Commercial Kitchen and Restaurant Ceiling Challenges

Interesting enough restaurants and commercial kitchens are not just required to maintain compliant when handling or cooking food. They are required to continue to disinfect all cooking equipment, Utensils, and the ceiling. Now, you may be asking yourself why the ceiling is important. We are talking about the drop ceiling. This is the ceiling that we see which is usually below the structural ceiling. Picture this, when we cook in our own kitchens, we see steam or sometimes smoke. Let’s be honest we all have burnt something at some point in our lives. When this occurs, we see huge amounts of smoke. Same for industrial kitchens and restaurants. Due to the high volume of cooking, there will be high level of steam, heat or even smoke. Through our own experience we know heat rises and the same for smoke and steam. 
In a restaurant setting they are consistently using their equipment during all times of the day. Over time the steam that rises off the stove and kitchen goes directly up to the ceiling. This is one of the biggest challenges is keep air ducts and ceilings clean. Depending on the level of traffic, restaurants don’t have the time to consistently clean the ceiling. If their facility doesn’t meet the guidelines of the industry, they are subject to closure.

Drop ceiling concept was originally used in USA in 1919 when the first patent was filed by E.E. Hall. The design of the drop ceiling is to assist with extinguishing a fire. If there is a fire, the drop ceiling is heat sensitive and will begin dropping from the ceiling allowing the water sprinklers to begin spraying. In relationship to restaurants, smoke and steam can rise through drop ceiling and cause mildew, mold, and even grow bacteria. The food and health industry are aware of this and requires commercial kitchens to have a certain type of ceiling tiles. Their specific tiles must be smooth surface and washable. In addition, they must be resistant to Mold, Mildew, and bacteria growth. 

The most important factor of inspecting drop-out ceiling is indoor environmental safety and quality. Drop ceiling makes it easy access for repairs on air filter systems and water sprinkling systems. Tiles are replaceable and can be modified if needed. The least appealing aspect of drop ceiling is the headroom. When deciding to build in a drop ceiling you must take in consideration the height of the room. Not just for head room but to ensure the industrial equipment will fit. 

Restaurant Drop Ceiling solution is durability, humidity resistance, and fire performance. Safety is most important with any structure, but for restaurants it is all about how the structure will respond in an event of an emergency. The best part about dropped ceiling is the how manageable and replaceable they are. As well as how they work in relation to fire sprinklers to put out a fire. As of 2019 most commercial building have this design. For the most part, I believe most of the engineers have migrated to the type of structures because they have proven to be effective and maintain cleanliness of Restaurants and industrial buildings.