Fake kitchen extractor hood

Dynera34

Greetings everyone,

Recently we bought a house and moved in a month ago. Since then we have discovered that the extractor hood placed above the gas hob is just a metal box effectively. It sucks the air but has no hole in the wall to blow it into. (I will try to upload a photo tonight). As a result when we cook, especially when fry things, the whole downstairs is filled with smoke even when we open windows. The previous owner obviously made no mention of this even after completion. The surveyor we hired did not pick up on this either. My question is whetherI have any grounds to make a claim to the surveyor and ultimately receive funds from them to get the extractor fixed properly.

In the survey report we had the below.
==========================
Built-in fittings (built-in kitchen and other fittings, not including appliances)
The kitchen fittings are of some age and rather dated with wear and tear. We
assume that you will contemplate refitting these in due course. No doubt you have
already assessed the adequacy of these, and other built-in fitments, for your own
purposes.

Condition Rating 2. ***
Flexible sealants around sinks and worktops should be regularly checked and
maintained. Damage may allow water penetration to enclosed areas beneath,
which can cause rot and decay.

*** Condition Rating 2 means: Defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent. The property must be maintained in the normal way.
===========================

Any advice will be appreciated.

Many thanks
Oz

casper_g

Many cooker hoods are recirculating ones that are supposed to filter the air and spit it out again into the kitchen. I don't think you'll get anywhere with this. Move on. Even if there was any liability with anyone, it wouldn't be worth the time and effort to pursue it. Not by a long chalk.

3mph

But is it an extractor that puts the fumes through a filter and back into the room since there is no external walls. Lots of houses and particular flats have these.

Edit - beat me to it

davidmcn

I can't see anything there which says the hood extracts the fumes, and the surveyor's not going to test appliances anyway.

(Non-extracting) filter hoods are pretty common - that's what both my current and previous kitchen have. Have you tried replacing the filter?

vuvuzela

As the above 2 people say, it's a filter-based one to remove (some) smoke and fat particles from the air. You have no claim against anyone for this.

ComicGeek

So it's probably a recirculation hood then - designed to take in greasy air whilst cooking and uses a filter to clean the air a bit. Have you checked the condition of the filter, and cleaned/replaced it?


If the kitchen is 'of some age' as noted in the survey report, then you can't assume that it would be up to current Building Regulation standards. Absolutely zero chance of getting anywhere with a claim from the surveyor!


You'll need to install your own fan to deal with cooking smells - either a standalone fan somewhere close to the cooker, or replace the existing recirculation hood with an extract hood.

AnotherJoe

Replace the filter.

Niv

Dynera34 wrote: »

Greetings everyone,

Recently we bought a house and moved in a month ago. Since then we have discovered that the extractor hood placed above the gas hob is just a metal box effectively. It sucks the air but has no hole in the wall to blow it into. (I will try to upload a photo tonight). As a result when we cook, especially when fry things, the whole downstairs is filled with smoke even when we open windows. The previous owner obviously made no mention of this even after completion. The surveyor we hired did not pick up on this either. My question is whetherI have any grounds to make a claim to the surveyor and ultimately receive funds from them to get the extractor fixed properly.

In the survey report we had the below.
==========================
Built-in fittings (built-in kitchen and other fittings, not including appliances)
The kitchen fittings are of some age and rather dated with wear and tear. We
assume that you will contemplate refitting these in due course. No doubt you have
already assessed the adequacy of these, and other built-in fitments, for your own
purposes.

Condition Rating 2. ***
Flexible sealants around sinks and worktops should be regularly checked and
maintained. Damage may allow water penetration to enclosed areas beneath,
which can cause rot and decay.

*** Condition Rating 2 means: Defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent. The property must be maintained in the normal way.
===========================

Any advice will be appreciated.

Many thanks
Oz

Replace your cooker hood filter.

burnsguitarman

If its on an outside wall, its a pretty simple job, to get it vented to outside. It sounds like its recirculating at the moment.

rtho782

Bear in mind the "filter" can just be a wire mesh.

These things are pointless, and more for show and/or noise generation than anything else, but are actually quite common.

cajef

It is not a 'fake kitchen extractor' because as everyone has stated it recirculates and does not extract.

Most have metal or carbon filters that need cleaning or replacing regularly.