Process & access
Cutting a hatch into your ductwork sounds drastic, but done to standard it is routine and safe - the panel is sized, sealed and fitted so the duct is as sound afterwards as before.
The short answer
Understandably, the idea of a cleaner cutting a hole in your ductwork can feel alarming - but a properly fitted access panel leaves the duct as structurally sound and as sealed as it was before, and gives you a way to keep the system clean for years. The safety is in the method: the right size, the right material, a proper seal and quick-release catches, following the DW144 ductwork standard. Cut and fitted to that standard, an access hatch is a routine, reversible improvement, not damage.
How a compliant hatch is made
A compliant access panel is made from the same material as the ductwork and sized to the duct without weakening its structure - TR19 guidance caps panel size at 460mm by 610mm, with the aperture kept free of sharp edges. It is fitted with insulation and seals so it is leak-free, and with quick-release catches so it can be opened again for every future clean without tools or fuss. Placed on the side of the duct where possible, at least ten millimetres above the base, it minimises any risk of grease weeping from the joint.
Where a side panel is not possible, the top of the duct is acceptable with due thought to reach; the underside is a genuine last resort, and only with a leak-free fit and a notice warning that oil may be released on opening. These placement rules are not fussiness - they are what stop a new panel becoming a grease leak. A well-made hatch seals as well as the original ductwork and simply gives access where there was none.
Where extra care is needed
The one place cutting a hatch needs real caution is fire-rated ductwork, where the duct is part of the building's fire protection. Cutting into it carelessly could compromise that protection, so a panel here must be a certified, fire-rated unit that maintains the duct's fire integrity, installed following the manufacturer's or a specialist fire adviser's guidance and with the client's prior agreement. This is a case where the right panel matters as much as the right method.
Good practice also governs the working period itself: only the minimum number of panels should be open at any one time, and all of them - along with any fire protection or cladding removed for access - must be properly refitted before the crew leaves. Done this way, cutting and sealing hatches is a controlled, standards-led part of the job that leaves your duct sound, sealed and, for the first time, cleanable along its whole length.
A hatch is how the whole run becomes cleanable
Cutting and sealing hatches is what turns a sealed, partly-reachable system into one that can be cleaned end to end and verified. Done to DW144, with fire-rated duct handled correctly, it is safe, tidy and permanent - and it is often the step that makes a genuinely compliant clean possible in the first place.
Questions
Yes, when done to the DW144 standard. A compliant panel is sized so it does not weaken the duct, sealed against leaks and fitted with quick-release catches, leaving the duct as sound and sealed as before.
TR19 guidance caps panel size at 460mm by 610mm, as large as the duct permits without weakening the structure. The aperture must be free of sharp edges and not obstructed.
On the side of the duct where possible, at least ten millimetres above the base to reduce grease leakage. The top is acceptable if needed, and the underside only as a last resort with a leak-free fit and a warning notice.
A panel in fire-rated duct must maintain its fire integrity. That means a certified fire-rated panel, installed to the manufacturer's or a fire specialist's guidance and with the client's agreement.
Not if it is fitted correctly - same material as the duct, sealed, and positioned above the base. Proper placement and sealing are exactly what stop a new panel becoming a grease leak.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
We fabricate and fit DW144-compliant access panels - correctly sized, sealed and quick-release - and treat fire-rated duct with the extra care it needs.