From a distance, two kitchen canopy can look almost identical: a stainless steel box over the cookline with filters along the front. Six months into a busy service, the difference is obvious. One stays clean, quiet and drip-free. The other leaks grease down the back wall, rattles, and has filters nobody can get out to clean.
That difference comes down to fabrication. At East London Metal Engineering Ltd, we fabricate stainless steel canopies in our Forest Gate workshop for restaurants, takeaways, cafés and commercial kitchens across London. This guide covers what good commercial canopy fabrication looks like, so you know what to ask for and what to check.
It starts with the cookline, not the canopy
A canopy is sized around the equipment underneath it. Before any steel is cut, a good fabricator lists every appliance: what it is, whether it runs on gas or electric, how hot it gets, and where it sits.
Under DW/172, the industry specification for kitchen ventilation, a canopy over gas appliances generally needs a 300mm overhang beyond the front and open sides of the cookline. Too small, and smoke and grease escape past the edges. Too big, and you pay for steel and extraction you don’t need.
A real-world example: a Turkish grill restaurant in Green Street adds a charcoal grill at the end of an existing line. The old canopy stops level with the fryer. Smoke now rolls straight out of the open end into the dining room. Extending the canopy by just a few hundred millimetres, with the right overhang, fixes a problem that more fan power never would.
The steel: grade and thickness matter
Most commercial canopies are made from 304-grade stainless steel. It resists heat, grease and cleaning chemicals, and it stays hygienic. Grade 316 costs more and is used where corrosion risk is higher, for example in kitchens near the coast or ones using aggressive cleaning products.
Thickness matters too. Typical canopies use stainless around 1mm to 1.2mm, braced so the panels don’t flex or “drum”. Thin, unbraced sheet bends when it’s cleaned and vibrates when the fan runs. That rattle in a busy kitchen usually traces back to the fabrication.
Seams and joints: where grease escapes
Grease is a liquid when it’s hot. Any gap in the canopy is a route for it to drip onto equipment, food or the wall behind.
A well-fabricated canopy has:
- Welded or properly sealed joints, so grease can’t seep through seams.
- A perimeter gutter (condensate channel) that collects grease and condensation before it drips.
- Removable grease trays or drain points so the gutter can be emptied.
- Smooth, cleanable internal surfaces with no hidden ledges where grease builds up and becomes a fire risk.
If you can see daylight through a corner joint, or the inside has rough lips and folds, that canopy will be hard to keep clean and safe.
Filters: the part your staff handle every week
Baffle filters, made from stainless steel and fitted at an angle, are the standard for commercial kitchens. They force the air to change direction, so grease drops out and drains to the gutter.
What to check:
- Filters slide out easily without tools, so staff will actually clean them.
- They’re a size that fits in your dishwasher or sink.
- They sit at the right angle and drain into the trough, not onto the cookline.
A real-world example: a busy Dalston café has filters jammed in a canopy frame that’s slightly out of square. Staff stop removing them because it takes two people and a screwdriver. Within months, grease builds up behind them, and the insurer flags it at the next inspection. A canopy built square, with filters that lift out in seconds, prevents that.
Built to fit a real London kitchen
London kitchens are rarely simple boxes. They’re in basements, under railway arches, in converted shops and in Victorian buildings with low ceilings, beams and pipes.
Bespoke fabrication solves problems that off-the-shelf canopies can’t:
- Low ceilings: a tapered or slimline front keeps the required height above the cookline.
- Beams and pipework: the canopy can be notched or shaped around them.
- Tight access: large canopies can be made in sections and bolted together on site, so they fit down a narrow staircase.
- Island cooklines: four-sided canopies are made to hang over a central range.
We survey the kitchen first, measure ceiling heights and obstructions, and produce drawings before fabrication. The canopy arrives ready to fit, not ready to be “adjusted” with an angle grinder on site.
What else a complete canopy system needs
The canopy is only one part of the system. A safe commercial kitchen also needs:
- Ductwork with access panels for cleaning.
- A suitably sized extract fan.
- Make-up air, so the kitchen isn’t starved of replacement air.
- A gas interlock, so gas appliances can’t run without the extraction running.
- Fire suppression, which many insurers expect over high-risk equipment like fryers and grills.
- Regular deep cleaning of the canopy and ducts.
For a full overview of regulations, system types and costs, read our complete guide to commercial canopy systems.
Commercial canopy fabrication with East London Metal Engineering Ltd
We design, fabricate and install stainless steel canopies and extraction systems for commercial kitchens across London. Our process:
- Site survey: we measure the kitchen and list every appliance on the cookline.
- Design: we produce drawings with the correct size, overhang and fixing details.
- Fabrication: we build in stainless steel in our workshop, with sealed joints, grease gutters and baffle filters.
- Installation: we hang and fix the canopy, and coordinate with ductwork, fans and gas interlock.
Opening a new kitchen or upgrading an old canopy? Send us your kitchen layout and appliance list. Call 079 5167 3924 or 020 3976 9705, email info@eastlondonmetal.com, or request a free quote online.