How to Connect a Vent to a Hood Inside Walls

Turn off the electricity to the home at the circuit box before beginning work since you are cutting into the wall and live electrical wires cause injury.

Walk to the location inside of the home where the vent ducts penetrate to the exterior of the building. Since the vents and hood are not visible, simply identify the wall they are inside by examining the home from the exterior to locate the hood.

Don safety glasses and cut out the wall using an oscillating hand tool and making the panel at least 6 to 12 inches to the side of where the duct is located in the wall. Do not cut deeply. Instead, cut only deep enough to penetrate the wall and then pull the panel out.

Peer inside the wall cavity and identify the hood which pokes through from outside the wall. You will see a round cylinder at the back of the hood, which is where the vent ducts attach.

Thread the rigid duct vent up through the bottom of the wall cavity or insert it down through the cavity from your current location.

Measure the appropriate length of venting duct, drop the end of a tape measure down through the wall cavity until it hits the location to which you are connecting it.

Cut the rigid vent duct using tin snips.

Pull the end of the vent over the round cylinder on the hood and secure it in place by wrapping duct tape around it twice, ensuring that half the tape rests on the vent duct and the other half rests on the hood.

Replace the wall access panel and secure it to the wall studs using 1-inch screws at 12-inch intervals.

Apply joint compound over the seams. Wait until it dries and sand the compound smooth using fine-grit sandpaper.

Repaint the area on the wall to complete the repair and turn the electricity back on for the home.