Pizzeria with a wood-fired oven: flue, rules and oven size

The dedicated flue

• A flue just for the oven: the wood-fired oven has its own flue, all the way up to the roof (Lombardy model local health regulation (RLI tipo)).
• One per appliance: a charcoal grill and a charcoal oven also each have their own flue.
• No filters instead of the flue: activated-carbon hoods and filter-only hoods do not go on a wood-fired oven.
• Outside the hood standard: EN 16282-1:2026 does not apply to wood, ember or charcoal fires (EN 16282-1:2026, excerpt).
• Specific design: the oven's flue, filters and fire protection are designed separately, with a technician.
• In every municipality: Brigaplan plans a dedicated flue everywhere. Outside Lombardy, check the rules with the municipality.

In Milan

The Milan Building Regulation and the Milan Health Regulation also apply. If they conflict, the Building Regulation prevails.

• One flue for each fire: wood, ember, charcoal or open-flame gas fires, so gas ovens too, have a flue that goes above the roof (Milan Health Regulation, Title III).
• Exclusive-use ducts: the kitchen hoods discharge into exclusive-use exhaust ducts, on the roof (Milan Building Regulation).
• Activated carbon: an activated-carbon hood is allowed only if all cooking appliances are electric and maintenance is proven.
• With a wood-fired oven: the kitchen is not all-electric, so the hood over fryers and burners also discharges on the roof.
• Chimney cap: it usually ends 1 m above the roof ridge, open on all 4 sides and with bird mesh. The text dates from 2000: check with the municipality.
• Air for the fire: where an open flame burns the room's air, air must come in permanently.

Outside Milan, in Lombardy

• RLI tipo: many rules come from the Lombardy model local health regulation, valid where the municipality has adopted it.
• Oven with its own flue: pizzeria ovens, wood-fired or not, have a compliant flue.
• Ducts above the roof: hoods discharge smoke and vapours into ducts that end above the roof, without disturbing the neighbours.
• Activated carbon: municipalities usually do not accept activated-carbon hoods. That is why Brigaplan designs the duct up to the roof by default.
• Odours and outlet: your municipality's rules also count. Check with the municipality or the technician.

The hood for the rest of the kitchen

Fryers, burners and griddles follow the hood rules (EN 16282-2, excerpt).

• Everything under the hood: every cooking appliance sits under a hood.
• Height: the lower edge of the hood is between 2.0 and 2.5 m from the floor.
• Overhang: the hood extends at least 30 cm beyond the appliances.
• Filters: at least 45 cm above the cooking surface. Any lower, and a fire suppression system is required.
• Airflow: Brigaplan makes an estimate. The real airflow is calculated by the hood technician.
• The oven stays separate: the wood-fired oven's flue does not connect to the hood.

How to choose the oven size

The size of a pizza oven is counted in pizzas per batch: how many pizzas bake at the same time. The Brigaplan calculator divides the pizzas in the peak hour by the pizzas each slot in the oven bakes in one hour.

Starting values, if you don't have your own numbers:

• Covers: 1.5 turns at dinner, concentrated in a 1.5-hour peak.
• Pizzas: 0.9 per cover, plus a 1.3 margin for Saturday-night peaks.
• Wood-fired or gas oven: about 20 pizzas per hour per slot, with 60-90 seconds of baking plus handling.
• Electric deck oven: about 10 pizzas per hour per slot, with 4-6 minutes of baking.

Example with 80 seats:

• Then the choice: with this number, the calculator looks for the smallest ovens that are big enough.
• Indicative values: they are still to be confirmed: check them with whoever makes or sells the oven, or use your own numbers.

Where to put the oven in the kitchen

• It comes first: the oven's size, fuel, output and position are decided at the start of the design.
• One sequence: dough-stretching counter, ingredients, oven and finished pizzas sit in a single work sequence.
• Restaurant with pizza: if you also serve kitchen dishes, you need extra space for the oven and the worktop.
• Open-view oven: baking and preparation can be separated from the public even with glass alone, at the discretion of the ATS (the local health authority).
• Distances from the manual: distances from walls, furniture and other appliances come from the manual of the chosen oven.
• The flue's route: before fixing the oven's position, check with the technician where the flue can go up.

How to get a free preview

Brigaplan generates a preview of the kitchen with AI, and a designer checks it. Prepare this information:

• Floor plan or description: upload the floor plan of your venue, or describe it in words.
• Seats and services: how many seats you have and whether you only open for dinner.
• Oven fuel: wood, gas or electric. If you don't know yet, the calculation starts from wood.
• The flue: whether there is one already and where it ends. If this is missing, the engine gives a warning, not an error.
• The municipality: the rules change between Milan and the rest of Lombardy.
• What you get: a preview without dimensions, brands or product codes, with the engine's warnings.

This guide is not legal advice: in real projects, the decisions are made by the designer, licensed technicians, the municipality and the ATS. With the free Brigaplan preview, the engine checks these rules on your floor plan.