Buying a Mezzanine Floor:
What do I need to know and consider?

Definition:

A mezzanine floor is a bespoke, free standing structure, usually a structural steel framework supporting a timber or steel deck.

Purpose:

To utilise redundant vertical space within a building, offering additional storage, sales or work floor space.

What will I need to know to specify the right mezzanine floor for my requirement?

You will need to know how much additional floor space you require. This will enable the length and width of the floor to be calculated. If a single tier floor will not give you the additional floor area you require then a multi tier floor will need to be considered.
The floor’s primary function: The loading and deflection limits of the floor will be determined by its usage. A floor being used as retail sales space will differ from one being used to store heavy products in a storage system. At this time you should also consider how things might change in the future, it is expensive to replace a floor that is not strong enough should a change of use occur.
If you intend to use a storage system, heavy machinery or pallet trucks on the floor these will produce 'point loads'. These have to be considered by the floor designer and the floor’s design will change to accommodate the loads.
The concrete floor that the mezzanine stands on is the base on which all the loads are supported. Advice should be sought about the capability of the building structure to sustain these loads: Particularly where the imposed loading is high, the spans in either direction are significant, or the slab has limited reinforcement. A competent supplier will handle this for you using structural calculations or core sampling thereby ensuring that the mezzanine floor being provided is suitable for the concrete slab you already have.
Clear head room under the floor - what will the area under the floor be used for? If it is to be used as offices, or retail sales space then you may want the area to have a feeling of space. If you are operating forklift trucks these may have to travel under the floor. A 3 metre clear height is common, but floors can have any clear height between 2 and 6 metres.
Type of decking, this will be dictated by your intended usage; common options include standard P6 fibre board with a natural timber finish. Moisture resistant P5 board is an option, as are pre-painted, acrylic or non-slip rubberised surfaces. For other applications flat or patterned steel plate or galvanised open steel grid might be your choice. In practise almost any material and finish can be specified to match or contrast with the existing building.
Access - how will you get people, goods and equipment onto and off of the floor? If the floor will not be accessible from the existing building then some form of staircase will be required for people and maybe a goods lift or pallet gate for goods. Being a raised platform the floor will have a balustrade around its perimeter which will have to be considered when looking at how you will load and unload the floor if that's applicable.
What accessories do you want? Apart from the things you must have for safety and operational reasons you may want to add other functionality or enhance the look of the floor. What type of handrail will you specify? Purely functional or something more stylish? What about your staircases – will they be a design feature with say glass panels or wooden hand rails? The options are really endless.
How will the installation be managed to minimise disruption? A simple floor of around 300m2 will take up to 5 days to build, a 3000m2 floor might take 5 weeks to build so how this will affect your business will dictate when its best done. As most floors are bespoke and made to order work on site probably won't start for three to four weeks after you have placed an order.
Building regulation approval - essential for every floor this process takes place before, during and after the installation. Inspectors will want to see what you are proposing to build, see it being built and after completion to ensure it complies. This is a smooth process when a competent contractor is involved. The approval means that safety standards have been met, the number and size of staircases is correct, and fire regulations are, it is your peace of mind.