We have an old non-vented hood over our stove. My wife says she never uses it (we have a downdraft in the stove) and wants me to replace it with a light.
I'm concerned that if I remove it and replace it with a light, that part of the cabinet bottom will be exposed to the heat and vapor from the stove and will delaminate and/or rot.
Are my concerns justified? Would a metal plate over the exposed plywood, probably on short standoffs, fix the problem?
What would you do? Or have done?
I have a hood with a light, rarely use the fan though.
Turn on the stove.
Turn on the downdraft.
Hold your hand above the stove where the hood is.
How hot is it?
Put a brighter light in the fan hood.
Find out if there are any local building codes concerning the issue.
That's the best answer yet :-).
But I'm still worried about steam, grease, etc..
Someone suggested that the downdraft would eliminate that worry, but getting my wife to turn that on (it's noisy) every time she uses the stove might be detrimental to our marriage :-).
The problem with the hood is that the cabinet is low and the hood sticks out quite a ways and is in the way when she goes to clean the back burners.
Overkill never hurt anything but the wallet, so I'll probably just install an enclosed light fixture *and* a metal plate.
Thanks to all who responded.
From my limited experience wuth downdraft ranges, they don't work vey well. Laws of physics is hard to break.
Maybe the cabinets should not be there. From the burner to cabinet is
32". We have an OTR microwave and it leaves 16" and had never been a problem. A range hood with light should still leave 26" or so. Does your wife stand on the countertop to clean the burners? >HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.