Thanks, My friends all say oh that's soo u! I'm only 19 btw. and I'm still stuck at home. cant wait till I can have a house of my own! Only problem is $$! I already had the birdcages there so I had to use them since my dad had gone to so much trouble putting them up! Most of the items like the bike, lamp and quilt cover and cushions were all gifts from my family so I really wanted to keep them. The bike still gets ridden! I really love doing everything myself. I'm a bit of a DIY queen. I think that I appreciate it better if I know the work that's gone into it! and whats better than something different to everyone else? :)

how2girl is right, ducted is better. Ducted extracts better and with less maintenance. But it might be difficult or impossible to do, for example in a two storey house with the kitchen in the middle so that there is nowhere for the ducting to go. suzineedsahouse is right, different people have different requirements and what is important for one person might not be important for another person. I have seen a house where a window beside the cooktop was enough for the owner (I did wonder how that works on windy or rainy days). Some people are happy enough with a non-ducted rangehood. Some people insist on a ducted rangehood and are willing to rearrange their houseplan if necessary to ensure they have space to install one. I have heard of people who have chosen commercial rangehoods for their home. I know of people who have a second kitchen outside in their alfresco area which they prefer to use for some of their cooking and sometimes even those have a ducted rangehood. (Btw as far as I know a gas cooktop only affects your choice in regards to how high above the cooktop the rangehood must be.)

Yes, but are you using the gap where rangehood was to centre, or the centre of the cook top. If you have cabinetry along the wall then you can hide the fact that the extractor fan/rangehood is not centre of the cook top. Or that is how it appears in your photos.

Hi Loraine, Lift up mechanisms can be used on the cabinet widths indicated in your drawings. There are regulations to clerances around gas cooktops (as you know from a previous post) including heights. According to the AS/NZS 5601.1 clearance rate of no less than 600mm for a rangehood taken from the highest part of the highest burner of the gas-cooking appliance (but I recommend 700mm high clearance from the benchtop ergonomically). As for width, personally I would not recommend using a 600mm wide hood over a 750mm cooktop and 900mm is your best option as this provides better catchment area. If you opt for an Undermount, say something like a Falmec, these can provide 1140 cubic mts of extraction an hour compared to older slide-out-hoods that only provide 300 cm/h where this newer type is far more efficient at helping keep your new kitchen clean and fresh. You can easilly achieve this 900mm by taking 50mm off the left and right overheads without disturbing the balance of your design. Hope this is of help. Regards Malcolm