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Step 3Creating the enclosure
Before cutting anything, decide where the fume hood will live, since the height of that surface will affect the height of your enclosure. Mock up the enclosure by holding the range hood aloft and pretend to use it (an extra set of hands here is helpful). Figure out how high you want the hood to be so that you can work comfortably and see what you're doing. We went with 16".
Measure the dimensions of your range hood and build an enclosure that follows its contours and is the height you just decided. I built mine from some scrap tongue-and-groove chipboard; I left the tongue on the rear panel since it provided a handy shoulder to hold the hood up and prevent it from sliding forward.
The front section of my range hood makes a 20-degree angle with the sides. Those panels were cut at that angle and attached with flat brackets bent to the proper angle in a vice. The front window was then cut out and fastened to the enclosure. Taa-daa!
The enclosure doesn't have to be perfect, but it'll look much nicer if you take your time here. A radial arm saw, table saw, etc (anything with a guide) would have been a big help... my jigsaw and circular saw skills aren't great, so I had to spend some time with a rasp to line things up properly and there are still some small gaps when I was done (I cut to the wrong side of the line, so I'm missing about a blade-thickness in a couple places). Never fear, duct tape fixes all.
Once you have the enclosure built, slap on the range hood to make sure everything fits and make adjustments if necessary. Next we'll wire everything up.
Measure the dimensions of your range hood and build an enclosure that follows its contours and is the height you just decided. I built mine from some scrap tongue-and-groove chipboard; I left the tongue on the rear panel since it provided a handy shoulder to hold the hood up and prevent it from sliding forward.
The front section of my range hood makes a 20-degree angle with the sides. Those panels were cut at that angle and attached with flat brackets bent to the proper angle in a vice. The front window was then cut out and fastened to the enclosure. Taa-daa!
The enclosure doesn't have to be perfect, but it'll look much nicer if you take your time here. A radial arm saw, table saw, etc (anything with a guide) would have been a big help... my jigsaw and circular saw skills aren't great, so I had to spend some time with a rasp to line things up properly and there are still some small gaps when I was done (I cut to the wrong side of the line, so I'm missing about a blade-thickness in a couple places). Never fear, duct tape fixes all.
Once you have the enclosure built, slap on the range hood to make sure everything fits and make adjustments if necessary. Next we'll wire everything up.
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