Set equipment boundaries for a restaurant strip-out

A restaurant strip-out involves more than cabinets and floor finishes. Start with an equipment inventory and identify what the operator, landlord or equipment supplier intends to keep. Give each item a destination and an authorised contact before asking a crew to remove it.

The inventory should distinguish loose contents from fixed equipment and from building systems. Do not assume that a hood, pipe, refrigeration connection or fire-protection component belongs in a general removal allowance. Ask the responsible specialists to define the boundaries.

Record who will isolate or disconnect each relevant service and how completion will be communicated. An empty restaurant can still have active services. Keep unresolved equipment outside the released demolition area until the responsible party confirms the next step.

Describe the access route for large items and any retained doorway, counter or floor in that route. If dismantling for reuse is requested, make that a separate discussion. A disposal scope does not establish that equipment can be recovered in working condition.

Agree whether removal stops at the equipment, its supports, surrounding finishes or a specific substrate. Assign openings, capped connections, surface repairs and replacement installation to the relevant trades. The handover should identify what remains and why.

CoreCut’s existing commercial strip-out scope includes restaurant fit-outs. This checklist prepares the removal brief; it does not offer specialist equipment decommissioning or certify the space for a new operation.

Use one entry per item or work area. Add the drawing or photograph reference, record unknowns explicitly and name the person who will resolve them. Keep the completed record with the agreed scope; the blank fields below are a discussion aid.

Request an estimate with the location, the proposed removals and what must stay. Mention the unresolved items in this record so they can be discussed before the scope is agreed.