How to Install a Microwave Above the Stove Without Losing Your Vent

Remove the Vent Hood

• 1

  Shut off the power to the kitchen by flipping the switch at the main breaker box.

• 2

  Return to the kitchen and look up inside the hood to identify the silver-colored filters. Slide the filters to the side or simply pull them down to detach them.

• 3

  Examine the bottom of the hood for screws that hold the cover on. Remove the screws with a screwdriver and remove the cover to expose the wiring.

• 4

  Locate the two plastic caps that secure the wires together and twist them counterclockwise to remove them.

• 5

  Ask another person to hold the bottom of the vent hood while you open the cabinets above the hood. Locate the mounting screws that hold the hood in place and remove them with the screwdriver. Lower the hood down from the cabinet.

Install the Microwave

• 6

  Position the mounting plate for the microwave into a position on the wall above the stove. Draw a pencil mark inside each screw hole and then set it aside. Insert a 5/8-inch-diameter drill bit into a drill and create holes in the wall in each screw location.

• 7

  Hold the mounting plate back into position and align the screw holes with those in the wall. Insert a toggle bolt through each hole and turn the screw heads clockwise to open the rear wings and secure the plate to the wall.

• 8

  Pull the electrical cord up through the hole in the cabinet and lift the microwave into position. Slide the microwave onto the rear wall plate until it clicks into place.

• 9

  Look at the bottom of the microwave and locate the two metal brackets with hole. Insert the provided self-tapping screw into each hole with a power drill.

• 10

  Look in the cabinet above the microwave and insert two more screws through the top at the location of the screw holes there to secure the microwave to the cabinet.

• 11

  Grasp the damper of the microwave that extends up into the cabinet and slide it left or right until it connects with the metal stove vent already in place. If needed, don work gloves and cut the duct back using tin snips.

• 12

  Slide the rectangular end of a duct adapter onto the microwave damper and secure it using duct tape. Insert the original stove duct into the top of the damper and secure it using duct tape.

• 13

  Plug the microwave into an outlet or twist the wires together with the existing home wires, depending on your model. If your microwave plugs into an outlet, replace the plastic wire caps on the original wires for safety. Turn power back on for the kitchen.