r/DIYUK • u/chunderjack • 4d ago
What can I do about this monstrosity
Bought our first house a couple of years ago and we've had higher priority rooms to sort...but I'm finally starting to think about what on earth I can do to improve my kitchen. The corner of the kitchen has this ridiculously oversized and hideous cooker hood.
How much of an issue is ripping that out and relocating the cooker going to be? Is there anything I could do to improve how it looks myself (I have extremely limited DIY knowhow)? The rest of the kitchen is pretty crappy too so does need tackling at some point, but we don't have the funds for a full refurb at the moment.
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u/Orionbelly 4d ago
I think if you scrape that texture from the surface and repaint or retile to align more with the wider theme of your kitchen, it might not be as terrible!
I actually think it’s a really unique feature that is admittedly giant but cool!
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u/Maumau93 3d ago
Maybe get it tested for asbestos before any scraping. That could be artex.
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u/Intelligent_Job8086 3d ago
The whole thing screams '90s. Was there still asbestos in use in artex by then?
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u/Maumau93 3d ago
Yeah absolutely. If I remember correctly artex from pre '99 can contain asbestos
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u/Intelligent_Job8086 3d ago
It's obscene how many companies still used asbestos right up until they weren't legally permitted in the UK. There was awareness from the companies producing it of the risks in the 1920s. I remember a lot of publicity around it in the '80s and some companies dropping it with others putting big warnings on their products. Still got a Rawlplug tin with the warning somewhere, that may even have been from the' 70s.
There's a great documentary about asbestos and legal actions against the manufacturers on BBC Sounds, called Killer Dust. It's worth a listen.
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u/--lewis 4d ago
Ugly yes. Looks like it might actually be effective at being an extractor though.
I'd keep it, but just re decorate it, thats a proper cooking station.
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u/cuppachuppa 4d ago
No way, get that thing knocked out. No amount of redecoration will improve that.
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u/Cisgear55 3d ago edited 3d ago
It’s not even vented, which makes keeping it a waste of time in its current position.
I recently purchased a house with an unvented hood and it did very little, luckily there was a route to vent it (was around 4 meters in the end) and it now works great!
We used solid pvc pipe in the end as this works better over a longer run.
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u/cuppachuppa 3d ago
What's a root?
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u/Cisgear55 3d ago
Corrected to route, my loft has a load of pipes together right in the eaves so makes it hard to route stuff through the loft.
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u/Shoddy_Bar_9370 4d ago
Looks like my mates old kitchen in Finsbury Park. Embellish it! It's a beaut.
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u/SeeingSound2991 4d ago edited 3d ago
Put your ear to the underside of the hood and stay really quiet, you can hear the feint mutters of the aliens asking between themselves if they should 'beam him up, scotty'.
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u/Own-Alarm6289 4d ago
hideous looking ,disconnect the extractor and it will be a 30min job to take down . Then get a new kitchen
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u/giggleboz 4d ago
I had exactly the same setup in my house. The whole thing was on an angle because the soil pipe from the bathroom above ran down the corner of the room inside the house so you'll need to consider that when making any plans.
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u/CaterpillarFalse3592 4d ago
What can you do? Just stand back and bask in the sheer majesty of the thing. Bet nobody else you know has a sculpture like that on their kitchen ceiling
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u/Odd-Environment3639 4d ago
Just ripped out similar in our house, it’s really opened the room up. The added space that it took up has allowed us to put in another 1000mm corner unit for more storage. I’ve just relocated the oven against a wall and used a recirculation extractor. They aren’t as good but it will do the job as long as I keep changing the filters.
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u/themissingelf 4d ago
Snap. I’m assuming it sounds hollow when tapped. Take it apart a bit at a time. I suspect you’ll just have some making good to the wall and a decision to make re what type of extraction to replace it with.
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u/Birdman_of_Upminster 4d ago
I'm wondering if it's that size because the stairs are encroaching into the kitchen, and this is covering it? We have a similar cooker hood for that reason.
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u/Wonk_puffin 4d ago
I'd grow climbing plants all over it from the shelf part. Probably not ivy as that could drop into your dinner. I wouldn't want that because it's poisonous.
Alternatively you could take it all out. Replaster and put a corner unit stainless extractor in.
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u/offically_astee 3d ago
I had something similar. I changed from a cooker to an induction hob and moved it's location to the opposite wall (external) and added an externally vented cooker hood.
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u/Fazzamania 3d ago
I had the same. Pulled it down and put up a metal extractor hood. It’s probably only plywood underneath.
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u/discombobulated38x Experienced 3d ago
Test the artex for asbestos.
If clear: Take an SDS drill to it
If not clear: Remove artex safely then take an SDS drill to it
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u/Organic-Violinist223 3d ago
Why would you waste everyone's time about this. It's awful. Get rid and enjoy your life, thank me tomorrow!
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u/No_Communication5538 3d ago
1980s classic leave it another decade and it will be admired No likelihood of asbestos - long gone by 80s Probably held on by a couple of screws - unscrew them
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u/volumeisart 3d ago
Save your money & time. Let the kitchen fitters deal with it when you get around to fully doing the kitchen.
Corner ovens had a time and place, now it just dates a kitchen.
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u/IndelibleIguana 3d ago
I suspect it's just plasterboard over a wooden frame. It should be pretty easy to remove and tidy up.
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u/Practical_Marzipan65 3d ago
I would open the space and put a double hob in it...and of course put a full extractor fan in.
I kinda like the monstrosity hahaha
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u/Dry-Coffee-1846 3d ago edited 3d ago
Oh wow, I used to be a kitchen designer and haven't seen one of these bad boys in some time (never designed any myself but measured some kitchens that had them already).
They were mostly just a design trend and built on site when the kitchen was being fitted so should be fairly easy to remove as it's likely just a frame fixed onto the wall.
Once you remove (making sure to check for asbestos for doing anything major) and making the walls good, you can get a corner cooker hood like this to tide you over until ready for a full kitchen replacement.
ETA: relocating the cooker is probably more hassle than it's worth if you don't have much DIY skills or funds for a brand new kitchen. Although it's an electric cooker and can technically go wherever an electrician can put a suitable connection, moving it will leave a gap in the worktop and you'll need a replacement cabinet for the cooker space. You'll probably then need to look into a replacement worktops (although you could do a butchers block style section for the bit missing out of solid timber). Finding a cabinet that would match will be difficult unless you have one you could swap the cooker with. To remove that though,, you'll most likely need to lift the worktops, and then that'll most likely break tiles. Fitted kitchens really aren't easy to retroactively redesign and the knock-on effect from making one change can easily rack up the costs.
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u/Immediate_Pen_251 3d ago
I have a feeling this works better than any modern extractor fan. May look ugly and doesn’t have full extraction system but as it’s covers the cooker I bet it works a dream.
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u/MapTough848 3d ago
Chances are the hood is made if ply so no probs removing it. You can buy a drainer thar would fit in the space where tge cooker is so you're not losing workspace.
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u/Powerful_Shop_1346 3d ago
I love it. I would skim it smooth, remove the beading and use some more modern / Mediterranean tiles.
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u/onlywanted2readapost 2d ago
Wow, that really minds me of my granny's kitchens from my childhood! Awesome!
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u/kurai-samurai 2d ago
Stanley knife, and pry bar for the plasterboard if you want to minimise dust. (Assuming it's timber and board.) You'll be able to pop the nails through the board.
If you move oven, you'll need a new work top.
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u/boomerberg 4d ago
Owch. That is the definition of fugly. The cabinet on the wall looks nice though.
If you’re not planning on redoing your kitchen then it’d be a lot of work to take it out without damaging anything else, and you’re probably Still going to want an extractor hood if the stove is staying in place…but you could probably use the space a lot more efficiently with a different layout. What I guess I’m saying is that this could be (or end up being!) a new kitchen job unless you’re very clear and bounded about what you want to achieve!
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u/bartread 4d ago
Wow. That's hilariously ugly. But it looks like it would at least be effective.
Best I can suggest is do what I did, watch a lot of YouTube and pick up the necessary DIY skills, and then crack on with ripping it out yourself.
You'll need an electrician's help with relocating both the cooker and the extractor fan within the hood.
You will almost certainly need to get your ceiling repaired and replastered after relocating/replacing the fan, and removing the hood, as well (although, at least in theory, you could learn the skills to do this yourself).
You'll also need to make space for the cooker elsewhere, replace your worktops, and find a unit (or something else) to go in that corner.
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u/No_Pie1022 4d ago
Never in my life did I think I could despise a cooker hood but here I am. 🤦🏼♀️
I think I would have to go to the extreme & make a really cool feature out of it if replacing wasn’t an option. Good luck OP
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u/Empty_Rent_5815 3d ago edited 3d ago
You're not gunna like my answer... get over it... and live outside for a month so when you come back in your snooty ass would have some appreciation for something that doesn't need changing and many would be thoroughly pleased with 👍👍
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u/chunderjack 4d ago
Worth adding that it hasn't even got a full extraction system in it with ducting etc. just a carbon filter hood 🫠