What is a Mezzanine Floor & How Are They Built? | R&S Ltd
What is a mezzanine floor?
A mezzanine floor is a freestanding intermediate floor between two main floors of a building. It typically adds around one-third of the existing floor space, though multi-tiered mezzanines can add significantly more. The upper level isn’t boxed in by walls, so the floor below can be seen from the mezzanine level.
Since mezzanine floors can be assembled and disassembled at will, they aren’t considered permanent fixtures. Therefore, they don’t count towards the overall floor count of a building. This modular design also means you can move them to another area within your building, or take them with you if you relocate.
Mezzanine floors are suitable for many different types of facilities, including warehouses, storage buildings, manufacturing plants, offices, shops, and other commercial or industrial premises. These structures are typically made from steel, wood, concrete, aluminium, fibreglass and other materials depending on their purpose.
How are mezzanine floors built?
Mezzanine floors are constructed from a number of component parts.
First, a mezzanine floor construction and installation team erects a series of vertical support columns connected to the existing floor structure. Then, they place horizontal beams across the columns to support the mezzanine’s weight.
Next, the team positions joists horizontally across or between the beams at right angles. This allows them to connect the mezzanine decking to the beams.
Once joists are in place, the decking surface is laid across the beam infrastructure. This decking is available in a wide variety of materials to suit the needs of the facility.
Warehouse mezzanine typically use 38mm particle board decking. But other options such as steel plate or composite decking are available to handle heavier loads.
Lastly, the team installs railings and infills along the exposed edges to ensure the safety of your workers and customers.
As with any other construct, your mezzanine floor must comply with all building regulations. That includes fire safety compliance and the inclusion of emergency signs and exit paths.
At Racking + Shelving Ltd, we take care of all legal requirements to ensure your custom mezzanine floor is fully compliant and safe for use. We even obtain planning permission on your behalf to make your mezzanine floor installation smooth and hassle free.
Benefits of installing a mezzanine floor
1) Optimal use of space
The main benefit of a mezzanine floor is that it increases your available workspace. What you might not realise is that mezzanine floors can easily add 50-200% to your current footprint!
There are endless possibilities for how you use this extra space. You could add more production lines, expand your team, diversify your stock, create additional office space, build specialised facilities or simply benefit from more room for storage. Whatever you choose, your mezzanine floor can accelerate the growth of your business.
Mezzanine floor construction is also an excellent way to futureproof your business. By adding more space before it’s needed, you can adapt quickly to sudden changes in demand without delay. This ability to respond swiftly gives you a significant edge over competitors of a similar size.
2) Save hundreds of thousands of pounds
When a business grows past a certain size, more floor space is needed to meet demand. But relocating to a new premises is extremely expensive and time consuming. And while adding an extension to your existing property is cheaper and less disruptive, it can still create challenging financial setbacks.
Installing a mezzanine floor, on the other hand, lets you take full advantage of vertical space that already exists in your building. It’s significantly more affordable than relocation or extension. And the return on investment (ROI) of your new space is all but guaranteed to outweigh the cost.
By working with an experienced and reputable provider like Racking + Shelving Ltd, you can also expect your mezzanine floor construction and installation to be completed quickly with minimal disruption. That means you can continue with business as usual while the work is being carried out.
3) Flexibility in design
Each mezzanine floor is uniquely designed to meet your particular requirements.
A warehouse mezzanine floor can increase your storage space. An office mezzanine floor can be used to grow your team or streamline your workflow. And an industrial mezzanine floor can be built to hold up to 500kg per square metre, making it ideal for adding more machinery and increasing your productive output.
At Racking + Shelving Ltd, we offer a free no-obligation consultation, site survey and quote to ensure your custom mezzanine floor construction suits your needs and facility. We also provide a highly accurate computer-aided design (CAD) service to plan and visualise your custom mezzanine floor for your approval.
Our expert mezzanine installation team works quickly and efficiently, and complies with all building regulations to ensure safety and compliance. We even obtain planning permission on your behalf to make the process as smooth and simple for you as possible. And by taking your current daily operations into account, we ensure minimal disruption for your business.
Contact us now to book your free no-obligation consultation and discover how mezzanine floor construction and installation could help your business flourish.
4) Modular design
Mezzanine floors are built by connecting a number of smaller parts together. This modular design makes them quick and easy to install, even when they’re custom made. But more than that, it also means they’re very easy to adapt as the needs of your business change.
For example, you could quickly add an office mezzanine floor to handle a growing team. But if you later move that team to a separate building, you can repurpose your office mezzanine into storage space for your products. And if you eventually relocate, you can dismantle your mezzanine floor and take it with you to your new premises.
No matter how the needs of your business change over time, the money you spend on a mezzanine floor will never go to waste. And in almost every case, the additional space will bring your greater ROI than the initial design and installation costs.
5) Higher operational efficiency
Working with our mezzanine floor design team gives you the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate how your business currently works. This lets you identify where improvements can be made in your workflow and facility layout.
In some cases, our clients simply rearrange their operations to improve operational efficiency. But with a mezzanine floor, you could bring your entire team from several different buildings under one roof.
Doing so could make it much easier for your team to work together as a cohesive unit. Rather than creating a confusing, exhausting chain of phone calls and emails, your team could instead solve problems quickly in person just by going downstairs.
6) Create a safer workplace
High traffic in a small space doesn’t just cause workflow inefficiencies. It also increases the risk of accidents and injuries.
Mezzanine floor construction and installation gives you an elevated workspace, letting you minimise ground-level traffic. This eases congestion and helps make your workplace much safer.
Reducing workplace safety incidents also lets you reduce workplace absences and protects you against legal action by injured workers or customers. As a result, you can maintain peak productivity and remain competitive while building a positive reputation.
My building space is small, can I still use a mezzanine floor?
Of course! Mezzanine floors are all about taking advantage of the vertical space in a building. If you’re tight on space, a mezzanine floor can increase your floor space by up to 50%.
Clever storage solutions for small spaces.
Can I build a mezzanine floor on top of a mezzanine floor?
Yes – this is called ‘multi-level mezzanine flooring’ and is used when you want to optimise your vertical storage space even further.
A mezzanine flooring specialist can visit your commercial or industrial building and let you know if this type of flooring is right for you.
I rent my warehouse – can I still install a mezzanine floor?
You can. Mezzanine floors can be both permanent and temporary, and parts can be added or removed as needed.
If you rent a warehouse or commercial space, you can erect a mezzanine floor and easily take it down when you leave the building.
How much does a mezzanine floor cost?
Given a choice between a building extension, moving to a new building, or installing a mezzanine floor, the mezzanine floor is always the most affordable option. However, the final cost will depend on a variety of different factors.
- The size of the mezzanine floor
- Whether the mezzanine floor is single or multi-level
- The materials and finishes used
- The access needed (for example, a lift will be more expensive than a staircase)
- Whether there are any obstructions that need to be taken into consideration
What type of businesses can benefit from a mezzanine floor?
The great thing about mezzanine floors is that any type of business can take advantage of them. As long as you have vertical space in your building, you’re an ideal candidate for a mezzanine floor.
For example, a warehouse can use a mezzanine floor to store additional stock and equipment, while an office can use one to create a new meeting room or office space.
Find out more about the different industries that can benefit from a mezzanine floor.
What types of mezzanine floors are there?
While you can get off-the-shelf mezzanine floors, the best ones are custom-made to suit your building. This ensures that you maximise every single square metre of additional storage space.
A mezzanine floor specialist (like Racking + Shelving Ltd ) will assess your building and create a CAD drawing so you can see what your mezzanine floor will look like and how much storage space you will gain.
Mezzanine floors can be made from a range of materials, including bar grating, resin, wood/particle board, steel, concrete, and laminate. The right material will depend on your budget, the functionality of your building, and the purpose of the mezzanine floor.
For example, if you need a customer-facing mezzanine floor, you may opt for wood. On the other hand, if you’re in a busy warehouse environment, you may choose something highly durable like concrete or resin.
Book your free, no-obligation mezzanine floor consultation
Warehouse, office, retail, and commercial and industrial managers throughout Northern Ireland and the UK rely on Racking + Shelving Ltd for high-quality custom mezzanine floors. From initial design to final installation, we handle every aspect of your mezzanine floor project quickly and with minimal disruption to your business.
Contact us today for a free no-obligation consultation, site survey and quote.
