Modern restaurants use massive amounts of water in their day-to-day operations. Water is essential for food preparation and sanitation. Restaurant plumbing systems should be robust to handle the high volume of freshwater entering the facility and the high amounts of wastewater flowing into the drains.
Not only must the plumbing be perfectly designed for the type of restaurant, but it should also be the right match for the particular stage of the business, says Alliance Management Company. A common mistake new restaurant owners make is to treat their plumbing as secondary to other aspects of the business, such as the menu, efficiency of appliances and ambience of the restaurant floor.
But like these other factors, the design of a restaurant’s plumbing system can help or hurt the business. Restaurants need drainage, water and gas supply systems that are purpose-built so the facility can operate at its optimum. At the most basic level, a restaurant’s plumbing should have the following services;
New installations
Restaurants often expand to accommodate their expanding customer base and enhance existing services. They do this by increasing the seating area capacity and adding new equipment to the kitchen. But to take full advantage of growth opportunities and avoid legal issues (that may result from violating city guidelines), they need to expand the systems that support these two areas. Add heaters, water supplies and other plumbing elements to cater to the growing demand. Ensure that you install these new features in a way that creates a seamless flow between the functions of the kitchen, the interior of the restaurant, its restrooms and the supporting plumbing systems. Safety, attractiveness, durability and flexibility (to accommodate further expansions) are factors to consider when doing these new installations.
Installing sewers and drains
Huge amounts of waste are generated by restaurants, particularly during the food preparation process. This waste is created hourly and must be constantly evacuated to keep the kitchen sanitary and safe. Invariably, some of that waste finds its way into the drainage system, where it can cause blockages. This hourly assault on a restaurant’s drain and sewer lines is why the system must be planned properly. Compliant drainage systems with proper ventilation that prevent backflow from trapped air and drains that permit wastewater removal without reductions in pressure are essential features of restaurant sewer systems. That should be in addition to weekly plumbing maintenance to install new parts to prevent potential blockages and ensure the system’s smooth operation.
Gas lines for the kitchen
Restaurants should be able to constantly expand their capacity to offer good food to customers. To do this, they should be able to build on their existing infrastructure easily and at the lowest cost. Given that food is the main product of a restaurant, the business must have a premium gas line system that serves its present needs but also includes capabilities for future expansions. From inception, its gas line design should make room for possible future gas line extensions to serve a new or expanded kitchen. If this is not done, the cost of correcting that error may be too much for the business, forcing it to operate at a smaller scale than its capacity.
Grease traps
Grease traps are a vital plumbing service for restaurants. Restaurants use an enormous amount of cooking oils, fats and grease in different stages of food preparation. By day’s end, huge amounts of that grease will find its way into the restaurant’s wastewater. If allowed to flow into the city sewers and waste treatment facilities, that grease can cause expensive damage. Grease traps keep the fats, oils and grease in restaurant wastewater from entering the sewers and becoming a problem to nature and the city. They help keep the business’ operating costs low by preventing problems that would have happened if a grease trap was missing from the restaurant’s plumbing setup. By catching grease from wastewater and storing it until it can be removed, grease traps help the restaurant’s drain systems operate more efficiently. A grease trap needs to be cleaned on the regular and well maintained at all times.
Plumbing repairs
Breakdowns and malfunctions in a restaurant’s plumbing systems can result in expensive downtimes. Waiting until problems happen before making an effort to fix them is not a viable plumbing maintenance strategy for restaurants. In order to avoid disruptions in the restaurant’s operations, plumbing issues must be detected before they result in delays. That means creating a watertight plumbing maintenance program overseen by a licensed professional who understands the higher working standards required in commercial plumbing and the very narrow margins for error.
To conclude, the foundation for building restaurant plumbing systems that can meet the present and future needs of the business is good design. Hiring a regular plumber instead of a commercial plumber for restaurants, when designing and installing the plumbing, is the main reason restaurant plumbing systems often fail to meet the necessary standards.