To plinth or not to plinth?

That is the question.... Well, almost!

The real question is identifying the most hygienic and practical solution to equipment and fabrication mounting to suit the longevity and purse the client demands.

A kitchen in its fundamental design should be easy to clean and prevent opportunistic pest infestation. Sometimes I think this element gets overlooked wether it be poor design knowledge or design aesthetics on a shoe-string.

It is worth while considering all forms of equipment/fabrication mounting in a project. The most common are:

Adjustable levelling feet providing a 150-200mm clear gap between floor and underside of fabrication. This provides a suitable cleaning gap sufficient to get a mop under, it is important to keep counter frame work as open as possible to aid cleaning and visual inspection.

Removable kick strips can be provided to this type of fabrication to give a more tidy plinth like look but it is my opinion that this should be a front of house finish only, this solution back of house only increases the cleaning time and quite often does not get removed to clean behind giving a free reign to pests.

Cantilevered equipment provide a great cleaning solution as there is no base to impede cleaning. However a complete mobile undercounter solution will need to be provided to ensure effective undercounter storage space is not affected due to fabrication construction.

Mobile equipment is by far the simplest and cost effective solution for kitchens, unfortunately it does not look the best and is frowned upon by many designers, this however does not mean it should be overlooked. Back of house kitchen design should not be form over function so perhaps we should get off our high horse on this one!

Finally we come to the plinth. The primary goal of a a Foodservice counter/bench being mounted on a plinth is to aid cleaning by brining the floor line in from the wall to the front (50-100mm back) of the fabrication worktops. Over the years I have seen this done a multitude of different ways, all look the same visually with the finished floor coving up them but not all function the same from a pest perspective! Most effectively create a big dark inaccessible void under the fabrication that becomes a safe haven for kitchen pests.

If it needs to be done it should be done properly where the operatives see the true benefit. I have herd many kitchen designers accuse architects of designing form over function, let us not fall into the same trap.

To do a plinth properly it is my opinion that a heavy duty stainless steel box frame shell should be fixed to the structural floor with a stainless steel shell. All services protrusions through the floor should be sealed and finished with a stainless steel collar (2mm+) remainder of void should be back filled with a pest proof material then a stainless steel (2mm+) top with cut outs for rising survices welded or bolted down onto the frame. A marine ply backing can be placed to the fascia of the plinth that will require the finished flooring to be coved up against it. The counter is now ready to accept some hygienic cabinetry to complete the fabrication.