Range Hood Installation & Replacement in St. Louis
Replacement of existing hoods, new installs, exterior venting where the hood currently recirculates, chimney-style hoods, and island hoods vented to the outside, not back into your kitchen.
Range Hood Installation in St. Louis
FIX St. Louis installs and replaces residential range hoods across St. Louis. We swap in new hoods over your stove, run new exterior venting where the existing setup recirculates, install chimney-style range hoods, and install island range hoods (which vent through the ceiling rather than the wall). Most range hood jobs are completed in one to two visits. No minimum job size. Firm quote before any work begins. BBB A+ rated. Phones answered 24/7.
Most Range Hoods in St. Louis Don’t Actually Vent Outside – And That’s a Problem
A range hood does two things, and they’re both important. It captures the steam, smoke, grease, and combustion byproducts that come off your stove. And it exhausts that contaminated air outside the house. The first job is mostly about the hood’s capture area and CFM rating. The second job is about the ductwork, and it’s where most St. Louis homes fall short.
A surprising number of range hoods in older St. Louis homes don’t vent outside at all. They recirculate pulling air through a charcoal filter and pushing it back into the kitchen. The grease gets caught (mostly), but the steam, the moisture, the combustion byproducts, and the cooking odors all stay inside the house. In a tight modern kitchen running a high-output gas stove, that’s genuinely poor air quality. In an older kitchen with marginal ventilation, it’s worse.
FIX St. Louis upgrades recirculating hoods to true vented installations, replaces failing hoods, installs new hoods including chimney and island styles, and runs the exterior ducting that makes the hood actually do its job. From the original kitchens of older Webster Groves and Maplewood homes to remodeled kitchens across Chesterfield, Creve Coeur, and St. Charles County, we handle the install correctly. See why St. Louis homeowners trust FIX before any work begins.
Why Range Hood Venting Matters – Especially in St. Louis Homes
Cooking puts a lot into the air. A typical dinner generates significant water vapor (the moisture you see condensing on the kitchen window), grease aerosols (the film that coats kitchen cabinets near the stove), combustion byproducts on gas stoves (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, fine particulates), and odors. A vented hood captures and exhausts all of this. A recirculating hood captures the grease, sometimes, and lets everything else stay in the house.
St. Louis homes face an additional issue: many older kitchens were originally designed without any range hood at all. The hood was added later, often by a homeowner or a remodeler, and the path of least resistance was a recirculating model that didn’t require running ductwork through walls or up to the roof. Those installations are functional cosmetically but don’t deliver the air quality benefit a vented hood does.
On the modern side, kitchens with high-output gas ranges (often 30,000 BTU or higher) generate enough combustion byproducts that a properly sized vented hood is no longer optional it’s part of basic indoor air quality.
Range Hood Services FIX St. Louis Provides
Here’s the complete list of range hood work we handle. For the full picture of our fan and ventilation services, visit our Fans hub page.
| Service | What We Do |
|---|---|
| Replace an existing range hood | Remove old hood, inspect existing ductwork, install new hood with proper electrical and venting connections. |
| Direct an existing hood to vent outside | Convert a recirculating hood to vented — run new ductwork through wall, soffit, or roof, install exterior cap, seal penetration. |
| Install a new range hood where there isn’t one | Mount the hood, run electrical, install ductwork to the exterior, install exterior vent cap. |
| Install chimney-style range hood | Mount the hood and chimney shroud, route ductwork up through the cabinetry or wall, install exterior vent. |
| Install island range hood (over kitchen island) | Hang the hood from the ceiling joists with proper bracing, run ductwork up through the ceiling and out through the roof, install roof vent. |
| Replace a failed hood with a more powerful unit | Source the new hood, confirm CFM is appropriate for the kitchen and stove output, install with adequate make-up air consideration. |
| Repair existing hood (lights, fan motor, switches) | Diagnose and repair common hood failures light bulbs, switch failures, fan motor noise, capacitor issues. |
The Most Common Range Hood Calls We Get
Dr. Steve’s Take:
Dr. Steve has put kitchen ventilation on his list of overlooked home health issues for the same reason every time homeowners run their kitchen for thirty years and never realize the range hood isn’t actually venting outside. The grease they wipe off the cabinets every month is a clue. The condensation on the kitchen window during cooking is a clue. The lingering odor an hour after dinner is a clue. None of those happen with a properly vented hood.
From Dr. Steve’s Tips: Top 5 Most Overlooked Home Repairs (And Why You Shouldn’t Skip Them)
Dr. Steve’s Take:
When Dr. Steve writes about the small repairs that quietly improve a home, kitchen ventilation comes up because the difference between a recirculating hood and a vented hood is something you feel every time you cook. The kitchen feels less greasy. The countertops stay cleaner. The dining room doesn’t smell like dinner two hours later. It’s the kind of upgrade homeowners didn’t realize they needed until they have it
From Dr. Steve’s Tips: Why Ignoring Small Repairs Can Cost You Big: The Hidden Dangers of Tiny Home Issues
Keep Your Range Hood Working at Full Capacity
Range hoods need real maintenance to keep performing. A clogged filter or a grease-loaded duct cuts the actual airflow to a fraction of the rated CFM. For more home maintenance guidance, visit Dr. Steve’s Tips.
| Frequency | What We Do |
|---|---|
| Monthly | Wash the metal mesh grease filters in hot soapy water (or run them through the dishwasher). A grease-loaded filter cuts airflow by 50% or more. |
| Every 6 months | Wipe down the inside of the hood housing where grease vapor condenses. Use a degreaser; rinse and dry. |
| Annually | Inspect the exterior vent cap. Confirm the backdraft damper still opens and closes freely — if it’s stuck open, cold air enters the kitchen all winter. |
| Every 2–3 years (vented hoods) | Have the duct interior cleaned. Grease accumulates inside the duct itself and is both a fire hazard and a CFM-killer. |
Dr. Steve’s Pro Tip:
If your range hood has a charcoal filter (recirculating models), check whether the filter is original or has ever been replaced. Most homeowners never replace them. A loaded charcoal filter is doing nothing for odor or air quality you have a fan moving air through a clogged sponge. Replacement filters run $20–40 and should be swapped every 6–12 months in regular use.
FAQs
Range Hoods in St. Louis
Time for a New Range Hood – or a Hood That Actually Vents Outside?
Whether it’s a straight replacement, a conversion from recirculating to true vented, a chimney or island install, or a hood that’s simply stopped working – FIX St. Louis handles range hood work with proper exterior venting and a firm quote upfront. No minimum job size. Phones answered around the clock.