Step 1: decide whether you need a cold room
The usual trigger is running out of fridge space. Once a business runs more than three or four upright commercial fridges, a walk-in cold room normally costs less per litre of storage, uses less electricity per litre, is easier to stock-rotate and clean, and gives you one unit to maintain instead of four. If you are at two uprights and growing, plan the room now and buy it when the next fridge would be needed.
Step 2: work out what you store
Write down what goes in the room, how much at your busiest point, how often deliveries arrive, and what temperature each product needs. Chilled food is held at 0 to +4 °C, frozen at -18 to -22 °C, produce at +6 to +12 °C, meat and fish at 0 to +2 °C. If you store chilled and frozen, you need two rooms or one room with two sections. Add room to grow: a cold room lasts ten to fifteen years and your business will not stay the same size.
Step 3: choose where it goes
The best position is near the delivery door and the kitchen or shop floor, on a level, sealed floor, with an electrical supply nearby and a spot outside, on a flat roof or in a plant area for the condensing unit. Measure the route in as well as the room: panels, the door frame and the refrigeration unit all have to get there, through doors and up or down stairs. Check who owns the building and whether the landlord needs to agree, whether the building is listed, and whether neighbours would hear a condenser. A room inside your premises does not normally need planning permission; an external unit might.
Step 4: specify the room
A specification covers the internal size and height, panel thickness and finish, the floor (existing, insulated or reinforced), the door type and size, the refrigeration unit (monoblock or split, and its capacity), the controller and any monitoring, lighting, shelving, strip curtains and ramps. A good installer writes this for you from a survey; the useful thing you can do is be clear about Step 2. Our pages on cold rooms and freezer rooms describe each choice.
Step 5: compare quotations
Get the quotations itemised, then compare the same things: panel thickness, floor, door, the make and capacity of the refrigeration unit, electrical work, commissioning, warranty and what maintenance costs afterwards. A quote that is far cheaper than the rest has usually left something out, often the floor, the electrical connection or the commissioning. Ask who installs the room (the company's own engineers or subcontractors), whether the engineers are F-Gas certified, and who you call when it fails on a Saturday. Our cost guide explains what moves the price.
Step 6: order and lead times
Panels and refrigeration equipment are usually two to four weeks from order; made-to-measure doors, glass doors and large split systems can take longer. Agree the installation dates when you order, and if you are replacing an existing room, agree where the stock goes in the meantime.
Step 7: prepare the site
- Clear the space and the route in, including anything fixed to the walls or ceiling where the room will stand.
- Have the floor level and sealed, or agree who lays the insulated floor.
- Have an electrician provide the supply the installer specified (single or three-phase, isolator position), unless the installer is doing it.
- Agree the condenser position and the pipe route, and any penetrations through walls or roofs.
- Arrange access, parking and working hours, and tell the neighbours if drilling is involved.
Step 8: installation day
A standard chilled room goes up in one to three days; a freezer room with an insulated floor or a large room with a split system takes up to a week. The installers level and lay the floor panels, lock the wall and ceiling panels together, fit the door, mount the evaporator inside and the condensing unit outside, run and pressure-test the pipework, charge the refrigerant, wire the controller and lights, and then run the room down to temperature and hold it there as a test. Expect some noise and dust, and keep the area clear.
Step 9: handover
Handover should include a walk-through of the controller (set point, defrost, alarms), how to open the door from inside, what the warranty covers and for how long, the written commissioning record, the F-Gas record if the system needs one, and a maintenance schedule. Ask for the make and model of the refrigeration unit in writing; you will need it when you call for a repair. Our maintenance contracts start from handover.
Step 10: the first weeks
Load the room gradually and do not block the evaporator's airflow. Log the temperature daily, keep the door shut, and tell the installer about anything odd in the first fortnight: ice building up, water on the floor, a door that does not seal, a compressor that never stops. Most teething problems are small and quick to fix at that stage.
Ready to start? Request a free quote and we will arrange the survey that turns these steps into a specification and a price.