Commercial kitchen ceiling

Just before Christmas we had a weekend to do a busy commercial kitchen ceiling on an industrial estate near Exeter. Lots of moisture from opening oven doors, and steam from the dishwashing machines , had caused the existing coating to peel in patches, as well as growing amounts of mildew. The schedule was going to be tight – and that was before we found out that there was a late order to fill, and so we would be working around chefs and pot-washers!

The first job was a proper clean using squeegie mops on telescopic handles and Krud Kutter Tough Task cleaner to remove any grease, food, and surface mould growth. This was followed by a wash with a strong bleach solution to kill any remaining mould spores. Damp was a real issue, especially with the pot-washer going at the same time. Luckily, the clent had hired a powerful gas heater/blower which dried the ceiling surface enough for paint to be applied.

I had decided on Johnstones Acrylic Eggshell as the most job-friendly paint. Johnstones informed me that even the standard Acrylic Eggshell contains anti-fungal agents, and it is a suitable coating for damp atmosphere’s like kitchens and bathrooms. The only other paint I might have used is a Chlorinated Rubber paint which finds uses in swimming pools and dairy parlours, but is solvent based and has a longer interval for recoating, and so would be much more problematic for this job (especially as the kitchen was still in use).

We masked off the walls, covered the floor and cooking equipment, and sprayed the ceiling with the airless sprayer. Luckily, because the ceiling was divided into “bays” it could be done a section at a time and not all in one hit. While we were spraying, the kitchen was cleared of people, and the limited extraction fans meant overspray was minimized, though there was inevitably some dust to clean up when we finished.

I paid a visit to the kitchen some time later to retrieve a tool I had left behind, and was horrified to see water dripping off the ceiling as though it was raining indoors! I think an upgrade of the extraction system is overdue

Published by: Colin Taylor on: February 23rd 2016