Construction & Contractors Blog
A walk-in freezer is a central element in any restaurant or commercial kitchen. Every food business requires adequate storage space for chilled and frozen foods. Thus, finding the best freezer room can directly impact the quality of food served in the establishment. Whether you're constructing a standard or custom freezer room, here are a few tips to help you design a functional and efficient space for your restaurant.
Establish space and usage requirements
Determine your space and usage requirements before specifying the freezer room's dimensions and storage provisions. What's the quantity and volume of the food you intend to store in the freezer? Ideally, the more the food you need chilled, the bigger your freezer room should be. A small refrigeration space can lead to inadequate cooling, which would impact the quality of the food.
Remember, you don't have to design a large room. You can have a small cool room with modular storage solutions. When designing the room, aim to maximise all the space inside the freezer. The shelving solutions should reduce space wastage, mainly if your facility has limited physical space for a cool room.
Assess quality and performance
Whether you're investing in a standard or custom freezer, assess its quality and performance. In this case, look into the following issues:
Freezer room insulation improves energy efficiency in the space. Also, insulation reduces air leaks, which helps maintain optimal temperatures in the cool room. When designing your door, beware of counterbalance and its effect on freezer temperatures, mainly if the door is left open for long periods.
Consider long-term refrigeration needs
As aforementioned, quality freezer rooms can last for more than a decade. Thus, it's crucial to design a scalable cool room that will meet your medium-term and long-term cooling requirements. A scalable freezer doesn't have to be substantially bigger than what you currently need. However, the design should allow for the expansion of storage solutions to cater to increased food quantities.
Incorporate safety and efficiency features
Finally, a freezer room should come with safety and efficiency features. Safety features prevent hazards in the cool room, while efficiency features help detect issues with performance. Some features to consider include:
Incorporate these features into your freezer room design to maximise safety and energy efficiency.
Consider the above issues when designing a walk-in freezer for your restaurant and speak with a professional about freezer room construction.
Share5 January 2021
Welcome to my blog, my name is Blake and from now on, I will be writing a series of blogs which will deal with the process of finding and working with contractors when constructing a new building. I am not a construction specialist but last summer I gained a lot of experience in this area when I hired a team of 32 contractors to build a holiday home. When hiring contractors, it is important that you understand how to communicate with them and their ways of working. Below are a series of blogs which will help you to find the best contractors.