Pantry and Cafeteria Fit-Out: Services Decide the Position

Find the stacks before drawing the plan

The usual process is backwards: the layout is designed, a pantry is placed where it suits the plan, and the services team is then asked to serve it.

The order that works is to establish where existing soil and waste stacks are, where extract can be routed, and where water and power can reasonably reach — and to place wet areas accordingly. Everything else on a floor is more flexible than drainage.

The four services, in order of constraint

Service	Why it constrains	Flexibility
Drainage	Gravity; needs fall to an existing stack	Very low
Extract	Must route through the building and discharge	Low
Water supply	Pressurised, routes reasonably freely	Moderate
Power	Concentrated load; needs a dedicated circuit	Moderate

Drainage is almost always the binding constraint. Floor build-up available for a fall is limited, and a long run either runs out of fall or needs pumping — which introduces equipment, noise, maintenance and something that can fail while nobody is watching.

Plumbing provisions sit in NBC 2016, Part 9, with ventilation in NBC 2016, Part 8 and ventilation rates commonly referenced to ASHRAE 62.1.

Name what you are actually building

	Tea point	Pantry	Cafeteria with cooking
Water and sink drainage	Yes	Yes	Yes, plus floor drainage
Refrigeration	Sometimes	Yes	Yes, larger
Extract	Minimal	Moderate	Substantial, with grease management
Power	Modest	Concentrated	Heavy, or gas
Back of house	None	Small	Preparation, storage, wash-up, waste
Fire considerations	Standard	Standard	Suppression and dampers likely

Briefs frequently say "pantry" and mean "cafeteria". The services difference is large, and it is better established at brief stage than during coordination.

What consumes the area

A cafeteria brief given as a seat count understates the space required. Also needed:

• Servery and queuing space, which backs up at peak
• Circulation between tables that people can actually pass through
• Back-of-house preparation and storage
• Wash-up and equipment space
• Waste storage and its removal route
• Sometimes a separate route for deliveries

And the sizing driver is peak usage, not headcount — a single lunch sitting needs far more seats than a staggered one, so the operating pattern belongs in the brief.

Construction details that matter

• Impervious, slip-resistant flooring, with coved junctions at walls in wet areas
• Falls to drainage designed into the screed wherever the floor is washed
• Waterproofing beneath wet areas, properly detailed at upstands
• Ventilation sized for the space's actual use, not the general office rate
• Acoustic treatment — hard, cleanable surfaces make these rooms loud, and a noisy cafeteria empties quickly
• Access to isolation valves, traps and equipment for maintenance

Standards referenced

Plumbing provisions, including water supply and drainage, in NBC 2016, Part 9; ventilation provisions in NBC 2016, Part 8; ventilation rates commonly referenced to ASHRAE 62.1; fire and life safety provisions in NBC 2016, Part 4. Drainage design, extract routing, ventilation rates and any fire requirements for a specific facility must be established by the project's consultants and the authority having jurisdiction.