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Kitchen extraction - access panels
When a cleaning team cuts into your ductwork and fits panels, it can look like damage. It is the opposite - it is the only way to properly clean and verify a system that is otherwise sealed. TR19 requires the whole duct cleaned, and access panels are how the whole duct is reached.
The short answer
TR19 Grease requires the entire kitchen extract system to be cleaned and verified, but ductwork is largely sealed, so much of it cannot be reached without access into it. That is why cleaners fit access panels - openings with removable, sealed covers - along the duct run, spaced at least every 2 metres and positioned so all of the ductwork can be reached and inspected. They are not damage but the permanent means of cleaning and verifying the whole system, now and at every future clean.
The problem: a sealed system
The core problem access panels solve is that a kitchen extract system is largely sealed, yet TR19 Grease requires the whole of it - the entire run of ductwork from canopy to fan - to be cleaned and its cleanliness verified. Grease builds up along the whole internal length of the duct, so the whole length is what needs cleaning; but ductwork is enclosed metal with no openings, so most of that internal length cannot be reached to clean or inspect without a way into it. The requirement is to clean the whole system; the obstacle is that the system is closed.
This is why simply cleaning what can be reached from the ends - the canopy and the fan - is not enough. The long run of ductwork in between, often passing through the building, holds much of the grease and the fire risk, and it is sealed. To clean and verify it as TR19 requires, there has to be a way to get into it along its length. Access panels are that way - the means of opening the sealed system at intervals so the whole internal run can be reached, cleaned and checked. Without them, the middle of the system stays sealed and uncleaned.
What access panels are
An access panel is a purpose-made opening in the ductwork with a removable, sealed cover. It lets the cleaning team open the duct at that point, reach in to clean the internal surfaces, inspect and verify the cleanliness, and then reseal it. TR19 sets out how they should be made and fitted: made of the same material as the ductwork, secured with quick-release catches so they can be opened and closed easily at each clean, positioned on the side of the duct where possible, and properly sealed so the duct remains sound when closed.
So cutting into the duct to fit a panel is not making a hole and leaving it - it is installing a proper, sealed, reusable access point. Once fitted, the panel is a permanent feature that can be opened for every future clean and inspection and resealed after. The duct is left sound, with a means of access built into it. What can look like damage is actually the installation of the correct, standard-specified fittings that make the sealed system cleanable and verifiable - a fix for the sealed-duct problem, not harm to the duct.
Where and how many
The number and placement of access panels follow from the need to reach the whole system. TR19 specifies that panels are spaced at intervals of at least every 2 metres, and positioned strategically - at bends, at the fan, and wherever needed - so that all of the ductwork can be reached and inspected. The principle is coverage: enough panels, well placed, that no significant length of duct is left unreachable. A long, complex run needs more panels than a short simple one, because more of it has to be brought within reach.
This is why a proper TR19 clean of a previously inaccessible system may involve fitting a number of panels - the system needs enough access to reach all of it, and if it was not built with adequate access, that access has to be created. It can look like a lot of cutting, but each panel is opening up a length of duct that was otherwise sealed and uncleanable. The spacing and positioning are not arbitrary - they are what ensures the whole internal run can actually be cleaned and verified, which is exactly what TR19 requires.
A one-time job that lasts
Importantly, fitting access panels is largely a one-time job whose benefit is permanent. A system that lacked adequate access needs panels fitted to be properly cleaned the first time, but once they are in, they stay - so every future clean uses the same panels, opening and resealing them rather than cutting new ones. The disruption of creating access is front-loaded; after that, the system is permanently equipped to be cleaned and verified to standard at every service.
So the panels are an investment in the system's cleanability. A system with proper access is one that can be fully cleaned and verified straightforwardly on an ongoing basis, which is exactly what maintaining TR19 compliance requires. Far from damage, the access panels are what make the system compliant-cleanable for its whole life. When a cleaner fits them, they are turning a sealed, partly-uncleanable system into one that can be properly maintained - a lasting improvement, not a set of holes. Understanding that is understanding why the cutting is not just acceptable but necessary and beneficial.
The takeaway
TR19 Grease requires the whole kitchen extract system cleaned and verified, but ductwork is largely sealed, so much of the internal run cannot be reached without a way into it. Access panels are that way - purpose-made, sealed, removable openings, fitted along the duct at least every 2 metres and positioned so all the ductwork can be reached, cleaned and inspected. They are made to standard, leave the duct sound, and are reused at every future clean.
So when a cleaning team cuts into the duct and fits panels, they are not damaging it - they are installing the means to clean and verify a system that is otherwise sealed and uncleanable in the middle. It is a largely one-time job whose benefit is permanent: the system becomes fully cleanable and verifiable to TR19 for its whole life. The panels are the fix for the sealed-duct problem, and the reason a genuine TR19 clean can reach the whole system rather than just its ends.
Questions
Because TR19 requires the whole extract system cleaned and verified, but ductwork is largely sealed - so much of the internal run cannot be reached without access into it. The cuts are for fitting access panels, the sealed, removable openings that make the whole duct cleanable.
A purpose-made opening in the ductwork with a removable, sealed cover. It lets the cleaning team open the duct, reach in to clean and inspect the internal surfaces, and reseal it - made of the same material as the duct, secured with quick-release catches, and properly sealed.
TR19 specifies panels spaced at intervals of at least every 2 metres, positioned strategically - at bends, at the fan and wherever needed - so that all of the ductwork can be reached and inspected. A long or complex run needs more panels than a short simple one.
No - it is installing proper, sealed, reusable access points. Once fitted, a panel is a permanent feature that can be opened for every future clean and resealed after, leaving the duct sound. What can look like damage is the correct, standard-specified fittings that make the system cleanable.
No - it is largely a one-time job. A system lacking access needs panels fitted to be properly cleaned the first time, but once in, they stay, so every future clean uses the same panels - opening and resealing them rather than cutting new ones. The benefit is permanent.
Because the long run of ductwork between the canopy and fan holds much of the grease and fire risk, and it is sealed. Cleaning only what is reachable from the ends leaves the middle uncleaned - access panels are what bring the whole internal run within reach.
We fit TR19-compliant access panels where a system lacks them - the sealed, reusable openings that let us clean and verify the whole duct run, now and at every future clean.
