We fabricate a lot of commercial kitchens, and the projects that run smoothly are not the ones with the biggest budgets. They are the ones where a handful of decisions were made before fabrication started rather than during it.
Before you ask anyone to quote
- Is the layout final? Equipment positions drive worktable lengths, service penetrations and hood sizing. A late 300 mm shift can invalidate three items.
- Where do services enter? Gas, water, drainage and electrical positions must be agreed with the MEP contractor before we detail penetrations and cut-outs.
- What is the extraction design? Hood dimensions follow the equipment line and the required capture velocity, not the other way round.
- What are the floor levels and falls? Adjustable feet solve small variations; a 40 mm fall across a 6 m run needs designing for.
- Which grade where? Decide 304 versus 316 zone by zone at design stage, not on the invoice.
During fabrication
- Approve the drawings promptly. Every day a shop drawing sits unsigned is a day removed from the fabrication window, not added to the programme.
- Confirm the delivery sequence. Kitchens are rarely installed all at once. Tell us the order so we can phase production to match.
- Agree access and timing. Lift dimensions, corridor widths and permitted working hours all shape how items must be split for transport.
Before handover
- Inspect against the signed drawing, not against a memory of what was discussed.
- Get the cleaning regime right from day one. Chloride-based cleaners on 304 will pit it, and that is not a fabrication defect.
The kitchens that come in on time are the ones where the layout was frozen before the first sheet was cut.
Send us a layout and an equipment schedule and we will come back with the questions that matter for your specific site — usually within a day.
