Erin Doman on May 18, 2016 0 Comments There are many benefits to having a well-functioning range hood in your kitchen. A range hood is a matter of safety and cleanliness, and as such should be considered a major appliance. If you are in the market for a new range hood, you may find that you want to install this piece of equipment yourself. If this is the case, the first thing you will need to do is prepare yourself by understanding the necessary safety measures and procuring the appropriate tools. The following is a step-by-step guide for how to install a range hood in your kitchen. Safety First Before you get into a project like this, you should definitely turn off the power to the part of your house where you’ll be working. You may even want to lock your panel box to make sure that nobody turns the power back on as you work. You can test if the power is off by touching the wires to a voltage tester. For any electrical work, it is a good idea to wear shoes with rubber soles. Make sure not to touch two wires together unless they are supposed to be connected, and never hold a ground while working with live wires at the same time. Be fully aware of the specs of the circuit so that you do not install a device that will overload it. The best way to find said specs is by consulting a licensed electrician. Tools You Will Need: Screwdriver Hammer Insulated work gloves Caulk and a caulking gun Wire cutters and strippers Cable ripper Electric drill and drill bits (in case you will need to drill holes for fixtures) Reciprocating saw (in case you need to cut a vent duct in the wall) Duct pipe (in case you need to install this yourself) Masonry saw and chisel (in case you have masonry that you need to penetrate from the outside) If You Need to Remove an Old Range Hood You may find that you’ll need to remove a previous range hood before you can install a new one. If this is the case, the following instructions will be of use to you. If you are working with a bare surface that has never had a range hood installed, you can skip this part of the guide. The electrical connection for the hood should be found under a cover beneath the light fixture. Remove the wire nuts and carefully separate the connections one at a time. Now, you can take off the nuts holding the hood in place. You ought to have somebody to support the weight of the range hood as you lower it down. Then you can set it aside. Now, unscrew the screws the nuts were attached to. The wiring should protrude enough from the wall that you will be able to attach it to your new range hood. A good rule of thumb is to have the wiring extend about 12 inches from the wall. If necessary you can extend the wiring by adding wire lengths. Just make sure any new connections are secure and insulated. If You Need to Open the Wall In some homes, a range hood was never installed. This is really not optimal, but it is easy to prepare your home for this kind of installation. If you already have a vent that you will be attaching the range hood to, proceed to the next section of these instructions on how to install a range hood in your kitchen. First, line up the screw holes for the new vent cap you’ll be installing. Make marks on the wall for each of the four holes. Drill through each of these holes, listening carefully to make sure you aren’t hitting any obstructions. Most drywall should be thin and easy to penetrate. Mark a rectangular outline, then use a reciprocating saw to cut out the piece of wall. Remove any insulation or debris. The ideal set-up will lead directly outside of your house. If your kitchen is not located in a place where you can just cut straight back, you may need to go up through the roof of your house. Choose the least expensive layout that will be the easiest to do. You may need to cut through tough masonry from the outside. If so, use a drill followed by a masonry saw to make the same sized opening on the outside of your home. Start by drawing the rectangular outline. Drill holes about one inch apart along your outline. Then, use a hammer and chisel to break and chip away the masonry. The end result should be a hole going right from the outside of your house to your kitchen. After positioning the duct, make sure to secure the open ends of both holes with vent covers that you screw in and secure with caulk. Preparing the New Hood Now that you have either removed the old range hood or drilled out your wall and set up a vent, you are finally ready for the installation itself. The new hood will have a hole for venting. Open this hole, and also open the wiring knockout. Near the light fixture on the range hood you’ll be installing, you should find a metal covering. For some models, the whole underbelly is protected by a broad panel. Whichever is the case, remove this protective panel exposing the wiring and fan assembly. Test the power before you attach the range hood by connecting wires properly, turning the power on, and seeing if the light fixture works and testing each setting for the fan. Attaching the New Hood Finally you are ready to secure your range hood. At this point you are almost done. Take the wires from the wall and thread them through the small hole in the back of the hood, attaching them to the cable clamp. There are two black wires and two white wires, one each for the fan and the light. Connect black to black and white to white. You may see a green grounding wire as well. This should be attached to the green grounding screw. With the wires attached and tucked out of the way, you can replace the screws. Align the opening of the hood with the ductwork, and either mark where the holes are to drill them, or else if you had removed an old range hood just put in the new screws. With screws in place, finish securing the range hood with nuts. Congratulations! You have now learned how to install a range hood in your kitchen. Now you are ready to reap all of the benefits a range hood has to offer.
