Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/964617
44 FEDA News & Views OPERATIONS Potential for slab depression Depressed floor slabs make for better installation of trough drains, running electrical or data conduits to island counters and accommodating insulated walk-in cooler and freezer floors without ramps. It also allows for hardwood floors set on subfloors above concrete slabs. Depressing the entire slab or floor 3 to 4 inches where a restaurant is planned provides flexibility for a relatively low cost. Grease-trap friendly Most foodservice back-of-the-house facilities require a grease trap, even a coffee shop. Kitchens with grease- generating cooking may require a substantial size trap since many local codes mandate that floor drains in the cooking area also connect to a grease trap. is increases the size of the trap and means the top of the grease trap will need to be flush with or below the kitchen floor. A surface-mounted grease trap sitting under a pot sink is no longer adequate. Ideally, a grease trap should be in a basement or outside the kitchen but in a slab on grade condition, the only option RESTAURANTS IN MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS may be a concrete vault set into the floor, which should be part of the base building construction. Newer buildings marketing multiple restaurant tenants plan for a central grease trap that is shared and can be cleaned out using a hose pumped to a tanker truck. Costs associated with maintaining the grease trap are billed to each tenant just like other common charges. Stain-resistant pathway from trash and grease-trap areas Building owners and other tenants hate seeing black stains running from the door of a restaurant where trash or grease is removed. Black- or brown- stained concrete in the specific travel zone could reduce the view of the stain.