Installing a cooker hood: what to ask

A hood quote starts with the type, not a shelf price

Installing a cooker hood in Cheshire, whether the kitchen is in Crewe, Nantwich or Sandbach, is a fitting and connection job. This page does not print a pound total for it. Anyone in the UK can post or register.

The first split is the machine itself. A recirculating hood, a ducted hood through an outside wall, and a ducted hood that has to run through cupboards to a different wall are not one product with three labels. Say which you want, or say you want the fitter to recommend one after seeing the wall. Treat a recommendation after a visit as an estimate until it is written as a quote. Citizens Advice treats those words as different things: a quote is a fixed price, and an estimate is a rough guess that can cost more ^[S4].

Kitchen fitters and electricians may both appear on a hood job. Write who supplies the hood, who cuts the duct, and who connects the power. If one firm does all three, the quote should still show the three lines, so you can see what you would be paying them for.

Ventilation guidance, without a made-up extract rate

GOV.UK publishes Approved Document F as the current guidance covering the ventilation requirements of the building regulations, set out in Part F of Schedule 1 ^[S1]. The same page says Approved Document F Volume 1 applies to dwellings, and Volume 2 applies to buildings other than dwellings ^[S1]. A house in Cheshire is the dwelling volume. A flat over a shop is still a dwelling for that split. Rates, fan sizes and background-vent rules are not copied out of that publication.

What you can ask, with that publication in mind, is whether the hood you are buying is the ventilation the design relies on, or a cooking-smell appliance on top of ventilation that already exists. If the kitchen is brand new in a room that did not have one, ventilation is one of the reasons the Planning Portal says building regulations approval is likely ^[S7]. A hood screwed under a cupboard in a kitchen that already exists is a different question. Ask building control if you cannot tell which project you have. Do not treat a product brochure as the regulation.

The publication page is Ventilation: Approved Document F. Read it, or ask the designer to say which part of it they are following. Do not treat these notes as a hood size.

The cable is a separate decision from the duct

Electrical installation work in a home or garden in England and Wales must comply with the building regulations ^[S2]. A registered competent person can self-certify ^[S2]. If they are not registered, notifiable jobs are inspected by a building control body or, in England, a registered third-party certifier, who must be told before the work starts ^[S2].

A complete new circuit is notifiable. The Planning Portal's examples include a circuit for a cooker, a shower or an immersion heater ^[S2]. A hood is not named in that list. A hood that needs its own new circuit from the consumer unit falls under the "complete new circuit" heading even though the example word is cooker ^[S2]. A hood spurred from an existing circuit may instead be an alteration. Alterations are notifiable only in special locations ^[S2]. In England those are the spaces around baths and showers. In Wales they include kitchens and outdoors ^[S2]. Most alterations outside special locations are not notifiable ^[S2]. Ask the electrician to write "new circuit" or "from the existing circuit" on the quote. Do not decide that for them, and do not make the connection yourself.

Fixed connections of appliances have to be safe. The building regulations do not set the safety standard of the appliance ^[S2]. A hood with a damaged flex is an appliance problem as well as a fitting problem. Say whether the hood is new, still boxed, or already on the wall from a previous attempt.

Look the electrician up on the Electrical Safety First search, the NICEIC register or the NAPIT register. Electrical Safety First: find a registered electrician; NICEIC; NAPIT. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation. The wider money questions, with no rate printed on this page, are on the electrician cost guide for Cheshire.

Reaching the hood is work at height

HSE says work at height means work where, if precautions were not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. Working above ground or floor level is one of the cases it lists ^[S3]. A cooker hood is fixed above the floor. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 place duties on employers, and on those who control the activity, such as facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height ^[S3]. The duties are set out on HSE's work at height questions. No ladder, tower or other method is set out. HSE: work at height. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.

Ask the fitter how they will reach the work, whether the quote includes two people, and whether the tiled splashback is to be drilled or avoided. Protection of the hob and the units underneath is a line on the quote, not a favour. If a duct passes through a cupboard that holds crockery, say so. Making good the outside wall, the colour of the grille, and who owns the wall if it is a flat, all change the visit. A grille on a party wall or on a listed front is a planning question and a neighbour question as well as a hole. Put the wall in the description.

Lines worth having before the totals are compared

Citizens Advice wants written quotes from at least three traders ^[S4]. Be cautious if a price is a lot lower than the others: it might mean the trader does not have the right skills or experience, or is not being honest, and it could also mean they are not quoting for exactly the same work ^[S4]. The trader cannot charge more than the price on the quote unless you ask for extra work, you agree to extra work you were told about, or the trader made a genuine mistake in the calculation ^[S4].

Line	Write this down	What goes wrong if you do not
Hood type	Ducted or recirculating, and who supplies it	One quote is a charcoal filter, the other is a hole in the wall
Duct route	Which wall, which cupboards, how far	A short duct priced for a long one
Outside finish	Grille, and making good	A hole left unfinished
Power	New circuit or existing circuit ^[S2]	An electrician's visit missing from a fitter's price
Access	Ceiling height in words, and what is below	A one-person price for a two-person hang
Making good	Tiles, paint, cupboard shelves	Decoration appearing later
Paperwork	Who certificates any notifiable electrical work ^[S2]	Nothing to show a buyer
VAT	Included or not, at the 20% standard rate for most of this work ^[S5]	Two totals that are not both gross

The standard rate GOV.UK describes for most work on houses and flats is 20% ^[S5]. Zero-rating a new house is a conditional exception on that page, not a hood fitting ^[S5]. The VAT registration threshold is £90,000 of taxable turnover in the last 12 months ^[S6]. Ask the fitter which side of that they are on, and whether the figure in front of you includes the tax ^[S4].

If a deposit cannot be avoided, Citizens Advice says not to agree more than 25%, and to take a receipt ^[S4]. Offering to buy the hood yourself is useful only if the fitter will still fit that model and the quote says so. Tell the buildings insurer if the duct is part of a larger kitchen alteration. The policy can cost more during the work and after it, and the insurer will probably ask who is doing the work and what insurance they hold ^[S4].

A doorway in Sandbach is not a duct design

Sandbach is on the Trent and Mersey Canal, and the market square has the Saxon crosses. Crewe station is on the West Coast Main Line. Nantwich is on the River Weaver. Those are places, not ventilation designs.

What the fitter needs from you is the outside wall: a photograph from the garden or the street, and a note if the wall faces a neighbour's window a short distance away. You are not claiming a local rule. You are showing the hole they would make. A terraced house in Crewe with a yard, and a detached house in Nantwich with a side wall, can both take a duct, and they can both be the wrong wall for one. The quote should name the wall. Three quotes that name the same wall can be compared. Three quotes that do not are three different jobs.

Jobs you might post

These are examples, not taken from real job posts.

Fit a ducted hood through the rear wall of a Crewe kitchen, hood supplied by the household, electrical connection from the existing circuit if the electrician agrees it is suitable.
Supply and fit a recirculating hood in a Nantwich flat where an outside duct is not wanted, and say so in the first line.
Replace a failed hood in Sandbach with a like-for-like ducted model, including the outside grille and making good.
Fit a hood as one line inside a new kitchen, with ventilation and any new circuit described separately so building control can see them.

QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses ^[QZ1].

A job can be sent to up to five matched local businesses ^[QZ2].

Posting a job is not open yet

Questions about installing a cooker hood

Does QuoteZila check the businesses?

No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.

Is a cooker hood required in every kitchen?

The publication page for Approved Document F does not say that it is. GOV.UK's page holds the current guidance on the ventilation requirements of the building regulations, as set out in Part F, and it says Volume 1 applies to dwellings. That publication page does not state an extract rate for a domestic hood, so no extract rate is printed. Ask the installer, and building control if the kitchen is new building work, whether this hood is part of meeting those requirements.

When is the electrical side of a hood notifiable?

The Planning Portal says a complete new circuit is notifiable, with a cooker circuit among the examples, and that the building control body or third-party certifier must be told before that work starts if the installer is not registered. Most alterations to existing circuits outside special locations are not notifiable. In England, special locations are the spaces around baths and showers, not kitchens. In Wales, kitchens are included. Ask the electrician which description matches the quote.

Can I fit the hood from a ladder myself?

No method is set out for reaching the hood, drilling a wall or connecting a cable. HSE says work at height includes work above ground or floor level, where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury if precautions were not taken. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 place duties on employers, and on those who control the activity, such as facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height. The work must be planned, done by competent people, with the risks assessed and suitable equipment used. The electrical rules still apply to the connection. Hire someone for the fitting and the connection, or split the quote so each part has a name.

Why do two hood quotes disagree?

Citizens Advice says a written quote should include a breakdown of the work and the materials. Be cautious if a price is a lot lower than other quotes: it might mean the trader does not have the right skills or experience, or is not being honest, and it could also mean they are not quoting for exactly the same work. Write the hood type, the duct route and who supplies the hood on every enquiry, because a duct to an outside wall, a duct through a cupboard and a recirculating hood are different installations.

Is VAT included in a hood fitting quote?

Ask, because Citizens Advice says a written quote should say whether VAT is included. GOV.UK says most work on houses and flats by builders and similar trades is charged at the standard rate of 20%. Fitting a hood in an existing kitchen is not described on that page as building a new house. A business registers for VAT when taxable turnover over the last 12 months goes over £90,000.

Part of Cost guides. All services

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Installing Spotlights: What Changes the Cost. What moves a quote for installing spotlights or downlights: number of lights, access above the ceiling, new or existing circuit, bathrooms, certificates.
Loft Light Cost: What Changes the Price. Where the power comes from, the switch position, insulation, boarding and access: what moves a quote to fit a light in your loft in Cheshire, and what to ask.

Sources

QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila pricing line.
QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila matching cap.
S1: Ventilation: Approved Document F, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ventilation-approved-document-f
S2: Electrics: building regulations, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/electrics/building-regulations-general-information
S3: Work at height: frequently asked questions, Health and Safety Executive. Accessed 2026-10-27. https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/faqs.htm
S4: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
S5: VAT for builders, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.gov.uk/vat-builders
S6: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat
S7: Kitchens and bathrooms: building regulations, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/kitchens-and-bathrooms/is-building-regulations-approval-needed-for-work-to-a-kitchen-or-bathroom

What changes the price of installing a cooker hood?