A safe and durable infrastructure for a commercial kitchen can be as important as the equipment that is installed inside.
The focus of designing a new or renovated commercial kitchen is usually on the equipment and layout, with too little time devoted to the infrastructure. When a facility opens, the critiques of what went wrong often include observations about slippery floors, hard-to-clean walls and ceilings, kitchen noise in the dining room, and poor lighting over food-preparation areas.
In many kitchens top-quality equipment is installed using residential materials and construction methods that soon fail. The floor cracks when equipment rolls across it, wall shelves fall off because they have no backing, the drywall behind the pot wash has mold and mildew just weeks after the facility opens, and the ceiling panels warp like potato chips.
The cost of using the wrong materials and support systems can be staggering.
Building a commercial kitchen requires unique skills and different materials than are commonly found in residential and general building construction. Choosing the wrong materials also can postpone or even prevent health department or building code approval — the removal and replacement of inferior products often delays a restaurant opening.
Foodservice operators shouldn’t assume that all architects, engineers or general contractors possess the requisite experience with commercial kitchens to select the best materials and systems for a facility. It takes years to develop the specialized knowledge of materials and methods to create sustainable commercial-kitchen infrastructures, so operators should include kitchen designers and equipment specialists on their teams. Expert knowledge in a total kitchen environment isn’t the same as knowledge of equipment layout and specification.
Flooring
Floors are the foundation of a commercial kitchen. There are few things more disruptive to an existing operation than chopping up or replacing a floor that fails. Light-duty quarry or ceramic-tile floors are often slippery and crack. Epoxy or acrylic floors can also crack, peel and be difficult to repair.
The most widely specified kitchen floor is commercial-grade quarry tile with a raised-dot pattern safety finish. It’s the brand standard for most major chain restaurants because of its high slip resistance. For light-duty applications with minimal heavy-cart traffic, the tile can be glued on the floor; this is called thin set. For heavier-duty service or uneven base floors, tile should be installed on a mortar and sand base called thick or mud set. Thick-set floors provide a cushion to protect the tile against wear and tear from heavy carts, and accommodate smooth ramps into raised walk-in coolers and slopes for drains.
A key to successful tile installation is dark, acid-resistant epoxy grout between tiles. Most residential-grade epoxy grouts aren’t water resistant, so make sure to use grouts rated for commercial kitchens.
Epoxy caulking is a new alternative to grout. It’s installed with a heat gun and won’t absorb moisture or dirt. It’s also impervious to cracking or pitting. It has won favor with The Cheesecake Factory and several other national chains for both renovated and new floors.
Another flooring option gaining favor in the United States is the industrial-grade vinyl seamless safety flooring commonly used in the United Kingdom and Australia. These products offer slip resistance equal to raised-pattern tile floors and provide a built-in waterproof membrane when they’re heat-welded into a continuous finish. A certified installer is critical to the long-term success of these floors.
Ceilings
The choice of kitchen ceiling material affects “cleanability” and acoustics, making it a sensitive issue for many health departments.
Conventional perforated acoustical ceiling tiles absorb grease and humidity that can harbor insects, so they’re not allowed by most health departments. Unfortunately, the washable hard-surface tiles absorb little or no sound. A European product from CertainTeed called Ecophon Hygiene offers the benefits of cleanability with excellent acoustical properties. Although more than twice the cost of basic washable tile, it pays off in the long run. Regardless of the tile material, it should be installed in 2-foot-by-2-foot grids. Steel grids rust with kitchen humidity, so request aluminum or fiberglass grids instead. Tiles installed in 2-foot-by-4-foot grids warp with humidity and pop up around corners. Any gaps that develop allow pest and insect access to the kitchen from spaces above the ceiling grid, and tend to cause tiles to crack and bend when removed for inspection or maintenance.
Walls
Walls separate kitchen functions, provide support for shelving and enclose utility areas. Stud walls covered with painted drywall deteriorate from the impact of carts and racks and absorb moisture, leading to mildew and mold. The most durable walls are glazed masonry block or epoxy-painted block with a plaster-like coating or sealer, but installing or adding utilities inside the wall is a challenge.
The most widely used wall finishes for hollow or stud walls are ceramic tile or FRP — fiberglass reinforced plastic — panels. These materials should be installed on cement backer board when they’re behind cooking equipment, in wet areas like dish and pot wash, and around mop sinks. Water-
resistant greenboard is less than half the price and can be used in the dry areas of the kitchen. For cost savings, a good compromise would be a 4-foot-by-8-foot sheet of backer board installed horizontally on the bottom of each wall and greenboard on the remaining 4 feet above.
The infrastructure of your kitchen will outlast any piece of installed equipment and is much harder to change once you’re operating, so use products developed or certified for use in commercial, not residential, kitchens. Look at what major chains in your area are using, and find a partner who has design experience in kitchen infrastructure.
Foster Frable is a founding partner of Clevenger Frable LaVallee Inc., a foodservice consulting and design firm in White Plains, N.Y. He has designed more than 400 foodservice projects, including restaurants and operations in hotels, colleges and more. He can be reached at [email protected].