THE KITCHEN GUIDE BOOK

The different types of Kitchen Range Hood Vents are designed around different range or cook top situations such as wall mounted, island ceiling mounted, under cabinet mounted, in cabinet mounted, and counter top pop up.

I have seen people get too big of range hood vent that over powered the room, and got in the way of looking at the cooking. Bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to range hood vents. Range hood vents come in the same widths as Ranges and cook tops. Please see the Blog article Hood Vent Problems and Solutions.


Range Hood Ducting residential comes in 6: or 8" Ducting. 6" ducting hoods are usually enough, but if you feel that you need more then get a 8'" hood.  The ducting is supposed to be done in all hard pipe with the least amount of 90's possible to the roof or wall outlet. Range hood duct placement has to be exact, there is no room for error.  Have the range hood picked out and a very accurate cabinet plan drawn on the wall, and poke the 6" or 8" duct out in the appropriate place.

Wall Mounted Range Hood vents like the name are mounted against the wall when the range or cook top is against a wall. Wall mounted range hoods are usually mounted between wall cabinets that have an opening the same width as the range opening.  Wall mounted hoods are made for 8' ceiling height, but have extension kits for vaulted ceilings. Check your specific hood vent specs for where exactly to poke out the electrical.



Ceiling mounted range hood vents are for island or peninsula situations with no wall to hook to. Placement needs to be very accurate side to side and front to back, too far forward and the hood is in your face. Ceiling mounted range hoods need some extra wood in the ceiling where the mounting bracket screws go to support heavy range hoods, make it strong! Check your specific hood vent specs for where exactly to poke out the electrical.




Under Cabinet Mounted Range Hood vents are like the name implies mounted under a wall cabinet. This type of range hood can't be very tall, and has to vent through the cabinet above it unless it is a recirculation model.



In cabinet sleeve hood vents need to be correlated with the cabinet company. Check your specific hood vent specs for where exactly to poke out the electrical.





Range Hood Vent Manufacturers:
 Broan, Vent A Hood, Zephyr, Nutone, Viking, Air King, Independent, GE, Faber, Imperial, Fujioh, Sirius,  

Max Wall

ABC Kitchen and Bath

Kitchen Floor Material Options

Kitchen flooring from a longevity stand point are of course the water impervious types, however I have to say that wood floors look the best to me in a kitchen, and are softer on the feet than tile. Yes I know, if there is a water disaster wood floors suffer. I am usually a function over aesthetics kind of guy, but in this case not.

The best water proof type flooring materials in the kitchen are ceramic tile, porcelain tile, natural stone tile, vinyl, and some commercial sheet goods. Next on down the line are materials that one water flood doesn't destroy like some laminate floors, and cork. Then there are kitchen floors that one flood will cause repairs like solid wood. Although solid wood floors have a saving grace, and can be sanded and refinished!

The argument could be made that the best kitchen flooring is the toughest possible, which is probably porcelain tile. After all the kitchen is the highest traffic room in a house. I will take the other side of the argument which is that kitchen floor styles change quick. If you have noticed tile styles change much quicker than wood floor styles. It is also easier, and cheaper to refinish a wood floor to a different color, than it is to tear up a whole tile floor in 7 years when the style changes.

Kitchen Floor Installation Tips 

If your doing a whole kitchen remodel think about heights of the new cabinets. When setting kitchen cabinets always fur up the cabinets to finish floor height because the appliances are built for this height, especially dishwashers and under cabinet refrigerators.

In my opinion install solid wood kitchen floors under cabinets before cabinet installation because it makes the floor stronger, and automatically brings the cabinets up to finish floor height. It is usually best to do the final finish on the wood floor after everything else is finished.

Install kitchen tile floors up to the cabinets after the cabinets are in, if you change the tile later before the cabinets it will be much easier to tear up. have the countertops installed before floor tile because heavy countertops can warp the floor, warping is best done before tile. On one job the granite floor tile was put in before the cabinets, and when the 1500 pound island granite was put in the middle of the room, the floor joist sagged and the natural stone floor tile developed fracture lines.

Kitchen Remodeling Ideas can come from many different sources like manufacturers catalogs, books, magazines, websites, local showrooms, friends kitchens, up scale house tours, and kitchen designers. My goal with this kitchen remodeling ideas web page is to provide a home base to do research from on kitchen designs and general information. I'll provide quality links to the different design sources for ideas.

On this site for lots of idea pictures visit the Kitchen Picture Gallery, the Kitchen Island Design page, and the backsplash Idea Pictures page.

Cabinet manufacturer catalogs and web sites are a must have when designing a kitchen. Getting to know all the cabinet types, will help when laying out a kitchen cabinet design. Seeing the different door styles, wood types, finish types, and decorative trim options will also help in getting a direction toward your kitchen design style ideas. Some cabinet manufacturer web sites provide designing tools.
Cabinet Manufacturer Web Sites: American Woodmark, Crestwood, Decora, Omega, Merillat, Ultra Craft, Thomasville,

Appliance manufacturer web sites and catalogs also help with the kitchen remodel ideas. Stainless steel is the finish of choice right now, but I am still waiting for the day when you can order your appliances in any color you want.  The appliance web sites can help with the decisions like wall oven and cook top vs range. For general information on the different appliances on ths web site visit The refrigerator guide, The Dishwasher Guide, The Range guide, and The Vent Hood Guide.
Appliance Manufacturer Web Sites: GE, kenmore, Amana, Avanti, Bosch, Dacor, DCS, Electrolux, Fisher & Paykel, Frigidaire,
Jen-Air, kitchenAid, LG, Maytag, Premier, Thermador, Viking, Whirlpool, Wolf,

Lighting and plumbing manufacturer web sites and catalogs can help with the kitchen lighting and plumbing design ideas.  Please visit this very helpful web site Kitchen Lighting Ideas and Guide, and on this site visit The Best Kitchen Sink page for some general knowledge and ideas.
Lighting Manufacturer Web Sites: Bruck, Quioizel,Elk,Kichler,Maxim,Murray Feiss,Thomas,Sea Gull,Hinkley,World Imports,Kenroy Home,Progress,house of Troy,DVI,Dahlaus,Meyda Tiffany,Jubilee,Vaxcel,Besa,Forte,Golden
Plumbing Manufacturer Web Sites: American standard, SwanStone, Elkay, Blanco, Franke, Moen, Rohl,
Vigo, Kindred moen, Danze, Kohler, Grohe, Price Pfister, Belle Foret, Cifial,
Countertop Manufacturer web sites: Caesar stone, Zodiac, Silestone, Hanstone, Dupont Corian, Avonite, Wilson art.

Books of course are a great source of kitchen remodeling ideas. No where else can you find a large amount of kitchen design pictures as with a good kitchen design book. Visit your local book shop to do some browsing, yes there are still store front book stores. Just find some books with a lot of high quality pictures.

Kitchen remodeling idea web sites are also a quick way to get some good ideas. Here are some kitchen related web sites that can be helpful:  NKBA the National Kitchen and Bath Association,  Consumer reports kitchen guide,  HGTV Kitchens.

If all else fails talk to a kitchen designer for kitchen remodel ideas. After all kitchen design is what they do for a living. To find an accredited design professional check the NKBA.