Essex · TR19 inspections and grease testing
TR19 inspections in Surrex
TR19 inspections and grease testing for businesses, landlords and public buildings in Surrex. BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease.
- Systems that need surveying before cleaning
- Sections of duct that can’t be reached
- Checking the result of a recent clean
About our TR19 inspection in Surrex
If you’ve taken over a kitchen in Surrex and do not know when the extract was last cleaned, an inspection is the place to start. We survey the system, measure the grease and tell you what needs doing, before any cleaning is booked. If you have missing TR19 certificates or history and insurance renewals needing proof of TR19 cleaning, we can help, from insurer audits, post-clean checks and access surveys onwards.
In a small place like Surrex, kitchens are often in older or extended buildings, with long single-storey duct runs, where grease settles in the flat sections. We agree access and timings in advance.
Good records are part of the job. Each visit is written up with photos, 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.
- Location
- Surrex (CO6)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Reporting
- Certificate and photo report
- Price
- A fixed price before work begins
- When we work
- After hours by arrangement; emergencies any time
- Phone
- 0345 646 2711
- Last updated
- 30 October 2026
Staff cleaning versus specialist work
When your team notices a problem between visits, such as dripping grease, a noisy fan, a smell or a filter that will not come clean, they should report it rather than try to fix it. We will take a look and send you a fixed quote.
Logging matters as much as cleaning. A dated log of in-house cleaning and checks shows an inspector that the system is looked after between visits, next to our reports.
What affects the cost of TR19 inspection
The survey tells us what the work involves. The main factors are:
- Travel, parking and unloading
- Whether it’s a one-off visit or part of a schedule
- Any permits to work or inductions
- The condition we find in the survey
Leaving it longer rarely makes the work cheaper. Problems in a system tend to grow, and a neglected system can mean more work. If you’re unsure, phone us on 0345 646 2711, or email photos for straight advice and a fixed quote.
What to send for a quote
You do not need the technical terms. It helps if you can send:
- The site address and the type of premises
- Anything you’ve noticed, such as smells, noise, drips or poor airflow
- Wide pictures of the system and the area around it
- When the site is open and when it’s quiet
The quickest way to a quote is to send pictures: the system from a couple of angles, plus any access panels or hatches. Add the site type and your opening hours, and we can price many jobs without a visit.
What TR19 inspection looks like in Surrex
Food Standards Agency data counts about 6 cafés, restaurants and staff canteens and about 3 sandwich bars and takeaways in and around Surrex, up to about a mile and a half out. For any of them with a canopy, measuring grease is better than guessing when to clean. In Surrex, food businesses are inspected by environmental health officers from Braintree council. They look at how clean the premises and equipment are, and the kitchen extract is part of that. A TR19® certificate and photo report after each clean gives you a record to show an inspector. Surrex sits within the area of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service. Fire and rescue authorities enforce the Fire Safety Order in most non-domestic premises, and in a kitchen that fire risk includes the grease in the extract.
For schools such as Honywood Community Science School, kitchen extract cleaning is usually booked for the holidays, when the canteen is closed. Layer Marney Tower, about 5 miles south-east, is one of the historic houses near Surrex; if you run event catering at a venue like that, cleans can be booked between functions. Church and community hall kitchens, near St Peter ad Vincula or anywhere around Surrex, are easy to forget, but their extracts collect grease like any other.
Surrex is about 6 miles south-east of Halstead, in Essex. For TR19 inspection in and around Surrex, it’s easy to get a fixed quote: please call us on 0345 646 2711, or email photos. We work across South East England and London, including Surrex. Across Essex, we cover 644 places, Surrex among them. For sites nearby, see our Chelmsford page, about 14 miles away.
Work in CO6 follows the same survey, fixed quote and written report as everywhere else we cover. Whether your site is on Old Road and Colchester Road or a nearby road, we can help. Nearby, we also carry out TR19 inspection in Skye Green (1 mile south-east), Broad Green (1 mile east), Stocks Green (1 mile south), Little Tey (1 mile east) and Feering (2 miles south). Further out, we also cover Colchester (8 miles east), Chelmsford (14 miles south-west), Braintree (7 miles west), Maldon (10 miles south), Witham (6 miles south-west) and Camulodunum (7 miles east).
Local landmarks in Surrex
Locally, jobs take us to businesses close to The Queens Head pub. For rail, the closest station is Kelvedon station, about 2.3 miles south. Well-known places in the area include Laundry & Mangle Museum (1.8 miles west) and Birch Castle (5 miles south-east). For a walk, there’s Belcher's and Broadfield Woods.
What we do, step by step
We start by comparing what we find with the survey or your pictures. Anything unexpected is raised with you before we go further. After that, the work takes a morning or less for one kitchen, more where there are several systems. Seeing the system in pictures first means the trip to Surrex can be planned properly.
- We go through any past certificates and reports.
- We follow the extract from canopy to discharge.
- Access panels are located and any missing ones noted.
- We measure the grease and photograph each point.
- We report back with readings and a fixed quote.
How to prepare
- Agree a time when the area can be out of use
- Clear loose items from the work area
- Mention any sign-in, permit or induction we need
Getting a quote
For a fixed quote, call 0345 646 2711 or email us and tell us the type of site, your opening hours and roughly what the system looks like. A few pictures and your last certificate or report help a lot. We typically come back within one working day.
Related advice
Nearby places to Surrex
More services for Surrex
What TR19 inspection cannot fix
Before booking, it helps to know what’s not included:
- Parts of the duct nobody can reach yet
- The grease itself, which needs a full or spot clean
- Design faults in the extract system
If you’re not sure, just give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or email us and we’ll give you a straight answer.
What the work covers
- Deposit thickness tests
- Access surveys
- Post-clean checks
- Insurer audits
- Wet film thickness tests
- Pre-clean surveys
Part by part
Canopy and plenum
Filters can look fine while the plenum behind them is heavily coated. So we measure behind the filters, not just in front.
Schools, hospitals and care homes
We fit testing around service times and school holidays to avoid disruption.
Between visits
How long the results last depends on use and care. We suggest:
- Book the next test on the date in the report
- Clean grease off the canopy between professional cleans
- Keep access panels clear and unpainted
- Have the latest report ready for insurance renewals
For an insurer audit, send them the report as it is, with readings, photos and any areas not accessible.
Revisit the cleaning interval whenever the menu or hours change. Fresh readings show whether it needs to change.
Surrex: your questions answered
Do you work overnight in Surrex?
Yes, we can come after you close and finish before you open. That way a site in Surrex does not have to lose a day’s trading. When you ring 0345 646 2711 or send us an email, mention when the site is quiet.
Who would carry out a food hygiene inspection at a kitchen in Surrex?
Food hygiene inspections in Surrex are carried out by Braintree council. How often a business is inspected depends on the risk rating the council gives it, so it’s worth staying ready all year.
Is Surrex in your area?
Yes. We work across Greater London, Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex, Surrex included.
What does TR19 mean?
TR19® is BESA’s specification for ventilation hygiene. TR19® Grease, a standalone specification since 2019, covers grease in kitchen extract systems, and TR19® Air covers general supply and extract systems.
Which kinds of sites do you work on?
Restaurants and pubs, hotels, schools and colleges, hospitals and care homes, offices and retail, plus food production and leisure sites.
Can you inspect our extract for our insurance company?
Yes, anywhere in the area we cover. Tell us what your insurer has asked for and we’ll set the report out to match.
When should we have our next grease test?
We suggest a next test date in every report, based on the readings and how the kitchen is used. The interval should come from a competent person’s risk assessment backed by grease measurement.
Do we have to follow TR19 by law?
No, not in itself. The Fire Safety Order 2005 still requires the responsible person to manage fire risk, which in a kitchen includes grease in the extract. Many insurance policies also require TR19 adherence.
What happens if it’s left?
Surveying first means the clean goes to plan. Access problems are spotted in advance rather than on the night, so the clean covers the whole system. A planned visit to Surrex is easier to arrange than an emergency callout.
Several systems or sites on one quote can make for a more efficient booking. Tell us about everything you’d like looked at and we’ll price it together.
Why us?
- Fixed quotes, typically within one working day
- Accredited under CHAS and SafeContractor, with ISO 9001
- A written report with photos after every visit
- A single point of contact for sites across the South East and London
Take a look at what affects the cost or our accreditations and certificates.