Fitting integrated extractor hood to a unit with back panel

[jacoscar]

I’m fitting this extractor hood

https://luxairhoods.com/image/catalog/PDF/Cooker Hoods/Built-In/Telescopic Plus/LA-TEL-SS-Plus Installation Guide.pdf

From what I can understand from the installation guide, it needs support from the side (drilling holes on the side of the cabinet) and from the back, by screwing two screws on the back wall to which the hood will hook on
The installation manual assumes you have a unit with no back and bottom panel

The wall unit (DIY kitchens 1000mm wide) has a back panel (8mm thick) and a service void and it’s closed on the bottom

In order to fit the extractor from below, I need to cut the base of the unit and there is not enough internal depth to leave both the lower part of the back panel and the front edge of the base

If I leave the back panel untouched, I cannot hook the hood to the back wall.
Batten glued to the back panel from the service void to reinforce it and screw into that?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Take the back panel out. It adds no strength and just gets in your way. Add a bearer (batten) if required

 

[foxhole]

The unit is intended for 600 or 900 unit if you’re using 1000 you need to have batons to support it on the sides.

 

[jacoscar]

Take the back panel out. Add a bearer (batten)

I haven’t plastered the wall so this will be visible when the doors are opened, so I need a solution for that, maybe not cutting the back panel entirely

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Cut a rip of plinth (MFC) and use that

 

[jacoscar]

Also worried that when the wall is tiled (or covered with 20mm quartz) I won’t be able to remove the extractor for maintenance

 

[foxhole]

Also worried that when the wall is tiled (or covered with 20mm quartz) I won’t be able to remove the extractor for maintenance

What “ maintenance “ did you have in mind , they either work or need replacing .

 

[jacoscar]

What “ maintenance “ did you have in mind , they either work or need replacing .

If I need to replace it and it's been fitted too close to the wall (which has then a thick backsplash fitted underneath) it might be impossible to remove

 

[foxhole]

If I need to replace it and it's been fitted too close to the wall (which has then a thick backsplash fitted underneath) it might be impossible to remove

Nothing is impossible to remove.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I haven’t plastered the wall so this will be visible when the doors are opened, so I need a solution for that, maybe not cutting the back panel entirely

I'm unsure why this is an issue as it's the inside of a cupboard, but you could always plaster the wall then fit the cabinet (I'm surprised you didn't do that to start with, TBH). It is also possible to get white MFC (e.g. Contiplas shelving) sheet in 15 or 18mm, cut it to size (scribed around the extractor) and use it to replace the existing back - screw through from the outsides (don't worry, they screws will never be seen), or you could just scribe the existing back around the extractor, although at 290mm deep (about the same depth as many upper cabs) I'd say it was designed in such a way that you are meant to take the back off the unit to get it in. If you do take the back out you will need to add a little upstand to the rear of any shelf you leave inside to prevent items being pushed off the back.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Note: Unless otherwise stated ALL cabinet drawing views are from front of cabinet

OK, so I don't have the item here in front of me, but I went and read the installation instructions (yes, really!) and this is what I think you could do, bearing in mind that the drawings don't have sufficient details (could do with a lot more measurements IMHO), so I am guessing a wee bit:

Cut the bottom out leaving a small nib at either side. On top of the nib add some packers. I am showing these as beiung two pieces of 18mm thick and one piece of 15mm on each side (so 51mm thick in total, which is about right) - but you could equally use two pieces of 3 x 2 stud and some packers to get them in the right place. They are about 250mm long, set in 18mm from the front edge of the cabinet, Ideally yo need to install these before doing the cut-outs, screwed in place through the sides of the cab and also through the bottom. They will allow you to install the 4 sidfe screws. The bottom and back can then be cut-out (shown as a scribed cut out here)

A new full depth shelf which comes right to the front of the cabinet is made and edge banded, drilled for the 150mm exxhaust pipe and fitted (screwed through the sides):

A removeable MFC blanking panel can then be made-up to cover this hole, This should be edge banded and needs to be 1 to 2mm smaller than the opening once made to ensure that you can get it in and out. You will need to drill a neat finger hole in it to be able to get it off if the need arises. It should be held in place with four Keku clips (see Hafele) or magnetic door latches:

Normally where units accommodating this type of extractor are supplied by a kitchen maker the cabinets should come ready made (so no modification required) and if there isn't space for side hinges they tend to opt for top hung doors (see below)

Notes:

I've assumed that your cabinets are about 290mm deep

The back cut out can be square rather than scribed - either way I advise that the upper part of the back is screwed or pinned to the back of the new shelf as it sounds like it is originally held in place by a groove machined in the bottom of the cab (so if you cut things out there will be next to nothing left to hold it secure) and things can end up getting pushed down the back of the cab as the 8mm stuff flexes, The following is a rear of cabinet view

This sort of cabinet normally has the internal boxing set back a bit so as to leave space to get the hinges in. That isn't possible with your extractor. Suggest a couple of cut-outs to accommodate hinges, thus:

Or better still go for top hinges/stays (first example) or if there is enough height a parallel lift door (second example). There is also another type of system called a lift and fold door (third example) but that requires a door set specifically made for it:

All this cutting needs to be done very accurately, so circular saw with a fine tooth blade and straight edge and make things fit snugly fitted

Hopefully this should clarify what to do, but please bear in mind I haven't got the full dimensions here and I don't have the item in front of me, so inevitably this is a bit of guess work

Lastly, were I doing this for a client I'd be charging extra for my labour - a cabinet such as this should come out from the shop ready made IMHO as it is part of the design, not an installation issue (although that said when I've fitted kitchens there is invariably some cut and shut work required even if it is just getting a cupboard to go neatly over a pipe boxing - but that's what you pay a competent fitter for)

 

[jacoscar]

Thanks for taking the time to write this; I’m sure I need to re read it multiple times, but why do I need to cut holes for the hinges at the back of the unit?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

...why do I need to cut holes for the hinges at the back of the unit?

Please look carefully at the drawing. The cover plate is at the front of the unit

I suggest you examine the position of hinges in a standard upper cabinet. Standard kitchen doors use what is called a full overlay hinge which looks like this:

Note that the cruciform (mounting) plate is fixed with two holes set at 37mm in from the front of the cabinet spaced 32mm apart vertically (this is a fixed distance which all kitchen hinges are made to work to)

but the arm of the hinge extends even further into the cabinet, generally by about 50 to 60mm, depending on the manufacturer, type of hinge, etc. Your extractor body is shown on the drawing as 273mm deep:

whilst upper cabinets are generally around 280 to 320mm deep (front to rear - you didn't state the depth of the cabinet in your original post), so if the extractor is 273mm deep off the wall and the cabinet is, say, 320mm deep, that's a difference of 47mm (320 - 273 = 47). If you place a removeable cover over the front of the extractor to hide it and the back wall (which you said you wanted to deal with as it isn't plastered), that 47mm is reduced to 29mm (47 - 18 = 29) which isn't deep enough to accommodate a hinge sticking 50mm into the cabinet plus thethickness of the hinge which sits above the surface of the door. So, you either have to put neat cut-outs in the front cover to permit the hinges to be there, or you can side-step the issue by going for a top hung door as in the examples I quoted above

 

[jacoscar]

Ok, I don’t mind having the extractor visible when I open the doors; to be honest, there will be so little space left inside the cabinet that will rarely be opened

By the way the inside depth is 275mm and there is a central post

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Ok, I don’t mind having the extractor visible when I open the doors; to be honest, there will be so little space left inside the cabinet that will rarely be opened

By the way the inside depth is 275mm and there is a central post

What is the outside depth of the cabinet?