Essex · TR19 inspections and grease testing
TR19 inspections and grease testing in Upshire, Essex
TR19 inspections and grease testing for businesses, landlords and public buildings in Upshire. CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and fully insured.
- Insurance renewals needing proof of TR19 cleaning
- Surveys needed before quoting a full clean
- Systems cleaned on a calendar with no measurements
Upshire: your questions answered
Is Upshire within the area you cover?
Yes, we work in villages as well as towns, and Upshire is covered. Photos of the system and directions to the site help us plan the visit.
Who is the fire and rescue service for Upshire?
Fire safety enforcement in Upshire is handled by Essex County Fire and Rescue Service. If a fire safety officer visits a commercial kitchen, they may ask about the fire risk assessment and how the extract is kept clean.
How often should grease be tested?
We suggest a next test date in every report, based on the readings and how the kitchen is used. A risk assessment based on measured grease should set the interval.
What grease levels does TR19 allow?
TR19® Grease says grease should not go over a mean of 200 microns between cleans. Any reading of 500 microns or more needs immediate spot cleaning.
How long does grease testing take?
An inspection takes a morning or less for one kitchen, more where there are several systems. Large or multiple systems take longer, so call us on 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line and we will plan it.
Can you price the work without visiting?
In many cases, yes. With good photos, the site type and your last report, we can price many jobs. Larger or hidden systems need a survey on site first.
Can you set up regular visits?
Yes. Regular plans can run on 3, 6 or 12-monthly cycles, to suit the system and how it’s used.
What is a WFTT or DTT grease test?
Readings are taken using the Wet Film Thickness Test or the Deposit Thickness Test, and set against the TR19® Grease figures.
TR19 inspection for kitchens and businesses in Upshire
A pre-clean survey looks at the whole system, from canopy to discharge. We check where the access panels are and whether every section can be reached, and grease readings are taken at set points. If you’re dealing with sites with gaps in their extract records and insurers asking for TR19 evidence, we can help.
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.
The paperwork matters as much as the work. You get a written report with photos after each 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 ready for an insurer, fire officer or EHO.
- Place
- Upshire (EN9)
- Wider area
- Essex
- Paperwork
- TR19® certificate and photo report
- Quote
- A fixed price before we start
- Working hours
- After hours by arrangement; emergencies any time
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Updated
- 30 October 2026
TR19 inspection in Upshire: the local picture
Look up Upshire on the FSA’s food hygiene register and you will find about 7 cafés, restaurants and staff canteens within about 1.5 miles of central Upshire. For any of them with a canopy, measuring grease is better than guessing when to clean. Food hygiene inspections in Upshire are the job of Epping Forest council’s environmental health team. The cleanliness of the kitchen and its equipment, extraction included, is part of what they check. Keeping each certificate and photo report on file helps show the extract is looked after. Fire safety in Upshire falls to 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.
Older buildings often hide long, awkward duct runs, and if you run a kitchen at a historic venue in the area (Hill Hall is about 4.7 miles east), access may need planning. Kitchens that cook twelve hours or more a day, as some healthcare kitchens do, fall into BESA’s three-monthly minimum; St. Margaret's Hospital is the nearest hospital to Upshire, about 3.5 miles east.
Upshire is about 2 miles east of Waltham Abbey, in Essex. From the centre of Upshire to the outskirts, we cover TR19 inspection for every kind of premises, from small sites to large estates. Our area takes in 644 places across Essex, from busy centres to quieter spots. For sites nearby, see our London page, about 15 miles away.
All of EN9 is within our area for TR19 inspection, from busy streets to back roads. If your site is just outside Upshire, we cover Waltham Abbey (2 miles west), High Beech (2 miles south), Debden Green (2 miles south-east), Theydon Bois (3 miles south-east) and Sewardstone (3 miles south-west). Further out, we also cover Harlow (6 miles north-east), Brentwood (12 miles east), Loughton (3 miles south), Epping (3 miles east), Harold Wood (10 miles south-east) and Buckhurst Hill (4 miles south).
Local landmarks in Upshire
Around Upshire, our work takes us to kitchens and buildings near King Harold Business & Enterprise Academy and The Woodbine pub and the streets around them. The closest station to Upshire is Cheshunt station, about 3.1 miles west. Other landmarks nearby include St. Margaret's Hospital (3.5 miles east) and Epping Signalling Museum (2.9 miles east). Open spaces near Upshire include Home Mead and Lippitts Hill.
Nearby places to Upshire
Other services in Upshire
How we price TR19 inspection
Before we fix a price, we need to know a few things. We check:
- Working hours and out-of-hours timing
- Whether we need access equipment or extra panels
- Any permits to work or inductions
- The size of the system
The cost depends on how big the system is, the condition it’s in and access to every part of it. We give you a fixed price before work begins, so there are no surprises.
What to send for a quote
You do not need the technical terms. Just send:
- The paperwork from the last visit, if you have it
- Any access panels or hatches you can see
- The postcode and the type of business
- Problems your staff have spotted
Photos are enough for some jobs, while others need a look on site. Larger sites, and anything hidden behind walls, ceilings or floors, are normally surveyed first. Either way, you get a fixed price before work begins.
Common problems we fix in Upshire
TR19® is the benchmark that insurers, fire officers and EHOs refer to. It is not legislation; the legal duty comes from the Fire Safety Order 2005, under which the responsible person must reduce fire risk, and grease in the extract is part of that risk.
Common reasons sites call us include:
- Cleaning intervals that may not suit the kitchen
- Systems that need surveying before cleaning
- Insurers asking for TR19 evidence
- Heavy grease suspected in the plenum or ducts
Church and community hall kitchens, near Church of St Thomas or anywhere around Upshire, are easy to forget, but their extracts collect grease like any other.
Questions to ask before booking
- Exactly which parts of the system are covered
- Whether a survey comes first
- What hours they’ll be on site
- When the next visit should be, and why
What happens on the day
Your trading hours come first. We book the visit for a time the area is closed, whether that’s an evening, overnight or a weekend. Once we are in, the area is sheeted and anything that has to be off is turned off and cooled, and the work takes an hour or two for a single kitchen, longer for a large or complex system. We agree a date with you, plan the drive to Upshire and turn up when the site is quiet.
- We go through any past certificates and reports.
- We follow the extract from canopy to discharge.
- We note where access panels are and where more are needed.
- Grease readings are taken and photos recorded.
- We report back with readings and a fixed quote.
Preparing for the visit
- Tell us about access, such as roof hatches, plant rooms, ceilings or locked areas
- Make sure equipment near the work can be switched off and left to cool
- Name a contact who can let us in at the agreed time
Getting a quote
Here’s what helps us quote: where the site is, what it is and its opening hours, photos of the system and any previous report or certificate. Then call 0345 646 2711 or drop us a line.
Read more
What your team can do, and what needs us
For ventilation and air handling systems, in-house care is mostly about checks: keeping grilles clear, noting unusual noise or smells and logging filter changes. Cleaning inside ducts and units is specialist work.
Your own staff can handle the daily basics: wiping canopies, washing grease filters and recording it in a log. What they can’t safely do is clean inside the ductwork, the fan or the risers, which is where we come in.
Part by part
Canopy and plenum
Clean-looking filters don’t mean a clean plenum. That is why we test behind them.
Restaurants, pubs and hotels
A kitchen running from breakfast to late service builds grease quickly. Readings show if the cleans are frequent enough.
When it’s something else
In fairness, there are a few things this work won’t fix:
- The grease itself, which needs a full or spot clean
- Parts of the duct nobody can reach yet
- Installation problems, which fall under design guidance such as DW172
If in doubt, give us a ring on 0345 646 2711, or send details by email and we will say what we think.
What we work on in Upshire
- Wet film thickness tests
- Access surveys
- Pre-clean surveys
- Post-clean checks
- Insurer audits
- Deposit thickness tests
Managing agents and facilities teams in Upshire
Facilities teams in offices, schools and healthcare sites book us too in Upshire and across Essex. Larger estates can be phased building by building around the people who use them.
Records are where multi-site compliance often slips. Each visit ends with a dated report and pictures, so you can show an insurer or inspector what was done at each site.