British Columbia
WHAT TO DECIDE FOR EACH STAINLESS PIECE IN A NEW KITCHEN
The health officer checks every sink, counter, and shelf against the plan they approved, so the stainless has to match it.
A commercial kitchen equipment checklist for custom stainless starts with the approved plan. That's the kitchen layout a health officer from your regional health authority signs off on. Order the final counters, sinks, and shelves from that plan. Size every dishwashing compartment to your largest pot, and decide where each drain goes before the plumber sets the pipes. The operating permit comes only once the finished kitchen matches the approved plan. This guide covers what BC health rules ask of each item and what to decide for sinks, counters, and shelving. It also covers the mistakes that can hold up an opening.
Six answers tell you whether the stainless can be drawn and priced now. A no on any row means one decision is still open, and the right column says what it is.
| Question | Ready to order | What to do first |
|---|---|---|
| Has the health officer approved the kitchen layout? | Yes, in writing | Send the plans to your regional health authority and wait for written approval before anything is built |
| Does the plan show each sink by type? | Hand, food prep, dishwashing, and mop sinks are each marked | Mark every sink by what it's for, as the health authority's plan list asks |
| Do you know the largest pot or pan the kitchen will wash? | You've measured it | Measure it. Each dishwashing compartment has to hold it fully under water |
| Has the plumber agreed where the water and drain lines come through? | The positions match the sinks you're ordering | Agree on the drain and water positions before the plumber sets the pipes |
| Is the equipment beside each counter chosen? | Models and sizes are known | Pick the fryer, fridge, or mixer, and the counter is drawn around it |
| Do you know the opening date? | It's on the calendar | Work back from it, leaving time for fabrication, setting, and the inspection |
BC's Food Premises Regulation sets the broad rule, and the regional health authorities spell out the details. Each rule below turns into something on your order.
| What the rules ask | Where it comes from | What it means for your order |
|---|---|---|
| Plans approved by a health officer before a kitchen is built or changed | Food Premises Regulation, section 3 | The final order follows the approved plan, so check any early sketch against it |
| Equipment that's durable, easily cleaned, and in good working order | Food Premises Regulation, section 16 | Welded seams ground smooth, with no gaps or ledges where food can collect |
| Smooth, non-absorbent surfaces, with sealed joints at walls and floors | Guides from the Vancouver and Interior regional health authorities | Say which items sit tight to a wall, so the backsplash is drawn to seal against it |
| Hand sinks for hand washing only, enough of them in each prep area | Food Premises Regulation, section 21, and Interior Health's guide | A separate hand sink at each prep area, never shared with food or dishes |
| A dishwashing sink with wash, rinse, and sanitize compartments, each big enough for the largest pot | Guides from the Vancouver and Interior regional health authorities | Compartments sized to your biggest pot, or two compartments plus a commercial dishwasher |
| Backsplashes behind sinks, prep areas, and washing areas | Interior Health's guide | A splash ordered with each counter, table, and sink against a wall |
| Drainboards beside the sinks, big enough to air-dry pots | Interior Health's guide | Ask your health officer how long each drainboard must be, then order it on the sides the plan shows |
| Shelves and cupboards for dry food at least 150 mm off the floor | Interior Health's guide | Legs or wall brackets that keep the lowest shelf 150 mm up |
| The kitchen built to match the approved plan before the operating permit | Food Premises Regulation, section 6, and Fraser Health's application package for food premises | Any change goes back to the health officer before it's ordered |
Health authorities ask to see each sink on the plan by what it's used for. Each kind has its own job, its own size, and its own spot in the kitchen.
Put a sink in each prep area and near the dishwashing sink, with hot and cold water, soap, and paper towels in dispensers. Fraser Health treats a missing or blocked hand sink as a critical hazard. On the order, provide the bowl size, the splash height, and whether it hangs on the wall or stands on legs.
Kitchens use a food prep sink to wash produce and to thaw or cool food, kept apart from the hand sink and the dishwashing sink. On the order, give the bowl size and depth, which side gets a drainboard, and where the faucet goes.
In a kitchen that washes pots by hand, one compartment each on a dishwashing sink washes, rinses, and sanitizes. Each has to hold your largest pot fully underwater. With a commercial dishwasher, two compartments can do, and so can two in a takeout kitchen using only single-use utensils.
Often tucked in a back corner for filling and emptying mop pails, a mop sink keeps mop water away from food and dishes. Fraser Health asks to see it on the plan, and Interior Health recommends one apart from the food and dish sinks. On the order, give the floor space and the faucet position.
The size of a commercial stainless sink starts with the biggest thing washed in it. Drainboards give washed pots somewhere to air-dry once they come out of the sanitizing compartment.
The rough-in is when the plumber sets the water and drain pipes in the wall and floor, before the walls close. Each sink's drain sits in a set spot under its compartment, so the compartment sizes decide where those pipes have to come up.
The health officer approves the layout. Every sink is on it by type, and any change after approval goes back to them first.
Each item goes on our fabrication drawing. Every compartment, drainboard, and counter gets its size. The drawing also shows where each drain and faucet sits.
The plumber roughs in to your signed-off drawing. The drain sits in the centre of each compartment on a typical commercial sink. In Metro Vancouver, the dishwashing sink also drains to a grease interceptor, a tank that catches grease before the sewer.
The stainless is made and delivered. Sizes stay as drawn, with the pipes already in place to meet them.
Each item is set and connected. Your crew sets the counters and sinks, and the plumber hooks up the faucets and drains.
The health officer inspects. The operating permit comes once the kitchen matches the approved plan.
The compartment sizes decide where the drain pipes come up
Sign off the sink drawing first, then the plumber sets the pipes to it.
Sink drawn before the rough-in
Each drain sits over its pipe, and each compartment holds the largest pot.
Compartments widened after the rough-in
Widened for a bigger pot after the pipes went in, two drains now miss their pipes.
A counter or prep table is drawn around the work done on it and the equipment beside it. These are the choices to make for each one before it's priced.
| Detail | Choices | Where to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Front edge | Square, a raised marine edge, or rounded | A marine edge around sinks and wet stations keeps spills on the top |
| Backsplash | A low splash about 115 to 125 mm high, or a tall one about 250 mm, plus side splashes | Behind sinks, prep areas, and washing areas, and on any side that meets a wall |
| Undershelf | A stainless shelf under the top, or open below | Under a prep table that stores pans and bins |
| Base | Legs with adjustable feet, or a cabinet base | Legs where the floor gets cleaned underneath, and cabinets where supplies store out of sight |
| Cut-outs and sinks | A cut-out for a drop-in unit, or a sink welded into the top | Prep counters that need a sink or a drop-in well |
| Thickness | Usually 14 or 16 gauge on commercial tops | 14 gauge, the thicker of the two, where the top carries weight or takes knocks |
| Grade and finish | 304 or 316 stainless, usually a brushed finish | 304 for most food work, and 316 where salt or strong cleaners sit on the metal |
Each of those details changes the price, so two tops of the same length can cost very different amounts. The cost of a custom stainless steel countertop walks through why. The grade question has its own guide in 304 vs 316 stainless steel, and the surface in stainless steel finishes explained. Our stainless steel prep tables and custom countertops pages show what we make.
Everything around the counters and sinks gets cleaned too, often every night. Each of these works best when nothing on it or behind it can trap food or water.
If a shelf holds dry food, keep its lowest tier at least 150 mm off the floor. That leaves room to clean underneath. On the order, give each shelf's length, depth, number of tiers, and what it holds.
Health guides ask for smooth, easy-to-clean cupboards, inside and out. Give the counter and cabinet sizes together, and the doors are drawn to clear the legs and the equipment beside them.
Walls in prep and storage areas have to be smooth, impervious, and easy to clean. Stainless panels are one way to get there. Mark every outlet, pipe, and switch on the wall, and each cut-out is made before delivery.
If a counter or cabinet can't be moved for cleaning, it should either seal to the wall and floor or leave room to clean behind it. Ask your health officer which they want for each one before it's drawn.
Behind cooking equipment, hood, and appliance rules set the distance to the wall, which the kitchen exhaust scope of work walks through. Our stainless steel restaurant shelves and storage cabinets are made to the sizes on your plan.
The health officer checks each sink, counter, and shelf against the approved plan before the operating permit is issued. These are the misses that most often send a kitchen back for another visit.
| The mistake | What happens | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| The hand sink doubles as a place to rinse produce | Hand sinks are for hands only, and a missing or blocked one is a critical hazard | Put a food prep sink beside it |
| The dishwashing sink is too small for the stockpot | The largest pot has to go fully under water to be sanitized | Measure the biggest pot before the sink is drawn |
| The pipes went in before the sinks were sized | The drains come up in the wrong place for the sinks you order | Sign off the sink drawings before the plumber sets the pipes |
| The layout changed after approval | The kitchen has to match the approved plan, or the permit may not be issued | Send the change to the health officer before ordering |
| Dry storage shelving sits right on the floor | Shelves for dry food need 150 mm underneath for cleaning | Order legs or brackets that clear 150 mm |
| The stainless was drawn from an early sketch | Sizes on a sketch can differ from the approved plan | Check every size against the approved plan, and bring a copy to the inspection |
| The dishwashing sink has no drainboard | Washed pots need somewhere to air-dry after the sanitizing compartment | Order drainboards with the sink, on the sides the plan shows |
Counters, sinks, prep tables, shelving, and cabinets are welded and finished in our Pitt Meadows shop. Most kitchen orders follow these five steps.
Drawing each item from your approved plan. We ask for your largest pot, the drain spots, and the equipment beside each counter. The grade and finish go on the drawing too. If you only have a sketch so far, we can price from it and draw it for a fee that's credited when you order.
Your sign-off and deposit. Items are typically ready in 1 to 2 weeks once you sign off our drawings and the deposit is in. The size of the order and the shop's schedule can move that.
Welding and finishing. Seams on food surfaces are welded, then ground smooth, leaving no ledge to hold food.
Delivery to your site. Orders go out in our van or with a delivery service. Larger orders can come at a booked time, with help unloading.
Setting and connecting. Your crew sets each item, and your plumber connects it. We don't install counters, sinks, or shelving.
If something doesn't fit because we got it wrong, we fix or remake it at no charge. How pickup, delivery, and installation differ is covered in its own guide.
Custom stainless makes sense where the room, the equipment, or the pots don't match standard sizes. Where a standard size fits, a stock item is often the quicker buy.
Restaurant supply stores keep standard worktables and sinks in stock. If one fits your plan and your largest pot, buy it there. We'll point that out when we see it, and the order can go elsewhere.
Tick these off before asking for prices, and every counter, sink, and shelf can be drawn on the first pass. What Duct Duct Goose Needs to Quote Custom Metalwork has the list for any custom job. The other kitchen guides sit in Kitchen Exhaust and Food-Service Fabrication.
If the plan isn't approved yet, a photo of your sketch still gets a first price going. We'll tell you what's missing, draw the final items from the approved plan, and work back from the day you open.
Standard ductwork and fittings price instantly on WebDuct, the online pricing and ordering portal, with a company account. Kitchen stainless and other custom work start with a request or a call.
At Duct Duct Goose, we specialize in sheet metal fabrication and stainless steel services for commercial and industrial applications, including HVAC systems, ducts, and custom metalwork. Please note that we do not offer services for automotive-related projects, such as vehicle parts, repairs, or modifications.
