Where the Grease Goes

The interceptor size is set by the authority based on your fixtures and seats, not by preference. Its location has to be somewhere a service truck can reach. In a tight urban tenancy those two constraints together frequently rule out the obvious spot, and occasionally rule out the space.

Servicing access is the constraint that catches people. An interceptor sized correctly and located where a pump-out truck cannot reach it is not a working interceptor, and relocating one after the floor is finished means cutting the slab in a trading restaurant. The location has to be resolved with the same care as the sizing.

A commercial kitchen floor has to fall to drains, be cleanable, and stand up to hot water, grease and daily washing down. Coving at the wall junction is part of that, because a square junction cannot be cleaned properly however hard anybody works.

All of it is inspected, and all of it is decided when the slab is poured. Getting the falls wrong is one of the few restaurant construction errors that cannot be corrected without starting the floor again.

1. 01Confirm interceptor requirements with the authority before design.
2. 02Verify any existing unit rather than assuming it is adequate.
3. 03Locate for servicing, not just for the plan.
4. 04Install drainage, slopes and finishes to what will be inspected.
5. 05Hand over the servicing requirements to the operator.

Verify an existing interceptor rather than assuming it will do. Inheriting one that is undersized for your operation means installing a new one after the floor is finished, which is the worst possible time to be cutting a slab.

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