We were brought in to carry out ductwork modifications to the kitchen extract system at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC’s training ground. On paper, it looked like a fairly contained scope of work. In practice, it turned out to be one of those projects that really put your planning and persistence to the test, and we’re glad we stuck with it.
The existing setup had the kitchen extract ducted out through the side of the plant room, venting via a louvre wall. Over time, this had caused two very visible problems. Restricted access meant the ductwork couldn’t be cleaned properly, and grease and dirt had built up on the extract louvre on the side of the building, not exactly the image a professional football club wants to project. On top of that, the extracted air was finding its way back into other parts of the building, leaving lingering smells on clothing and throughout shared spaces. It was an ongoing hygiene and comfort issue that needed sorting properly.
Poor kitchen extract ventilation has a way of quietly causing problems long before anyone decides to do something about it. In a busy environment like a Premier League training ground, where food is being prepared for players and staff throughout the day, a properly functioning extract system isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s a necessity.
When ductwork can’t be cleaned regularly, grease and dirt build up fast. That’s both a hygiene issue and a fire risk. When extracted air isn’t directed properly away from the building, it recirculates, carrying odours into changing rooms, offices, and communal areas. Both were happening here, and both needed to be fixed.
Rather than trying to patch the existing setup, we modified the ductwork to vent vertically out through the roof, directing the extracted air away from the building’s air intake grilles altogether. That immediately solved the recirculation problem; extracted air now exits at height and disperses away from the building, rather than being drawn back inside.
The new ductwork was also fitted with access doors at the right points, so routine cleaning is now easy, and the grease build-up that caused so many problems before simply won’t be able to take hold again. We worked closely with our scaffold and roofing partner throughout, coordinating access, completing the modifications, and making sure the roof was properly sealed before we handed the site back. All done within a tight timeframe.
If the technical side of this project was fairly straightforward, the scheduling was anything but. Wolverhampton Wanderers’ training ground is a live, fast-moving site. The kitchen runs constantly, and any shutdown has to fit around the first team’s training schedule, which, as anyone who follows football will know, can change without much warning.
We needed a window of three to four days where the kitchen could be taken offline. That’s not easy to come by at a professional football club. Our first attempt had to be called off when training was scheduled at short notice, making a kitchen shutdown out of the question. A second attempt didn’t get much further; bad weather meant we couldn’t safely erect the scaffold, get onto the roof, or cut the penetrations we needed. We also had to source specialist roofing material to make sure everything would be fully sealed and weathertight once the modifications were done, which added another layer of organisation to an already complicated project.
In the end, it was the international break that gave us the window we’d been waiting for. The first team were away, the weather played ball, and we were able to get on site, complete everything, and hand it back cleanly and quickly. It was one of those moments where a bit of patience really paid off.
This project is a good reminder that the technical side of a job is often the easier part. Getting on site in the first place, working around operational demands, managing postponements, staying ready to mobilise at short notice, that’s where experience really counts.
Our team kept this project moving through two false starts, sourced the materials we needed, and delivered the full scope of work as soon as the right window came along. We never walked away from it, and the client never had to chase us. That’s just how we work.
If you’ve got a kitchen extract system that isn’t performing the way it should, grease build-up, recirculated air, poor access for cleaning, or anything else, we’re happy to take a look. We work across all sorts of commercial and industrial environments, and we’re well used to finding solutions that actually work, even when the site makes things complicated.
Give us a call, or drop us a message through our online enquiry form, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
.jpeg)
.png)
