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New Hood Causing Cabinet Doors Not Opnen

2 years ago

I’ve attached a picture of my current kitchen and I plan to replace the microwave and cabinets above with the same hood as shown in the other picture.

The current distance between the cabinets is exactly 36 inches. The hood is 36 inches also but the wood band at the bottom makes it 37.5. I was planning to trim the band right where the cabinets end but I realized that will prevent the cabinet doors on both sides from opening.

Ideas to fix this:
#1) cut the band further, this will not look if looking at it from the side.

  1. Get 2 narrower doors. On the left side it’s easy, on the right side would need to figure how to shift the hinge also
  2. There is a small amount of space available on the side to the left of the left cabinet. How hard is it to move it to the left? It would make the hood slightly off center from the range top.

I’m planning to remove and replace backsplash and countertops

Comments (24)

  • 2 years ago

    Here is a zoomed out picture. Another potential solution is removing the upper cabinets but which ones and seems like an extreme solution for a small problem.

  • 2 years ago

    Open the doors the other way like your first pic cabinet on the left.

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    If you were to move the left cabinet, that will mess with the crown too. Could you modify the vent trim so it runs just across the front of the unit with short return on each side?

  • 2 years ago

    I’m planning to replace the crown moldings. I can definitely make the hood trim run just in the front but not sure that would look good.

    Arcy, not understanding your suggestion?

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Get a different hood. There is no reason to make a particular hood fit when there are quite literally hundreds (probably thousands) of comparable hoods that will fit without modifying your cabinets.

  • 2 years ago

    I already paid for it and it’s non refundable

  • 2 years ago

    Are you painting the cabinets? if not, does the wood band match the existing cabinets?

  • 2 years ago

    Sell it on FB Marketplace and buy one that fits. The "adjustments" you're talking about will take time, cost money and not yield a good result. Chalk it up to learning.

  • 2 years ago

    Cabinets will be painted white, please offer suggestions assuming I’m keeping the hood, thank you

  • 2 years ago

    Can you get a picture of your cabinet hinge from inside the door?

  • 2 years ago

    I assume you’re hanging onto the hood because it’ll work for that big burner there. Good for you! I’d replace the side cabinets with ones that fit, especially since you’re repainting the others so matching won’t be a problem. Trying to jury rig it sounds like it just won’t work out.

  • 2 years ago

    I’m trying to see how to remove these cabinets, I’m not seeing any nails or screws anywhere.

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    There is usually a hanging rail maybe 1/8-1/5 of the way down from the top. Look for screw cap covers concealing the screw heads. Cabinets are also ganged together and joined to each other. Those screws are usually concealed under the hinges.

    This is a 2 person job if you don’t have a jig to support the cabinets. Or else you can break the counters and the appliances with the oops impact.

  • 2 years ago

    I strongly suspect that your range being 1.5” off center is going to be noticeable.


    You could probably get something Ok with 20mm cranked hinge and the slightest bit of play between the band and the cabinet. This is just a bad idea, though. You made a mistake when you bought the hood and that really sucks… but stop designing around the mistake. You are just letting one screw up become the defining characteristic of your kitchen.


    Find a local woodworker to pull the wood band off and remove the protrusion so it sits even. It is not a dificult task but it does have some risk. You will still be far better off paying someone a couple hundred dollars to modify this hood than trying to adjust everything else around a mistake.

  • 2 years ago

    From an aesthetic standpoint, what would look the best?

    Removing the cabinet to the right of the hood, taking the cabinet to left of hood and relocating to the right?

    Moving the left cabinet 1.5 inches to the left

    Getting slightly doors, not sure hope to attach to them to the hinge on the right

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Is this a hood liner? Looks like it. Photo of the actual hood in your possession or a link to the product that includes specifications?

    Is the wood already attached to the hood? Is it removable? Have you considered replacing the wood trim with a thin material such as wood grained plastic laminate? Yeh, not the same thing as having beefy wood planks but lots easier to clean than the real thing and, under the circumstances, 3/4" thick wood banding does not work. Or possibly a band of metal--copper, brass, zinc...


  • 2 years ago

    Would eliminating the trim band solve your solution? If so, are you willing to part with it?

  • 2 years ago

    The trim is what makes this hood nice and ties the materials together

  • 2 years ago

    Again, a finish carpenter, woodworker, or cabinet installer should be able to modify the hood to work without moving cabinets.


    It will still have all the appeal and will work fine. It should cost a few hundred bucks. You will end up with something similar to the hood below.



  • 2 years ago

    Thanks for the picture, I’m just thinking how they would do the above? Are you thinking they remove the band and then stain the part of the hood that the band was covering in walnut?

  • 2 years ago

    Here’s some close up pics of the cabinets and the new hood

  • 2 years ago

    It sems like the suggestion to have a band made with thinner material is a good solution. It could br fashioned with the thicker board across the front and thinner pieces on the sides, or even wedged shaped pieces on the sides that start out thicker at the front and reduced farther back.

  • 2 years ago

    “I’m just thinking how they would do the above? Are you thinking they remove the band and then stain the part of the hood that the band was covering in walnut?”


    No. The band should be removed and reinstalled flush. The specific method to do that really depend on the way the band is currently attached. It is not a difficult job.

  • 2 years ago

    I was able to do an exchange for another hood that is exactly 36 inches