Commercial kitchen ventilation should be planned with the cooking equipment, building layout, fire protection, permits, and construction sequence from the beginning. It is not simply a matter of choosing a restaurant exhaust hood after the kitchen layout is complete. The system can affect ceiling space, duct routes, roof penetrations, fire separations, inspection timing, comfort, and the cost and scope of a restaurant build-out.
This guide explains the main components to discuss before requesting a quote. It also separates general construction coordination from project-specific engineering and code decisions, which must be confirmed by qualified professionals and the authorities having jurisdiction.
Quick summary
- Start with the equipment schedule and cooking processes, not the hood alone.
- Resolve the hood, grease duct route, exterior discharge, make-up air, and fire protection early.
- Expect Ontario Building Code, Fire Code, NFPA 96, and food-premises considerations to affect the project.
- Prepare the address, existing drawings, lease criteria, ceiling and roof information, target opening date, and proposed equipment before requesting a quote.
- Ask who is responsible for design, permits, trade coordination, inspections, testing, and ongoing maintenance.
What commercial kitchen ventilation includes
Commercial kitchen ventilation is a coordinated system rather than one appliance. Depending on the cooking equipment, cooking process, occupancy, and building configuration, it may include an exhaust hood or other primary collection device, grease filtration, a grease duct, an outdoor discharge route, make-up air, fire protection, and related mechanical and electrical work.
Ontario evidence describes commercial cooking exhaust systems as including a hood or primary collection device, grease filtration or extraction, and a duct that leads as directly as possible outdoors and remains independent of other ventilation systems unless otherwise approved. The applicable requirements depend on the project, so this general description is not a substitute for a project-specific review. Ontario’s Fire Code regulation provides the relevant framework.
Food-premises requirements also address ongoing ventilation performance. The system must be maintained so odours, fumes, vapours, smoke, and excessive heat are controlled. This makes access for cleaning, inspection, and maintenance an operational planning issue as well as a construction issue. Ontario’s food-premises regulation sets out this maintenance expectation.
Commercial kitchen ventilation components and the decisions they affect
| Component | Purpose | Project decision it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Exhaust hood | Captures cooking vapours, smoke, heat, and grease-laden air where applicable. | Equipment layout, ceiling coordination, clearances, and visible design. |
| Grease filters | Reduce grease entering the duct system. | Filter access, cleaning arrangements, and maintenance space. |
| Grease duct | Moves captured exhaust toward the exterior. | Route, enclosure requirements, structural conflicts, fire separations, and roof work. |
| Make-up air | Replaces air removed by exhaust and helps manage building pressure. | Mechanical capacity, comfort, doors, ceiling space, energy use, and equipment placement. |
| Fire protection | Addresses fire risk associated with commercial cooking operations. | Equipment coordination, inspection sequencing, access, and concealed-work approvals. |
| Controls and services | Connects ventilation equipment with electrical, mechanical, and safety systems. | Power, controls, service access, commissioning, and handover documents. |
Exhaust hood and grease filtration
The commercial kitchen hood is the visible collection point, but its selection and placement depend on what the kitchen actually does. A menu involving grease-producing cooking, high heat, smoke, vapours, or different equipment types may create different design and protection requirements than a preparation area with limited cooking.
Before discussing a hood, identify every appliance and its intended use. Include cooking temperatures and processes where known, because a late change from one equipment type to another can affect the hood arrangement, exhaust needs, fire protection, make-up air, and duct path.
Grease filtration is equally important. Confirm how filters will be accessed, removed, cleaned, and replaced without disrupting the kitchen. A visually clean installation that leaves no practical maintenance access can create operational problems later.
Grease duct routing and exterior discharge
The duct route is often the decision that creates the greatest knock-on effect. It may need to travel through a ceiling, service space, shaft, roof, or exterior wall before discharging outdoors. The route must be checked against structure, existing services, landlord restrictions, neighbouring spaces, and fire-rated assemblies.
Ontario evidence describes the commercial cooking duct as leading as directly as possible to the outside and remaining independent from other ventilation systems unless otherwise approved. Where the duct crosses a required fire separation, the applicable treatment depends on the building configuration and code provisions. Confirming the route before ceilings are closed helps avoid concealed rework.
For a broader view of sequencing, permits, and trade responsibilities, review how commercial build-out contractors coordinate hood and duct work with inspections and turnover.
Make-up air and building coordination
Exhaust removes air from the building. Make-up air replaces some or all of that air and helps prevent excessive negative pressure. If this relationship is not addressed, the project may experience uncomfortable drafts, difficult doors, odour migration, unstable exhaust performance, or conflicts with other mechanical systems.
Make-up air can also affect ceiling layouts, equipment locations, controls, energy use, and staff and guest comfort. Required design values and equipment selections cannot be determined responsibly from a generic article. A qualified mechanical professional should assess the kitchen, building, climate, equipment, and applicable requirements.
Fire protection, NFPA 96, and fire separations
Ontario’s Fire Code evidence requires cooking operations that produce smoke or grease-laden vapours to have an exhaust system and fire protection system in accordance with NFPA 96, subject to stated exceptions. Ontario Building Code evidence also addresses ventilation systems for commercial cooking equipment and their conformity with NFPA 96, subject to applicable provisions. See the Ontario Fire Code provision and the Ontario Building Code provision when confirming current project requirements.
Fire separation is a particular coordination risk. A commercial cooking duct that penetrates a required fire separation may need a specific enclosure, service-space treatment, or other approved solution. The details depend on the building and applicable code, so the route and assembly should be reviewed before the duct is concealed. Identify inspection hold points before closing walls, shafts, ceilings, or rated enclosures.
Food-premises ventilation and maintenance considerations
Ventilation planning continues after construction. Filters, hoods, ducts, fans, and related components need suitable access for inspection and cleaning. Grease accumulation, excessive dust, odours, or heat can affect both fire safety and food-premises operation.
Before approving the layout, ask where maintenance personnel will work, how filters will be removed, how access panels will be reached, and whether service tasks require closing the kitchen. The Ontario Food Premises Reference Document identifies grease build-up and ventilation condition as relevant health and fire-safety considerations.
How ventilation changes the restaurant build-out
Ventilation decisions can change the position of cooking equipment, walls, ceilings, bulkheads, lighting, plumbing, electrical services, and finishes. They may also require structural review for openings, roof or exterior work, and coordination with landlord or base-building systems.
Treat ventilation as an early restaurant build-out milestone. The sequence may include confirming equipment, coordinating the hood and duct route, reviewing fire-rated assemblies, completing rough-ins, arranging inspections before concealment, installing finishes, and documenting turnover requirements.
Late equipment changes are a common source of risk. A new fryer, oven, cooking process, or hood location can affect the duct, fire protection, make-up air, electrical load, ceiling design, and inspection documentation. Put equipment assumptions, exclusions, allowances, and change procedures in writing before construction begins.
Ontario commercial kitchen ventilation compliance checklist
Use this as a planning checklist, not as an approval or engineering opinion:
- Confirm which version of Ontario’s Building Code framework applies. The province’s supplied guidance identifies the 2024 Building Code Compendium, with January 16, 2025 shown as the most recent version in that evidence. Check for updates before relying on it. Review Ontario’s Building Code information.
- Document the complete cooking equipment schedule and intended processes.
- Confirm whether the proposed operation produces smoke or grease-laden vapours and what exhaust and fire-protection arrangements apply.
- Resolve the hood, filtration, grease duct, outdoor discharge, and make-up air strategy with qualified design input.
- Review every duct penetration through a required fire separation before concealment.
- Identify inspection, testing, access, cleaning, and maintenance requirements.
- Coordinate the work with the landlord, base-building systems, structure, electrical service, plumbing, finishes, and opening sequence.
- Have qualified professionals and the applicable authorities review the design and construction approach.
What to prepare before requesting a ventilation or build-out quote
Prepare the site address, lease or landlord criteria, existing drawings, photos, ceiling heights, roof or exterior conditions, known utility locations, and restrictions on access or working hours.
Also provide the proposed kitchen layout, equipment schedule, cooking processes, menu information where relevant, desired finishes, target opening date, phasing needs, and known permit or inspection requirements. These inputs do not guarantee a price or schedule, but they reduce uncertainty and help identify exclusions, allowances, design dependencies, and long-lead decisions.
For a useful discussion of scope, allowances, and pricing information, see what a commercial renovation quote should include in Ontario.
Questions to ask the design and construction team
- Who is responsible for mechanical and fire-protection design, and which items are included in the construction quote?
- Who confirms the applicable Building Code, Fire Code, NFPA 96, and food-premises requirements?
- Where will the hood, grease duct, make-up air equipment, controls, and outdoor discharge be located?
- How will the duct route interact with structure, existing services, ceilings, shafts, roof areas, and required fire separations?
- Which inspections or approvals must occur before walls, ceilings, or rated assemblies are closed?
- How will equipment substitutions or menu-driven changes be reviewed and documented?
- What cleaning access, service access, testing, documentation, and maintenance responsibilities are included at turnover?
- Which landlord, municipal, fire, health, or other authority requirements remain the owner’s responsibility?
Where a general contractor fits into the ventilation plan
A general contractor turns the approved scope into a coordinated construction sequence. Deeroi Constructions provides commercial build-outs and restaurant renovations across the GTA and Ontario, with a documented process covering pricing, planning, trade coordination, hood and duct coordination, restaurant-specific milestones, and turnover.
That coordination role is different from claiming to engineer, certify, or approve a ventilation system. Project-specific design, calculations, inspections, and approvals should come from the appropriate qualified professionals and authorities. Deeroi’s commercial work includes coordinating defined ventilation work with the wider restaurant interior, including millwork, lighting, counters, finishes, and access requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Does every commercial kitchen in Ontario need an exhaust hood?
Not necessarily in exactly the same form. The answer depends on the cooking equipment, processes, smoke and grease production, occupancy, building conditions, and applicable approvals. Cooking operations that produce smoke or grease-laden vapours have specific exhaust and fire-protection considerations, so obtain a project-specific review rather than relying on a universal rule.
What does make-up air do in a commercial kitchen?
Make-up air replaces air removed by exhaust and helps manage pressure and comfort. Its design affects doors, odours, drafts, energy use, ceiling coordination, and mechanical equipment. A qualified mechanical professional must determine the appropriate design for the specific kitchen and building.
Why does a commercial kitchen grease duct need special fire-separation treatment?
Grease ducts can carry hot, grease-laden exhaust through the building. Where they cross required fire separations, Ontario code provisions address how the penetration or enclosure must be treated. The correct solution depends on the building configuration and should be confirmed before the duct is concealed.
Who confirms whether a restaurant ventilation design meets Ontario requirements?
The responsible qualified design professionals and applicable authorities having jurisdiction confirm project-specific requirements and approvals. A general contractor can coordinate construction scope, trades, access, sequencing, and documentation, but a planning article cannot certify a design or guarantee approval.
Conclusion: plan ventilation before the quote is finalized
Start with the cooking equipment and processes. From there, resolve the hood and grease duct route, outdoor discharge, make-up air, fire protection, fire-separation treatment, maintenance access, and inspection sequence before the layout and quote are treated as final.
Give the project team complete site information, existing drawings, landlord criteria, equipment assumptions, ceiling and roof conditions, and opening targets. Then ask qualified professionals to confirm the design and applicable Ontario requirements while the contractor coordinates the approved work with the rest of the build-out.
For restaurant build-outs and commercial renovation planning across the GTA and Ontario, contact Deeroi Constructions with the address, scope, and deadline so the team can assess the construction path.