Case study
Hitchcox Cider Farm, Chalgrove: a chevron tap room floor and a complete hygienic kitchen
Hitchcox Cider is an award-winning cider farm in Chalgrove that brews its own cider and lager. We laid a Gerflor vinyl floor in a chevron pattern in their tap room and restaurant area, then gave them a complete, usable kitchen: a Gerflor R11 anti-slip floor coved 100mm up the walls, 100% PVC wall cladding, a clad ceiling, stainless steel behind the cookers and every joint hot-welded.
- Client
- Hitchcox Cider Farm, Chalgrove (hitchcoxcider.co.uk)
- Areas
- Tap room, restaurant area and full kitchen
- Tap room and restaurant floor
- Gerflor vinyl floor laid in a chevron pattern
- Kitchen floor
- Gerflor R11 anti-slip vinyl safety floor, coved 100mm up the walls
- Kitchen walls
- 100% PVC hygienic cladding
- Kitchen ceiling
- Tongue-and-groove cladding boards
- Behind the cookers
- Fully stainless steel sheets, 2.5mm thick, supplied and fitted
- Finish
- Anti-mould mastic all the way round the edges, every joint hot-welded
The kitchen
A kitchen built to be cleaned
The farm needed a full kitchen they could use and keep spotless, so we did the whole room: floor, walls and ceiling. The floor is a Gerflor R11 anti-slip vinyl safety floor, coved 100mm up the walls so there is no join at floor level for water or dirt to get into.
The walls are clad in 100% PVC hygienic cladding and the ceiling in tongue-and-groove cladding boards. Every joint is hot-welded, and we ran anti-mould mastic all the way round the outside edges. The result is a complete, usable kitchen with smooth, wipe-clean surfaces from floor to ceiling.
This is the kitchen featured on Hitchcox Cider's own website. See the kitchen on their website →
What went into the kitchen
Every surface chosen for the job it has to do.
- 1
R11 anti-slip floor
A Gerflor vinyl safety floor with an R11 slip rating, so the kitchen stays safe underfoot when it is wet or greasy.
- 2
Coved 100mm up the walls
The floor turns up the walls by 100mm, so there is no gap at the edge to trap dirt and it is easy to mop right to the wall.
- 3
PVC wall cladding
100% PVC hygienic cladding on the walls: smooth, non-absorbent and fully wipeable, with no grout to clean.
- 4
Clad ceiling
Tongue-and-groove cladding boards on the ceiling, so the whole room has the same wipe-clean finish.
- 5
Stainless steel behind the cookers
Fully stainless steel sheets, 2.5mm thick, bonded under the cooker hood and behind the cookers, where PVC is not suitable.
- 6
Welded and sealed
All the joints are hot-welded, and anti-mould mastic runs all the way round the outside edges to finish.
Walls and ceiling
Cladding from the floor to the ceiling
A kitchen is only as hygienic as its worst surface, so we carried the cladding right across the ceiling as well as the walls. Smooth, fully wipeable and fully cleanable surfaces are what a food kitchen needs, and there is no flaking paint or tile grout to worry about.
Want to know more about hygienic cladding? See our Altro Whiterock and hygienic cladding page.
Stainless steel
The right material for each part of the kitchen
PVC is not the answer everywhere. Under the cooker hood and behind the cookers we supplied and fitted fully stainless steel sheets, 2.5mm thick, stuck to the wall where PVC will not suit this type of area.
Choosing the right material for each part of the room is part of the job, and we will talk it through with you at the free survey.
The tap room and restaurant
Out front, we laid a Gerflor vinyl floor in a chevron pattern across the tap room and restaurant area, giving the customers' side of the farm a warm, wood-look floor that stands up to busy service.
Thank you to the team at Hitchcox Cider for letting us feature the job. Visit their website →