Hood Vent (kitchen)

[mkiehn20]

Okay, I will confess that we have solid plans to install a gas range in our new place and no intentions of putting in a vent. Wouldn't take a risk on the asbestos floor, willing to risk it on the stove...

[GibsonGM]

Well, SOMEONE has to come in and be the buzz kill, don't they? Venting a range, stove or what have you isn't ONLY done for removing the odor of cooking, which can be lingering and totally annoying for sure if you do a steak inside.

And it's not just to remove carbon monoxide (altho, it's efficacy at that is news to me).

It's to protect the home for those who have insulated. To remove excess water vapor, especially in winter. Before the wife and I insulated my home, we'd make spaghetti and watch the interior humidity approach 80%. Along with that came the frosted windows, of course. Now....if you blow in dense pack, and keep doing things like that, it will get wet via water vapor transport thru your plaster. It WILL, and may cause mold. Tighter the house, the worse the effect. Not ALL homes would have a problem, but SOME do.

So, they STRONGLY suggest vapor barriers on dirt basement floors, and venting bathrooms and kitchens for this reason. It is good advice. Moisture isn't good for an old home, insulated or not. Esp. in bathrooms with the massive steam from showering.

BTW, the asbestos floor....if you cover it, I hope nobody comes along later and cuts thru whatever you put on it, not knowing it's there. It happens all the time. Just something to chew on, that's why the push to remove....

[mkiehn20]

I hope not too, Gibson! I don't know who would be doing the cutting...we plan to live in the house for the long run, and we hope to eventually refurbish the floor in the future.

You're twisting my arm to look at venting. There is a mystery soffit right above the stove location that leads toward the exterior wall. I suspect it probably houses pipes for the upstairs bathroom (added later), but maybe it could be used to conceal the ductwork. No insulation in our plaster walls.

[JacquieJet]

No insulation here, either, unless you count two layers of brick!

[GibsonGM]

I hope not too, Gibson! I don't know who would be doing the cutting...we plan to live in the house for the long run, and we hope to eventually refurbish the floor in the future.

You're twisting my arm to look at venting. There is a mystery soffit right above the stove location that leads toward the exterior wall. I suspect it probably houses pipes for the upstairs bathroom (added later), but maybe it could be used to conceal the ductwork. No insulation in our plaster walls.

It happens, MK - we can only make decisions based on what we are capable of, can afford, and can foresee...really, don't worry too much about it either way, I say! Old houses come with things like some lead paint, a bit of asbestos here and there. As a 'trained environmental consultant' and all of that jazz - there are many *right* answers for how to deal with things like that floor. At the current time, it's really - the answer that's right for YOU is the right one! I just wanted to point out the "longevity" of our decisions.

The duct is another "longevity" thing, IMO. You don't insulate, you cook, etc. No big deal. You pass the house on, someone insulates, does not know they should update exhaust to reflect that, could be bad for the home. It's just good practice...my wife also complains a lot right now, as I'm "in the process" - no light over the stove! Don't blame her. So, for good vapor exit, light, removal of odors...yeah, think about installing a hood vent! Sounds like you have a path right there for it...little things like this *make* an older home that's been somewhat updated...

[Gothichome]

Gibson, your thoughts on insulation is quite correct from what I have read. These old homes were designed to work with a certain amount of ventilation, other wise known as drafts. Sealing them up to modern standards just doesn't work. This has been discussed here in the District before. The issue is not the insulation but the vapour barrier. Get the home too tight and they just don't breath.

[GibsonGM]

Exactly, Gothic...it took me a number of years to understand that. As a painter, I find many original old homes like mine that have NO caulking on any of the siding! And cornerboards are often flashed in behind with birch bark, LOL! Yet - the sheathing under the siding tends to be quite nice, and the construction paper on top of this is usually merely water-stained but intact. No damage. On a modern home, the lack of caulk would have been fatal, many decades ago.

The only means of safely insulating an old home appears to be dense pack...its density resists water vapor transport, so minimal infiltration thru plaster is experienced. It also does not hold the (unexpected; accidental) moisture like fiberglass would - it wicks. So, you CAN insulate, but one really needs to study their home, survey its "health" (leaks? etc), and take it step by step. Ignorance here and ruin a place, for sure. It's all a big system, but many don't realize this.

In winter (worst time for moisture!), the chimney effect will cause the vapor to 'go high'...so, your top-most floor is most vulnerable. Hence the need for venting baths and kitchens. I've never known a home to be so sensitive that the occasional steamy mirror is a real problem, but over time we really want to keep the 'wetting' down. A structure can absorb quite a bit of moisture, but you don't want to have that be "The Norm"! New houses (think spray foamed walls) are even worse!

They'll let you know, generally...you'll start seeing mold and mildew on your sheetrock in unexpected places (not behind the toilet, maybe in a bedroom!)...bad!! And the bigger, more ornate your home (Victorian and so on), the harder it is to keep an eye on what's going on.

Hygrometers are your old house friend Esp. in winter, natural gas heat etc...humidity much over 40% in cold winter is a sure sign something's not too good.

http://www.dpcalc.org

[JacquieJet]

Great tips! Thanks, Gibson!

[phil]

I don';t think it would be hard to replace a couple of those pot lights with something flush mounted and make way for a proper vent. or maybe you can just relocate them? It does mean cutting some holes to access your kitchen ceiling joist but the pot lights aren't original features or anything ,I'd just replace them with with something else to free up the space.

[TuckerTavern]

Great question, I was going to ask it eventually myself!

I'm thinking of doing our kitchen like a David T Smith kitchen, except with jelly cupboards and hanging cupboards that I already own. I didn't want a range hood because I can't camouflage it well enough, so would that retro fan that somebody linked to do an adequate job of venting? We cook a lot, 3 meals a day on the stove and I can lots of jars every year.