Hertfordshire · TR19 inspections and grease testing
St Ibbs TR19 inspection
One call covers TR19 inspection in St Ibbs: survey, fixed quote, work and sign-off. Fully insured, with CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001.
- Systems cleaned on a calendar with no measurements
- Uncertainty over how often to clean
- Insurers asking for TR19 evidence
TR19 inspection in St Ibbs, done properly
A grease test measures how thick the grease is inside a kitchen extract system. Readings are taken at set points using the Wet Film Thickness Test (WFTT) or the Deposit Thickness Test (DTT). The results show whether the system needs cleaning and how soon. The work covers insurer audits, wet film thickness tests and pre-clean surveys, and the jobs we see most are pre-clean surveys before a first TR19 clean and checking the result of a recent clean.
Rural kitchens often have long, low duct runs through a roof space or along an outside wall, where grease settles in the flat sections. We agree access and timings in advance.
Good records are part of the job. You get a written report with photos after every visit, covering the work done, any areas we couldn’t access and a recommended next date. Keep it with your fire safety records so it’s to hand when an insurer or inspector asks.
- Place
- St Ibbs (SG4)
- Wider area
- Hertfordshire
- Paperwork
- Certificate and photo report
- Quotes
- Fixed quote, normally within a working day
- Working hours
- When your site is closed, plus a 24/7 line
- Phone
- 0345 646 2711
- Page updated
- 30 October 2026
Grease, kitchens and St Ibbs
According to Food Standards Agency records, there are about 6 bars, pubs and nightclubs in St Ibbs and the streets around it, up to about 1.5 miles out. Any of them serving cooked food has an extract to keep clean, from canopy to discharge. The fire and rescue service for St Ibbs is Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. In most workplaces, including commercial kitchens, it’s the fire and rescue authority that enforces the Fire Safety Order. Environmental health officers from North Hertfordshire council inspect food businesses in St Ibbs. An officer looking round a kitchen will see the canopy, and grease there is hard to miss. Our report lists what was cleaned and when, which is useful to have ready.
If you run catering at a historic house or estate in the area (Knebworth House is about 4.1 miles south-east), event kitchens in older buildings often have awkward duct runs that need planning. If you look after a school kitchen, at a school such as St Ippolyts Church of England Aided Primary School or anywhere near St Ibbs, the holidays are the usual time for a TR19® clean.
St Ibbs is about 2 miles south of Hitchin, in Hertfordshire. If you need TR19 inspection in St Ibbs, it’s easy to get a fixed quote: please phone us on 0345 646 2711 or send us an email. We work across South East England and London, including St Ibbs. Across Hertfordshire, we cover 381 places, St Ibbs among them. You can also see our page for Milton Keynes, roughly 23 miles from St Ibbs.
We work across the SG4 postcode area for TR19 inspection and the roads nearby. Close by, we work in Sperberry Hill (1 mile north-east), Little Almshoe (1 mile south), St Ippolyts (1 mile north-east), Gosmore (1 mile north-west) and Titmore Green (1 mile east). We also work in nearby towns such as Hemel Hempstead (15 miles south-west), Stevenage (4 miles east), St Albans (12 miles south), Welwyn Garden City (9 miles south), Harpenden (8 miles south-west) and Hatfield (11 miles south).
What’s near St Ibbs
In St Ibbs, that means kitchens and buildings near Hitchin Girls' School, The Bull Public House and Kingshott School and the streets around them. The closest station to St Ibbs is Hitchin station, about 1.9 miles north. Nearby you will also find Lister Hospital (2.1 miles east) and North Hertfordshire Museum (1.8 miles north). Not far away are Purwell Ninesprings and Markham's Hill.
What TR19 inspection cannot fix
Not every problem is solved by TR19 inspection, and we’d rather say so up front. It doesn’t solve:
- The grease itself, which needs a full or spot clean
- Sections with no access, until panels are fitted
- Installation problems, which fall under design guidance such as DW172
If in doubt, phone us on 0345 646 2711 or use the quote form and we’ll say what we think before you book.
What the work covers
- Insurer audits
- Pre-clean surveys
- Wet film thickness tests
- Deposit thickness tests
- Access surveys
- Post-clean checks
Different parts, different methods
Schools, hospitals and care homes
Hospital and care home kitchens can cook all day, every day. Readings show if cleaning is frequent enough.
Horizontal duct runs
If a run has no access panel, we note it so it can be fixed before the clean.
How the visit works
When we arrive, we check the system against the survey or the pictures you sent. If anything is different, we talk it through with the person on site before carrying on. From there, it takes a couple of hours for a typical kitchen extract system. Seeing the system in pictures first means the trip to St Ibbs can be planned properly.
- After the clean, we arrange a time to check the system.
- The same access points are opened up.
- We repeat the WFTT or DTT readings.
- Photos are taken to show the condition after the clean.
- The results are reported, with anything missed flagged.
Preparing for the visit
- Mention any sign-in, permit or induction we need
- Arrange a key holder or contact on site
- Clear loose items from the work area
How to get a quote
If you need TR19 inspection in St Ibbs, give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or email us. Tell us what kind of premises it is and when it’s open, and send photos or your last report if you can. A fixed quote normally follows within one working day.
Advice
Signs you need TR19 inspection in St Ibbs
As hot, greasy air travels up the duct, it cools and leaves a film behind. It often collects where nobody can see it: the plenum, bends and horizontal runs.
These are the problems we see most often:
- Missing access panels found on survey
- Ductwork where grease may be over the TR19 limits
- Systems that need surveying before cleaning
- Confirming a clean reached the whole system
Kitchens that cook twelve hours or more a day, as some healthcare kitchens do, fall into BESA’s three-monthly minimum; Lister Hospital is the nearest hospital to St Ibbs, about 2.1 miles east.
Questions to ask before you book
- How they set the interval to the next visit
- Whether a written report and photos are included
- Whether inaccessible sections are listed on the report
- Whether the quote shows VAT
Managing agents and facilities teams in St Ibbs
From a single site to a large estate, the standard is the same: a survey first, a fixed quote, the work timed around the site and a report with pictures.
We also work for facilities teams across offices, schools and healthcare across Hertfordshire. Work can be phased by floor, building or site around the people who use them.
Towns and villages near St Ibbs
What else we do in St Ibbs
What staff can safely do
Staff cleaning doesn’t replace a specialist visit; it supports it. Clean filters and tidy surfaces slow the build-up, but the parts you can’t see still need a specialist at the right interval.
A few tasks are always specialist work: opening up ductwork, cleaning fans, drop testing fire dampers and measuring grease need training, the right equipment and safe access. Leave those to us.
FAQs for St Ibbs
Will you come out to St Ibbs?
Yes, smaller places are covered as well as towns. Photos of the system and directions to the site help us plan the visit.
Can school kitchens in St Ibbs be cleaned in the holidays?
Yes. The holidays are the usual time for school work. Food Standards Agency records list about 6 schools, colleges and universities with registered kitchens within about a mile and a half of St Ibbs. You can call 0345 646 2711 or email us with the dates the site is empty.
Are you accredited?
BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite membership, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, plus CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001. We’ve been trading since 2009 and we’re fully insured.
Can you quote from pictures?
In many cases, yes. Photos of the system and the access, plus your opening hours and last report, are often enough. Where we can’t see enough, we arrange a survey.
At what point does grease need cleaning?
Under TR19® Grease, the mean thickness should not exceed 200 microns between cleans. Any reading of 500 microns or more needs immediate spot cleaning.
Can we book visits on a schedule?
Yes. Regular plans can run on 3, 6 or 12-monthly cycles, depending on what the system needs.
What’s TR19?
TR19® is the BESA specification for keeping ventilation systems clean. Since 2019, TR19® Grease has been a standalone specification for grease in kitchen extract systems, and TR19® Air covers general supply and extract systems.
How often should grease be tested?
Often enough to know the mean stays under 200 microns between cleans. If readings rise, the interval should shorten.
What affects the cost of TR19 inspection
The survey tells us what the work involves. We look at:
- Working hours and out-of-hours timing
- One-off work versus a regular cycle
- The condition of the system
- Access, including roofs, risers and ceiling voids
One small site or a whole estate, we price it on the same basis: what needs doing, how we get to it and when. You’ll have a fixed price before we start.
What we need to know
Many jobs can be priced from photos and some basics. Useful things to send:
- The times we could work without disrupting the site
- Your last certificate, test record or report
- Where the plant sits or the system leaves the building, such as a roof or outside wall
- The postcode and the type of business
To get a fixed quote, give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or email us with the site type, your trading hours and a short description of the system. Photos and the last report, if you have one, make the quote quicker. We normally come back within one working day.