How to Install A Wall Vented Microwave (Over-The-Range)

In this video, I show you how to install a wall vented over the range microwave. This video can also help if you are installing a microwave with no vent, it is a pretty easy job for a DIYer! You also get to see the reason I dislike working with cedar shake siding.
Kitchen Remodel Playlist - • Kitchen Remodel
Buy the wall cap in this video here - amzn.to/3zCyKjH
(affiliate link)
• Subscribe on KZbin: bit.ly/Subscri...
• Second Channel: / @thefixerhomerepair2
• Facebook: / thefixeronyoutube
• Instagram: / thefixeryoutube
• Website: www.thefixerho...
• Patreon: / thefixer
• Amazon store: www.amazon.com...
*As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn commission on qualifying purchases.
DISCLAIMER:
This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support this channel and allows me to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for your support!
Videos produced by The Fixer are provided for informational purposes only. All material provided within this video is for informational, educational, & entertainment purposes only. Some of these projects, materials, and techniques may not be appropriate for all ages or skill levels. Please use all safety precautions while following any instructions or concepts provided by this video. Viewers must be aware that by doing projects on their homes they are doing it at their own risk and The Fixer cannot be held liable if they cause any damage to their homes. It is the sole responsibility of the viewer to educate themselves on their local codes and regulations before undertaking any sort of project. Always have safety in mind and have fun!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Subscribe to my channel: bit.ly/SubscribeToTheFixer Thanks for watching! 😀

[@crinkle2649]

From a simple microwave installation to a whole residing job😆. It's a good thing you know what you are doing. Nice job.

[@pullingguard5435]

Thank you, man! I’m gonna give this a shot.. I’m a dirt guy but now I feel like I’m a master carpenter after watching this. Wish me luck.

[@mariannerodgers9640]

Wow, nice job, but it was a lot of work I must say. You have truly earned your title, the fixer. Anything you fix is done to perfection.

[@melindamosbey8257]

I (75-yr-old grandmother of 14) ADORE YOU... ALWAYS HAVE! You do EXCELLENT WORK! Thank YOU!

[@ivanwill]

"Man, that sucks...!" Very nice job. This is one major change I want to our kitchen. But, the HOA will not 'allow it'. Little do they know. one day, there will simply be a vent on the side of MY house :) Nice detailed video. Keep 'em coming...

[@abdelwahhabshaout9660]

Dude no cutting corners. I love your honest work. Excellent

[@iangesman5847]

I like this guy, every step he did is what I would have done, FYI been around construction all my life, recommend this video 👍👍👍

[@michaelmathews295]

Just a tip that I was made aware of when we had our attic insulated. They conducted a blower door test before and after they sealed up and insulated the attic. they turned on both my bath exhaust fans and checked for back drafting from my gas water heater and found my fresh air inlet was adequate but when we turned on the microwave vent it sucked air back down the chimney. I only had a 4" fresh air duct installed in my basement. I thought I could make it a 6" but found it was easier to go out the other side of the house with an additional 4" vent. I checked it myself afterwards and no more back drafting.

[@pebblebunnyful]

Can you imagine if everyone had your work ethic, perfection, & calmness what an incredible world this would be! I’m just a grandma in NM who fumbled onto your channel… I don’t know anything about what you are usually doing - but I truly enjoy watching your videos! ❤

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Thank you, Celia!

[@artifactartstudio107]

Thanks SO much. Your wife is a lucky lady. I am left to watching doers like yourself to tackle home jobs by myself. Your content is so clear and your work is so thorough. We all know that the way you work is done for the “love” of the home; and if we were to hire out a job like this we would get charged up the you-know-what, and that extra love just wouldn’t be there. Thanks for making your channel accessible to us all.

[@VideoNOLA]

20:15 I've had one of those aluminum vent dampers in my shop drawer for 20 years, never knowing what it was. Thanks for showing!!

[@sheilarowan8664]

You always take pride in what you do .That's why it always looks so good .we'll done keep up the great work 👍

[@chris-qq4nr]

I wished you were my neighbor!! This is the best video I've seen on how to hang a microwave. I am in the midst of DIY myself, and the template/measure discussion was just what I needed to see. I made a cardboard template and measured 10 times so far. I'm going to just do what you did, and measure and not use the template. Just seems much easier and more accurate!! Thank you Sir!

[@waynepennington2769]

I like you as a fixer upper your a good teacher.

[@lynnew5619]

I really like the way that you work, and that you always do the finishing to a high standard. If and when you move, the new owners will be incredibly fortunate. 👍

[@WYO_Dirtbag]

Life is easy when you are dealing with an external wall. Interior wall without cabinets extending to the ceiling makes things a bit more interesting

[@shankarh6915]

Excellent work and narration, great tip about the crush blocks for first time diy installers! I suppose it is easy to overlook that bit. Thank you,

[@lisat9707]

I'm with you on the fiberglass and gloves. I found out that fiberglass should be itchy and whatnot watching videos.... News to me .... Goes and shoves more insulation into a void between joists in the basement... Bare hands... No worries😂. Everyone is different!

[@KevinWta]

1:44 The reason why you have to cut the paper on the dotted line is so that you don't have to depend on the printer to print the holes of the template to the right distance from the factory edge of the paper. The dotted lines and the holes of the template will always be in the right distance from each other.

[@MajorTendonitis]

This makes perfect sense . I cut mine and all is well . Although the power cord hole was positioned perfectly, it was difficult pulling it up at the end when the microwave was closer to its final position. . If I had to do it again I’d build a jig for my router and cut a slot connected to the front of hole maybe 2 inches long . This way the cord could pull up much easier

[@fredalv5137]

The 2 small blocks between the cabinet and microwave hit me.😮😮 nice beautiful work.

[@zacgvids]

Thanks so much for this video. I wasn't sure that we could use an over-the-range microwave when you needed to vent outside. my experience was always venting the air back into the house. Now I know that this is possible, I will opt to get an over-the-range microwave oven.

[@dotu9355]

you are really professional ! Thank you for showing.

[@jimaronson2323]

Always enjoy watching your videos. Even though I won't be putting in a microwave, I still watch because it's all good stuff. Ended up looking real good.

[@karencox3235]

Same. I don't even have any exterior walls in my kitchen... due to an addition, all walls surrounding our kitchen are bedrooms or hallways, but I still find this totally interesting and informative.

[@markbassam]

Thank you for answering my concerns about how to vent our over the range microwave through the wall to the great outdoors! In our case we are full-time RVers and the recirculation of the range heat, etc. just doesn't cut it for me. Excellent approach and work ethic!

[@alexlora6058]

Thanks a lot brother!! I just learned my microwave is convertible. After a little research I came across this video that shows my exact same microwave. This was perfect! Thanks again.

[@lindaroyal8161]

Wow, this is the 1st video I've ever watched for installing a microwave over a stove. I watch lots of how to and renovate videos. There's a lot more to it than I ever imagined, of course you make it look easy. "It sucks" ha ha !

[@alisonsloan9335]

Love the quality of your work and I admire how calm you are when having to pivot and create a new plan! It’s coming along nicely!! 👏👏👏

[@jasongotshadowbanned]

If you have space in between the microwave and the cabinet base, like this install, the hole for the cord can go anywhere you like. Put it directly under the outlet. The cord will be back far enough it won't interfere with anything you store up there.

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Good tip!

[@carlosquintana6930]

This is going to help me a lot because I will be installing mine tomorrow I’m going to go to Home Depot tomorrow morning to get the wall cap and hoping that the have it in stock 👍

[@robwatson826]

I'm finding this is how a lot of my quick diy jobs go. Nice easy job becomes making new holes in the wall, taking the siding off, painting tons of stuff after and using a week of my time :)

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Yup. Happens all the time.

[@ldqa2737]

I'm going to be needing this info. I'm hiring someone to do it but at least I know what it looks like when it's done right. 😎👍 Thank you!

[@davidhuber6251]

Great job on the micro AND the video. Helped me tons. Now to start actually working😏

[@jsaysyay]

always really satisfying and relaxing vids, also while watching this i remember my mom being annoyed that they replaced the wooden shingles on her childhood home, now as you do that, i understand why now lol

[@aaronmcghee2837]

Man it looks really great! I like the vent you ended up going with on the outside. Looks way better than the stock one that came with the microwave.

[@judithcatlett8518]

Really nice work. Loved how you finished the outside. Perfect.

[@keithsauer3574]

Loving the kitchen progress so far. Thats convenient your microwave is on an exterior wall. Mine is on an interior wall, and I didn't want to lose cabinet space either. So we took the top cabinet out, we cut the drywall, we cut the double top plate into the attic we dropped down a duct, then patched the drywall and reattached the cabinet. Back in the attic we went from the rectangle duct to circular duct and out the side of the house with a dryer-style vent. It does work really great, I can stand under it and even though its 2 stories up, I can feel the air and the flapper properly closes when the vent is off. We have vinyl siding and there was a dryer vent in the same CertainTeed color as our siding, so it matches.

[@StephanieJBlack-1313]

Thank you for Explaining from start to finish. Appreciated every detail. Excellent!

[@brendatenney8404]

Yeah it's a heap of work. But....if you want it done right and to look a certain way, then do it the method you did. Love this and can't wait for more content!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@CheAmedere4]

I love the steps to install 🎉

[@Apolac]

Damn! That looks better than our "professional" installed one!!

[@drios007]

Super helpful. Thank you! I haven't finished yet but it made more sense to me the way you did it.

[@rebeccaramirez-]

too kool!! 😁your light heartedness made the end of my day better !😂 "vent" microwave...

[@chelseasummers2365]

No matter what it is you do, you do it well. Kudos to you!

[@ptg01]

Stunningly beautiful job especially outside... However, my understanding is these vents that are part of a microwave oven are usually way under 600CFM so it most likely doesn't do much of evacuation when one is seriously cooking.

[@jerrymay3806]

Exterior concrete block walls are also a lot of work!!

[@suzannewynn]

Great video! My husband and I learned some important things.

[@Scott924m]

good call on the aftermarket vent they thr manufacturers use the cheapest crap possible

[@PegAMurphy]

that looks really nice love the way you explain every step of what you do & not what others would do 👍 your home is looking better with every video 💕 it's already beautiful in my eyes I know your wife loves all the rehabbing your doin to make it updated and tweaking it to fit yalls lifestyle

[@p.s8950]

The best vid on this subject. Really helped me.

[@dianacastillo498]

Beautiful job!

[@jbcos3]

Next time on cedar shakes, use your multitool to cut a groove to allow the flange to slide up under the lap. Shakes don't have to move.

[@19507385]

Excellent and very honest job

[@eddierobles2137]

Thanks your video . Very helpful .

[@steveniemyer9288]

This video is better than the instructions that come with the microwave. The directions want you to tape the crush blocks to the microwave. Well that didn’t work for me. I also didn’t have a small braid nailer. After struggling for awhile, I got one of crush blocks in but the second side was a no go, so I just snugged he second side up finger tight.

[@pravinmistry4377]

you are a real pro! Thank you very much, Excellent job!!

[@jonathankohl6264]

Great, informational video. Thanks for taking the time to do it. It really helped me out.

[@nanachiii]

Looks great! Fantastic work! Love the little comedic bits at the end of the video 😂

[@crinkle2649]

I have never installed one so I had no idea you had all of those options.

[@aluet30]

WoW, what a perfectionist.

[@AZ_sunshine]

thank you "The Fixer" for a great video for like minded "perfectionists" LOL. I enjoyed your instructional style and look forward to installing my maytag mw tonight thanks to your tips and expertice. I suscribed and will look at your other videdos when done with install. Thanks again and God bless!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Happy to help!!

[@rezNezami]

Great video. A much better flange imo is those which are square on interior side and circular on the outside. This has many advantages over the square both end ones. First of all, they are much cheaper, I think, 1/3 or 1/4. Second, you can actually attach the flange to the microwave side and insert it in the wall as you are installing the microwave on the wall. Then you go out and attach an elbow exhaust outlet with cap easily. These square flanges are simply for making more money off of customers.

[@JustinBsDentureJourney]

I repair appliances so I see the bad install jobs where the vent is not turned the correct way and restricts air flow. Usually will cause excess steam in microwave and eventually case parts to fail. And if it’s under the manufacture warranty, they can not cover the repair to fix due to the improper installation. Love your vids!

[@carlahubbard7561]

That took a while and was a lot of work, but , it was done RIGHT and looks great!

[@serzhiksardaryan7461]

Thank you!! You did very clean job!!

[@corieddings5713]

Thank you for the detailed instructions

[@robinmcgilvra8753]

I’ve learned soo much watching your videos. 👍

[@andyavila8080]

Good job 👏

[@tommycho9068]

Very professional clean finish job. Good job. Thank you.

[@user-uu6pn9xf2b]

May have been a good idea to seal the edges with foil tape to stop moist air from infiltrating walls and saturating insulation

[@briansboucher]

very well done on that install. seen a lot of microwaves. most are not even close to that.

[@jennifermartinus4929]

That`s a job very well done, Matt. ☺️

[@TLBeezy]

Great job! It's fascinating to see what goes into installing these. I wouldn't do any of this just for a microwave though. Lol.

[@davidwostrel]

haha... loved the ending! Really great job, and I don't think anything about the way you did it. If anything it is is a million times better than the "professional" turds that installed everything on my newer construction house, because my microwave doesn't vent :/ Thanks for the information on turning the motor around I think that I am going to rip the microwave down and see if the builder didn't turn that around because literally doesn't work, I was about to go buy a new microwave because of it! Kitchen looks amazing!

[@jdmb03]

I've installed three OTR microwaves and never used spacer blocks. Never had an issue with the unit pulling away over decades.

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Yup. I have installed maybe 50 and never used blocks until one time when the bolt started to bend the thin sheet metal holding the nut in. I couldn’t get the microwave to tighten properly after that so I have used blocks since then.

[@CheAmedere4]

Good job 👏🏾

[@mikekl11]

Great job! Taught me how to do it right! Thanks

[@matthewbriggs8997]

Okay I'm from the UK and was wondering why you need a vent for the microwave. However I scratched my head and realised it was for the extraction fan

[@cynthiacarter532]

We had our first microwave professionally installed over the stove in 1991. It and the new one in 2002 vent up through the cabinet to the roof since the other side is a bonus room. Put off getting a microwave until I saw the over the hood option. Didn't want one taking up space on the counter or on a separate cart.

[@thea7310]

Awesome video...Thank you...

[@edp4030]

I followed all the instructions, measured twice-holes were off, drilled a dozen more into my cheap fiberboard cabinets, seriously wrecking them. I chucked my $375 LG microwave into Lake Mendota. I’ll use my Weber Charcoal grill instead. I’ll use the worthless template for fire starter.

[@JohnGorman355]

Done like a pro! Good stuff!!!

[@JamesLeatherman]

I'm really just here for the last 10 seconds.

[@robingillespie4467]

Outstanding work!

[@kingkong7617]

You did a good job and it looks great.

[@alicelangford2903]

American / Canadian microwaves are wierd! I didn't know you guys had to vent them 😅

[@cejkwo100]

How else do you exhaust the cooking orders?

[@alicelangford2903]

@@cejkwo100 we don't vent them at all in the UK, they're just stand alone appliances that you just plug in and go 😅

[@cainwhite3538]

@@cejkwo100 In the UK microwaves are stand-alone appliances, either sat on the worktop (counter top) or built into cabinets. We use purpose built chimney style extractor fans above a cooker/stove. I live in the US now so I’ve seen it done both ways. It does seem odd to have a microwave above a stove.

[@ede8193]

Wow now that's a job well done!! looks amazing!! love your videos and learning a lot!

[@user-km9wx8th8z]

Good job. Thanks for the videos, helps a lot .

[@cathyleenahanonu863]

Thank you for your time 😊

[@GorefeastDrummer]

wow. great work

[@mattieruth2171]

Doubt I will ever install one, but learning how its done was cool❗️

[@kenburdier5884]

Always a pleasure watching you work! As always top quality work and tips always appreciate everything you do to record, edit and yeah do the job! Lol

[@alisalopez2549]

flim win you are putting up vinyl 🎉 can't wait

[@df56gh4d5h]

Man dude you're awesome. I wish I had your skills.

[@rjt135]

I personally love the plastic snap-toggle style bolts since you can put them in the wall before adding the bolt. Great for one person jobs.

[@feelingtardy]

i have major problems with the snaptoggle brand. if you don't pre test them by screwing in the bolts they tend to have a large failure rate for me. they start to crossthread in the wall and snap.

[@shadetreemecha4526]

@@feelingtardy Well yeah if you're hitting a stud behind the wall they don't drill into solid wood very well and do exactly what you described! Always check stud locations before trying to use screw-in drywall anchors.

[@norbertcardenas1876]

Great job- that is going to help me out for sure. Very detailed- thank you

[@lennyadamowicz7642]

Great job! Looks & sounds awesome! Love it man! 🤩👌👍🫡

[@ross942]

Thanks Fixer - super helpful!!

[@Pallidus_Rider]

The Fixer 👍

[@S.J.0.1.]

Love it. Good job Matt 🍺