heard of codes requiring cooking ventilation.

An island hood would give the best performance, but that has a high likelihood of being cost prohibitive.

Why not an induction cooktop with downdraft?

HV, I have heard of it. It's not common. Some don't even require make-up air, but some do require a vent.

If there isn't a closet or something close above to vent through, you might be able to run a not too ugly duct along the ceiling. If that's a no-go then I agree that downdraft will be what you need.

There's going to have to be some adjustment to the cut-out for the cooktop, anyway, so some cutting and patching is inevitable. Check out the new Gaggenau pop up "table ventillation".

Here is a quick (not to scale) floor plan of where the cooktop is:

She would be delighted to hear you like her granite (quartzite?)! :D

I was surprised about the code too, but her contractor (a very by the book guy) already checked with the city about and they absolutely require her to have some kind of vent. Since her vent is part of the current cooktop, if she removes that cooktop, the next cooktop needs to have a vent or a different vent needs to be added above/around it.

Did that Dacor gas cooktop have a downdraft in it? Do you have a model #?

@hvtech

Cost isn't an issue, but if she can avoid having a large island hood in the middle of the pass through, she would prefer that. Currently, there's a really beautiful view visible through the pass through.

Are there good induction cooktops with downdrafts? That would be fine, but we're having trouble finding them. Which do you recommend? Would those downdrafts change how easy to the clean the induction cook top is? There's also some concern that there isn't room for a down draft that is behind the cooktop (rather than in the middle of the cooktop as the current vent is). As you can see in the picture, there isn't much room between the cooktop and the backsplash behind it.

@plllog

Ooo that is cool. Not sure there is room behind the cook top for that, but I'll send it to her contractor and let him figure out. :D

Thank you all!

There are no induction cooktops with built-in downdrafts. You would have to get a separate pop-up. A few years ago, my friend went from a 30 year old JennAir downdraft to a Bosch induction with separate pop-up downdraft, so these conversions can be pulled off. I just looked at the picture and see how that might be troublesome to fit, though as plllog said some reconfiguration is inevitable. The pop up concept is nothing new, and I imagine the Gaggenau one linked is insanely overpriced compared to other options on the market.

Yeah, but in the past the Gaggenau has worked better too. :) (Don't know about this year's models.)

You might check with Gaggenau about the narrow induction cooktop they make to pair with the popup. Right now, I think it's only in Europe, but there are a whole bunch of things they're supposed to have here in the Spring, and that might be one of them.

Would a recirculating vent hood be acceptable? She could get an induction cooktop, get a good quality recirculating hood that could be converted to a circulating hood later. Was a HVAC contractor consulted about the venting situation?

Good luck!

Yeah, but in the past the Gaggenau has worked better too.

You're probably thinking of the pivoting model, which I believe is now discontinued.

Would a recirculating vent hood be acceptable? She could get an induction cooktop, get a good quality recirculating hood that could be converted to a circulating hood later.

The sense I got is that the issue is more the installation of the hood itself than venting out... This is an island application.

Hvtech,

I was thinking even in the configuration Jillius showed an island hood would be acceptable. Miele and Gaggenau hoods are sold with recirculating kits. You could also raise them higher tan the standard since performance is not a consideration. I read the post that duct work would be prohibitive to run in the ceiling of the lower level of a two level house.

Yes, that one is discontinued. The table vent is too new to know, but given Gaggenau's track record, I think it's worth seeing if it's significantly better than the competition.

Years ago if I recall, Frigidaire had a down draft system. You might find one by googling.

This is probably not workable for a variety of reasons, but I had the thought so here goes.

Pull the cabinet that holds the cooktop forward some, making more room in dead space behind it for a pop up vent. Cut out that section of countertop and replace it entirely with a contrasting square of material (soapstone).

picture illustrating cooktop bumped out/pulled forward:

Sorry, everyone! It took me longer than expected to get the rest of the information everybody needs. However, here are pictures and measurements of the whole situation.

Here is the cooktop wall. It's dark now, but through the pass through is the combination living room/dining room with a whole wall of windows with a really pretty view that you can see from the kitchen pass.

Here is the top of the cooktop, so you can actually see where the downdraft is now:

Measurements:

• The counter is 24.5" deep (from the front edge to the backsplash).
• There is less than 1/4" inch between the back edge of the cooktop and the backsplash.
• It is 2 3/4" from the front edge of the cooktop to the front edge of the counter.

Here is the inside of the cabinet immediately below the cooktop (the ovens are elsewhere in the kitchen) -- you can see the down draft ventilation:

More measurements:

• The interior depth of that cabinet is 23".
• The interior height of that cabinet is 34". (My mom is 6' tall and had her counters raised to be much taller than average.)
• The interior width of that cabinet is 34.5".

Well, someone has a contender for the least adaptable layout.

I think that a hood, not lower than the window top, mounted over the sink and cooktop would be one approach, and if ceiling penetration is not feasible, perhaps (If the wall is built with 3.5-inch studs) rectangular duct out the back of the hood and up into the wall. We still don't know just what is above that ceiling, particularly where the wall is. Once the wall is penetrated, if up is out (or not out, in this case), maybe transverse ducting to behind a side cabinet can be managed, and thence down inside the wall stud pocket to wherever the present ducting is. Ducting to the outside should be increased in size to 8-inches if round, but stud-cavity-sized rectangular duct all the way to the exhaust fan (to be replaced) would be a potential path.

From the dimensions we might speculate that the cooktop covers 21.5 inches, front-to-back, and that the cut-out is smaller. We will need exact cut-out dimensions to suggest induction cooktops that will fit without doing, as crl_ usefully suggested, bumping out the cabinet and adding a new surface or otherwise cutting into or filling the existing surface.

The countertop looks thinner than I would expect from granite; have we determined if it is a plastic composite yet?

What is the dimension between cabinet sides across the window space?

kas

I agree with Kas on just about everything. It could take some doing to get the ductwork in, but it can probably be managed. A hood spanning the space between the uppers would look best. You can center the intake over the cooktop, and have lights across the whole width.

The problem I see is the proximity to the sink. Unless you can find something that will fit your cutout, as is, that whole area will probably need to be redone.

Question: Is there a current model Jenn-Air that will fit, and does it make the same annoying sound?

In case you didn't know, induction makes sounds, too. Many aren't noticeable when the hood is on, and many (mostly whining and squealing) are about the pan used rather than the cooktop itself, but there are hums, clicks and thunks, which vary according to settings, pan size and content, etc. A newer, quieter Jenn-Air downdraft might actually be the best choice.

I don't see why any of the current pop ups would not work in this situation if the stovetop can come forward 2 inches. Most of the pop-ups are only 2 inches wide. You would lose some of the cabinet space below the cooktop to route the new duct into the existing vent but negligible. Am I missing something.

The OPer says there are only 2 3/4 inches between the front of the cooktop and the counter edge. Probably an inch to an inch and half of that is overhang--no cabinet underneath. Plus countertop material can only be cut so narrow. I don't see how the cooktop could be pulled forward 2 inches without altering the countertop and cabinet.

I can envision two easy solutions with the picture you just sent: first would be Dacors telescopic vent behind the cooking surface of your choice as long as the depth of the cook top combined with the depth of the vent does not exceed your counter depth. The other option would be vent screens certical in the riser directly behind where the new cooktop would go. This would require an "internal" blower, wired to a rheostat(on/off switch). The blower would be installed underneath the cooktop and would connect to your existing duct. Both of these solutions are relatively easy to install