Measure the exit before selling large kitchen equipment
- Topic
- Retail and catering
- Reading time
- 3 minutes
- Last reviewed
On this page
Measure the route from the equipment's installed position to the collection vehicle before describing a large kitchen lot as easy to remove. The narrowest doorway is only one restriction. Turns, steps, fixed counters and the space to manoeuvre can matter just as much.
This is a survey brief for a competent removal contractor. It is not a lifting plan or permission to dismantle building fabric.
Sketch the route in sequence
Draw the installed position, each doorway, corridor, turn, stair or change in level, and the proposed loading point. Give each restriction a reference such as D1 for a door or T1 for a turn.
Record the equipment dimensions in the configuration expected at collection. Include fixed handles, upstands, hoods, stands or projections. If a part may be removed, mark that as a contractor question rather than deduct it from the dimensions.
Use a measurement worksheet:
| Route point | Record | Unresolved question |
|---|---|---|
| Installed position | Space around machine and nearby fixed items | What must move first? |
| Door opening | Actual usable width and height | Are frames, closers or thresholds restrictive? |
| Turn or corridor | Width, turn shape and obstacles | Is there sufficient manoeuvring space? |
| Steps or floor changes | Position and construction information available | What handling assessment is required? |
| Lift, if proposed | Door and internal dimensions; rated limits from reliable records | Is this route authorised and suitable? |
| Loading point | Access, surface, traffic and vehicle restrictions | What arrangements and equipment are required? |
Use units and dates. Label approximate measurements and inaccessible areas honestly.
Compare the item with the complete route
Imagine a fictional sink unit that is narrower than the rear doorway but has a long return. It may still be unable to negotiate the corridor turn as one piece. A single door-width comparison would miss that problem.
The stainless kitchen furniture guide helps record returns, upstands and connected sections. A cold-room survey must consider panels and plant components separately, including which pieces the contractor expects to move.
Do not assume an appliance can leave by the route it originally entered. Refits can add walls, counters or door changes after installation.
Ask the contractor to resolve the uncertain points
Supply photographs with the sketch and worksheet. Ask whether a site visit is needed and what additional information would change the removal proposal.
Request the quoted scope for preparation, dismantling, movement, loading and making good. Identify any work involving electrical, gas, refrigeration or building systems as a separate competence question.
HSE's maintenance guidance supports planning non-routine work and using competent people. A collector's estimate from a single photo may not answer a difficult route question.
Make the collection instructions match the survey
Agree the vehicle access, working area and timing. Keep customers, staff and unrelated contractors out of the movement route as required by the assessed arrangements.
The site access survey guide covers the wider premises and collection boundary. HSE's loading guidance explains why safe loading areas and coordination matter.
Record who can authorise a stop if the actual route differs from the survey. Do not let the pressure of a waiting vehicle turn an unresolved obstacle into an improvised move.
Give UK Auction Group the route worksheet and contractor findings before final collection terms are agreed. Buyers can then price the real removal task and decide whether the equipment fits their project.
Sources
- HSE maintenance of work equipment Checked
- HSE loading guidance Checked
This guide gives general information. Equipment-specific, legal, tax and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser or competent specialist. The guides do not promise sale prices, fees or results.