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How to install a chimney cooker hood

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have the hood in the kitchen and a pencil in your hand, and the next mark on the wall is the one that is hard to move. This is how to install a chimney cooker hood once you already know the mode and the width. The job is to centre it, set a height both manuals allow, and stop before gas, a new kitchen circuit, or a flue. The [chimney hood comparison](/hub/fireplaces-and-stoves/chimney-hood) shows what each box claimed on 19 October 2026. Peter F. used the listings, Approved Document F, and the manufacturer notes named below. We did not fit a hood. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have the hood in the kitchen and a pencil in your hand, and the next mark on the wall is the one that is hard to move. This is how to install a chimney cooker hood once you already know the mode and the width.

Our top picks

CIARRA CIARRA CBCS6201 60 cm

Best overall

CIARRA CIARRA CBCS6201 60 cm
8.3/10about £79.99
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COMFEE' COMFEE' KWH-PYRA17B-60

Rank 2

COMFEE' COMFEE' KWH-PYRA17B-60
8.5/10about £49.99
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FIREGAS FIREGAS FGS-EBV40Z460CC

Best value

FIREGAS FIREGAS FGS-EBV40Z460CC
7.0/10about £75.67
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On this page
  1. 1.Measure the wall before you order fixings
  2. 2.Set the height from the manual
  3. 3.Run the duct, or fit the carbon filter
  4. 4.Stop and call someone

Measure the wall before you order fixings

Measure before you trust the screw pack. Width of the hob, the clear gap between the wall units, the distance from the worktop to the ceiling, and the route to a socket or a spur all change the hood you can hang. Bosch’s UK installation note says to centre the hood on the hob. If the hob is 90 cm and the gap is 60 cm, stop and use the 60 cm or 90 cm cooker hood page. Drilling will not create cupboard space. The decorative chimney is not the ceiling height. In this set the telescopic covers are often a 40 cm section plus another 40 cm section. On the CAS models the stated fit range is 573–940 mm. UK mains are 230 V. Many of these listings say 220 V. A BS 1363 plug is stated for some CIARRA boxes and the FIREGAS, not for every hood in the set.

Set the height from the manual

The height is the higher minimum in the hood manual and the hob manual. If both are silent and the hood extracts outside, Approved Document F’s fallback is 650–750 mm between the hob and the hood. That fallback is not a finding that 650 mm is always enough over gas. Hotpoint UK says generally 750 mm over gas and 650 mm over electric, and still says the manual comes first. Mark the wall at the higher of the two manuals. The buying checks are on the chimney hood buying guide.
CIARRA CIARRA CBCS6201 60 cm

Testsieger

CIARRA CIARRA CBCS6201 60 cm
8.3/10about £79.99
View offer

Run the duct, or fit the carbon filter

If you are ducting, 150 mm rigid duct is the default when the pipe is not in the box. Homebuilding prefers 150 mm rigid in general. Several CIARRA cartons and the FIREGAS include a 1.5 m pipe. The AEG listing names a ducting kit, and a reviewer said the 150 mm pipe was not in the box. Take charcoal filters out when you duct outside. The choice of mode stays on the ducted or recirculating cooker hood page. A reviewer of a COMFEE' angled hood needed days to seat the charcoal filters.

Stop and call someone

A new fused spur for the kitchen is generally notifiable electrical work in England and Wales. If the hood needs a new circuit rather than an existing suitable socket, an electrician does that part. Gas work belongs to a Gas Safe engineer. Hanging a hood above an existing gas hob is not the same as moving the hob or altering the gas pipe. If the hob has to move, stop. The exhaust must not enter a flue that serves an appliance burning gas or another fuel. Fisher & Paykel’s guidance states that limit. These hoods are kitchen extractors. They are not stove parts, and they are not a fireplace lining.

Common questions

How high above a gas hob should I put it?
Use the higher minimum printed in the hood manual and the hob manual. Hotpoint’s general UK line is 750 mm over gas and 650 mm over electric, with the manual first. Bosch’s own chimney guidance uses 650 mm over gas for Bosch hoods. If your two manuals disagree, mark the higher one. If both are silent and the hood ducts outside, Approved Document F’s fallback is 650–750 mm, not a single compulsory height.
Is 650 mm always legal over gas?
No. 650 mm is one figure that appears in some manuals and in the lower end of the Approved Document F fallback when the manual is silent and the hood extracts outside. Another manual, or Hotpoint’s general 750 mm over gas, can ask for more. The legal starting point is the manufacturer’s minimum, and you take the higher of the hood and the hob.
What duct should I buy if the pipe is not in the box?
Buy 150 mm rigid duct for a run that leaves the room, unless your hood’s manual specifies 125 mm. Several CIARRA boxes and the FIREGAS include about 1.5 m of pipe. The AEG names a ducting kit, and a reviewer still reported no 150 mm pipe. Keep the run short and straight. A retailer rule that knocks 1 m off a 4 m limit for each bend is a rule of thumb. It is not a clause in Approved Document F.
Can I send the exhaust up the fireplace chimney?
Only if that chimney is not a flue for an appliance that burns gas or another fuel, and the duct is a proper extract to outside rather than a shared smoke path. Fisher & Paykel says the exhaust must not enter a flue used by fuel-burning appliances. A stove, a gas fire, or an open fire on the same chimney is the point where you stop.
Do I need an electrician for a new spur in the kitchen?
Yes, in the usual case. A new kitchen fused spur is generally notifiable electrical work in England and Wales, so an electrician does that part and handles the notification. Plugging into an existing suitable socket, where the hood has a BS 1363 plug, is a different situation. Some CIARRA and FIREGAS listings state that plug. Scotland and Northern Ireland run building standards on their own routes.

Related pages

Best chimney cooker hood

Chimney hood

60 cm or 90 cm cooker hood: cover the hob, not the fan

Chimney hood buying guide: hob width, duct and noise

Ducted or recirculating cooker hood for UK kitchens

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts were taken from the listings on 19 October 2026.

  1. Approved Document F, Volume 1, 2021 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Approved Document F, 2026 edition (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK ventilation collection (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Homebuilding, cooker hoods (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Hotpoint UK, hood height FAQ (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Fisher & Paykel GB/IE hood guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk listings for this set (retrieved 19 October 2026)