Mezzanines can help take the load off

A mezzanine floor is more complicated than many people think, he explains. There is a number of key parameters that must be taken into account. The first of these is loads.

Derek says: “Loads are key to the equation. Think about your slab, how thick is it? What loads will it take? What will you do on the mezzanine – will you run pallet trucks, conveying, pallet racking? 

“For example, a customer can show us a mezzanine floor and ask for another level on top. They may say it has a equally distributed load (EDL) but we can look at it and say it has conveyors in one part and is relatively light in another. We have to go back to first principles and work out a way to do it.

“We have worked on projects where automated systems were put on the mezzanine floors. These have dynamic loads, so this must be taken into account when calculating the impact on the structure.”

DMF Projects has carried out work for Boots, where the mezzanine was built over an area that was required to have as much clear space as possible underneath the floor for picking and packing. 

Once loads are calculated, Davicon can decide on the appropriate grid. Then a plan is drawn with 3D models if appropriate and a cost provided.

Derek continues: “Companies are reluctant to open new facilities and are looking at space utilisation. But a having a mezzanine is not as simple as throwing up a structure. That’s why people come to us, because we have the software to design a solution that the end client can fit it into their considerations.”

Mezzanine floors can be huge, think tens of thousands of sq m. When the floors go up in size, the space utilisation achieved can be enormous but so too does the challenge of keeping the structure stable.

Derek explains: “When people start asking for very large grids, they then have to pile it. This can be expensive. We are looking at a site at the moment that needs 18 metre piles, it is built on a floodplain. Is it worth it? In their case it is, they have a very big warehouse, they have clients that need the extra space. It is not an easy or inexpensive, but looking at the gains it becomes justifiable.”

The business case is helped when the structure can be installed with minimum disruption to the end user. 

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“We can put in crash decks to protect people underneath the floor so they could keep working. In addition, work can be carried out at night. We also phase installations, we can do one section, release back to the client and progress through the building.

“It is about give and take, measures can be taken to keep a business running but the project may take longer and cost more.”

DMF also takes care of the building control side of projects, applying for warrants (if the customer wants), and health and safety aspects. The company is a turnkey supplier and has a 70,000 sq ft of manufacturing space in Dudley. It makes around 600 mezzanines a year, of various sizes from 10 x 10m to 46,000 sq m.