Tip of the Day: When ordering appliances, carefully check the specs

Carpenters live by the adage, Measure twice. Cut once. The same advice can apply to ordering appliances and equipment for a kitchen remodel, says one New Jersey homeowner who recently undertook a top-to-bottom makeover of the 300-square-foot kitchen at her 1960s Cape Cod house.

Because Helaine W.’s new kitchen includes a bank of windows on the exterior wall, the plans called for an island vent hood—a wall-mounted hood with through-the-wall venting wouldn’t fit the design. What’s more, the hood had to be 24 inches deep or less so it wouldn’t overhang the counter.

To find the right-size hood, Helaine, her kitchen designer, and a salesperson from a local appliance store searched the Web sites of several major manufacturers and found the Franke FDF 367 1XS 36-inch-wide island hood. The Franke site indicated a depth of a little more than 19 inches, ideal for the application. An order was placed for the unit.

When the hood arrived four weeks later, the contractor notified Helaine that the Franke FDF 367 1XS was deeper than expected—in fact, it was more than 26 inches deep. Helaine contacted her appliance salesperson, who subsequently learned from Franke that the company doesn’t make a 19-inch-deep island hood. It turns out that the Franke Web site showed the wrong hood and included inaccurate specs. (Franke has since updated its site to reflect the correct specs.)

The project was too far along to accommodate a different vent hood, so Helaine, her designer, and the appliance salesperson researched other options. They found a 23-inch-deep Miele island hood, which at ,500 was ,400 more than the Franke. The Miele hood was in stock and was delivered within a couple of days. The salesperson agreed to make up about two-thirds of the price difference.

“I’m not sure what the lesson is here,” says Helaine. “Perhaps there’s a new adage: Never rely on the product specs you see online. Or maybe you need to measure every appliance or piece of equipment yourself to be sure they’re the right size.”

With the kitchen remodel completed except for a few items on the punch list, the new hood is in place and works well. And since it’s the right size, Helaine and her family don’t have to worry about banging their heads on the hood when hey cook. e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Check out or free buying guide to vent hoods. And if you’re planning a full-scale kitchen remodel or are in the market for new appliances, use our Kitchen-Planning Guide, which features links to all the information you need to save money on and find the best kitchen equipment, countertops, cabinets, and flooring for your kitchen, and read our new report on buying appliances.