The ventilation box occupies precious meters of a small kitchen room, disfigures the geometry, complicates the arrangement of furniture. “How wonderful a fridge, cupboard or shelf will fit in its place!” Such reasoning is not just illiterate, but even criminal. Those who have already managed to dismantle the ventilation duct in the kitchen, we advise you to restore it. Why? Next, we will give an answer, as well as help you choose the right kitchen design with a ventilation duct.
Dismantling the ventilation duct in the kitchen
In most apartment buildings, the ventilation duct is built from self-supporting blocks: the upper ones are kept on the lower ones. Now imagine that in the kitchen of the third floor they made an illegal redevelopment, completely removing the ventilation duct. The construction of the upper floors literally hung in the air. The situation is dangerous, primarily for owners of a redeveloped apartment.
The destroyed ventilation duct increases the area of the kitchen by only 0.3 square meters. meter!
The second reason that it is forbidden to dismantle ventilation ducts in kitchens is a violation of the natural ventilation. The lower floors remain completely isolated from the common house air exchange system. In gasified houses, arbitrariness threatens fires and explosions.
What to do with the ventilation duct in the kitchen? Uneducated masters will advise you to redevelop: narrow the lumen of the mine, insert a tin pipe and thereby win a few centimeters. Such alterations speak only of poor knowledge in the field of ventilation.
The natural ventilation system, the details of which are the ventilation ducts, is a gentle system and dependent on many conditions. The slightest protrusion in the shaft already reduces thrust, what can we say about narrowing the rectangular channel and turning it into a round pipe! The thrust on the lower floors after the redevelopment will completely stop.
The law in this case is categorical. Since natural ventilation is a community property, owners are not allowed to make changes to its design. The fine for illegal redevelopment is 2.5 thousand rubles. In addition, you will have to restore the ventilation duct in the kitchen at your own expense.
There are no exceptions for anyone, including residents of the first floor. But they still have hope for permission to redevelop. For the document should contact the management company.
An exception
The exception is old houses in which the demolition of unused chimneys and ventilation ducts in kitchens can be allowed. Before starting work, it is necessary to collect consent from 75% of the inhabitants of the house, because ventilation is common property. Boxes and channels hidden in the interior partitions do not fall under the prohibitions. At the same time, it is forbidden to dismantle the ventilation ducts in the kitchen, in the toilet and in the bathroom, in the bearing walls.
How to restore a ventilation duct
Many owners of kitchens with redevelopment sooner or later think about restoring the ventilation duct. You can do this yourself or call specialists. Professionals perform work without dismantling adjacent built-in furniture, but the price of such services is quite high. Therefore, we recommend that you do it yourself to restore the ventilation duct in the kitchen, using our instructions.
Before you do something with the ventilation duct in the kitchen, hang the furniture and household appliances with plastic wrap from dust.
For the walls of the box, you can use:
- aerated concrete;
- foam blocks;
- gypsum boards.
These are non-combustible materials, due to the porous structure have a low weight, excellent sound insulation. They are laid on a sand-cement mixture or dry glue.
It is not advisable to erect a box wall from tin, plywood, fiberboard or drywall, since it is quite difficult to make it airtight. And this is a prerequisite for the operation of ventilation.
Progress:
- Free air channels. On the floor we partially remove the coating, on the ceiling trim, decorative boxes. We completely free the place where the ventilation shaft used to be;
- We build walls from building blocks using a level. Carefully cover all the cracks;
- Do not forget to install a ventilation grill in the kitchen at the top of the box;
- Now you can check the traction in the restored system and decorate a new interior detail.
If you do not install the ventilation grill in the kitchen, the air exchange in the room is disturbed.
How to decorate a ventilation duct
What to do with the air duct in the kitchen? Decorate.
We offer two ways to hide the ventilation pipe in the kitchen.
Option number 1
Close the ventilation duct in the kitchen with hinged shelves or decorative elements. Inventive owners beat the ventilation shaft in the kitchen as a stand for a flat-screen TV or paintings.
The presence of a ventilation shaft for many owners makes it difficult to play up the design of the kitchen. How to arrange furniture?
Some experts recommend installing a bar counter or a folding tabletop near the box. The picture is complemented by a bar stool.
The inconvenient ventilation pipe in the kitchen can be hidden as a base for countertops or hanging cabinets.
Option number 2
To properly close the ventilation duct in the kitchen, hide it behind a floor stand with shallow open shelves. It will fit perfectly into the L-shaped kitchen set or installed along one of the walls.
Integrate a ventilation duct into the furniture. Designers often resort to this trick.
There are many ways to use the ventilation duct in the kitchen or make it invisible.
For instance:
- At the bottom, install a decorative fireplace;
- Beat the ventilation shaft in the kitchen like a Roman pillar;
- Lit with mirrors;
- Paste over the mosaic;
- Tile with imitation concrete or masonry.
It will hide the ventilation pipe in such a simple way as facing the same tiles as the kitchen apron. Decorate the bottom of the column in the style of kitchen furniture.
How to beat and arrange a ventilation duct
When thinking about how to close the ventilation duct in the kitchen, remember the warm and perky country style. It implies the presence of patterns or simple ornaments on vertical surfaces. And on the sides of the box, install a railing system for storing all kinds of kitchen details. She looks easy and does not clutter up the space.
If the box is located next to the hob, do not wallpaper it.
The ventilation duct in the kitchen can be made of brick or stone pillar. Gypsum tiles with imitation stone are fixed with tile glue or liquid nails. It is possible to clad the entire box full or only some of its sections.
As finishing materials are also suitable:
- decorative plaster;
- wallpaper;
- siding;
- wooden panels;
- paint.
Fragments of contrasting colors, distributed randomly, look very decorative. So beat the ventilation shafts in the kitchens in the British or classic styles.
If the box is near the sink, draw it with easily washable materials.
An effective solution: hang a slate board on the box or use a special paint that creates a similar surface. It will be convenient to record recipes, dinner menus or necessary purchases.
So, being smart or contacting a professional designer, you can turn an ugly ledge into a highlight of your kitchen.
Video about restoring the ventilation duct:
