The 90-day rule, read carefully
City of Houston Code §47-512(b) is shorter than its enforcement. A close reading of the waiver clause that almost nobody files.
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Journal
A field shop's notebook on Houston commercial kitchen ventilation. Code changes, mistakes that cost a permit, and the long argument with belt-driven exhaust fans.
NFPA-96 (2025) — what actually changes for the line cook
Solid-fuel monthly cleaning, electronic record retention, vertical-run access panels. Three operator-side consequences.
Why your dining room is freezing
Makeup-air calculations, in plain language. Negative pressure at the hood is a feature; negative pressure at the front door is a problem.
Five hood-cert mistakes that cost a permit
Capture-and-containment isn't a sticker; it's a smoke pencil at the corner of the hood. The five things inspectors actually look at.
What this is for
The journal is where we write down what does not fit in the operator portal. Code interpretations that took us a while to work out. Mistakes we have seen on other shops' work. Long arguments we have had internally and want to settle in writing. The writing is in the same voice we'd use in a kitchen at 9 a.m. — first-person plural for the practice, specific where we can be, no marketing voice.
The cadence is one piece a month, on the second Wednesday. We send a small mailing list when a piece publishes. If you'd like to be on it, write dispatch@updraft-mech.example. We do not share the list and we do not send anything else.