Each floor is designed around its intended use, your available height and the supporting structure. We coordinate the structural calculations, Building Control application and installation, with the required fire protection and access arrangements included in the agreed specification.
Whether you need more room for stock, picking and packing, assembly or offices, we’ll help you plan a floor that suits your premises.
What is a Mezzanine Floor?
A mezzanine floor is a raised steel platform installed inside a warehouse or industrial building, creating a new level above the ground floor without extending your building. Mezzanines can be freestanding or integrated with the building or racking. Each one is designed for its intended use, from light storage to heavy stock and equipment, and needs Building Regulations approval and formal structural calculations.
Make More of Your Existing Space
Renting a second warehouse or moving to a larger building can cost considerably more than installing a mezzanine. A well-designed mezzanine floor lets you:
- Add usable space within your existing roof height
- Create storage zones for high-value or sensitive goods, with security or temperature control where suitable enclosures and building services are included
- Add office, meeting or quality control space above the warehouse floor
- Combine with racking to create multi-level picking areas
- Make better use of the building you already have and avoid the cost of relocating
Design, Fire Safety & Building Control
Structural Design
Our trained team designs your mezzanine around how you’ll use it (storage, offices, production) and the existing floor slab. Load limits are usually expressed in kN/m² (kilonewtons per square metre), and the supporting structure, floor beams and decking are specified around the loads and layout.
Loads Beyond the Floor Rating
A general kN/m² rating doesn’t describe every loading arrangement. Racking feet, machinery and wheeled equipment put concentrated loads on the floor and need specific consideration in the design.
Fire Safety
Fire safety is part of the initial design. In England, Building Regulations Approved Document B sets out the requirements, which depend on the floor’s size, use, occupancy and location within the building. We cover the required structural fire protection, escape arrangements and the effect on your existing fire systems. Where a fire-resisting ceiling is needed, it’s specified as a tested system, not simply fire-rated tiles.
Stairs, Guarding & Pallet Gates
Safe access and protected edges are part of every installation: stairs suited to how the floor is used, handrails and guarding along open edges, and pallet gates at loading points so people aren’t exposed to an open edge when goods are lifted onto the floor.
Building Control
Mezzanines are structural works that need Building Regulations approval. We prepare and coordinate the application with the appointed building control body (local authority building control or a registered building control approver), and arrange the inspections. The building control body makes the decisions. Building Control fees are usually included in our quotation, which sets out exactly what’s covered.
Our Mezzanine Installation Process
- Site Survey: Measure your building, check the clear height, review the existing slab information and arrange any further structural checks required, and understand your intended use
- Design & Drawings: We produce the layout drawings, structural calculations and Building Control drawings
- Building Control Application: We submit the documents to the appointed building control body and coordinate the approval
- Manufacture & Delivery: Beams and decking made off-site to the agreed specification, then delivered ready to install
- Installation: Our teams install the floor to a programme agreed with you, keeping the work area separated from your operations
- Fire Protection & Handover: The fire protection and access arrangements in the agreed specification are completed, and the final Building Control inspection is arranged
Handover & Ongoing Care
At handover you receive load notices, drawings and the completion documentation, with advice on looking after the floor. SEMA recommends regular inspections, periodic condition surveys and structural appraisals for platform floors, and we can arrange these for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on what you’ll store and how you’ll use the floor. Light storage needs less capacity than heavy stock, racking or machinery. We design the structure around your specific needs, including any concentrated loads from racking.
A project runs in stages: survey and design, the Building Control application and approval, manufacture, and installation on site. Each stage depends on the size of the floor and the approvals involved, so we give you a programme for your project after the survey.
Usually not completely. We plan and phase the work around you, but the installation area has to be kept separate from your operations, and some temporary closures, stock moves or restricted access may be needed. We agree these with you before work starts.
Possibly. Planning permission is separate from Building Regulations approval, and some mezzanines need it, depending on the building and how the floor will be used. If you lease your premises, you’ll usually need your landlord’s consent too. We check these early so there are no surprises.
Many steel mezzanines are designed for dismantling. Moving one still needs its condition, the new layout and the loads checking, and a new location will usually need its own approvals.
It depends on the floor’s size, use, occupancy and location within the building. In England, Approved Document B sets out the requirements, including specific provisions for some raised storage areas. We cover the required structural fire protection, escape arrangements and the effect on your existing fire systems as part of the design.
Yes. Racking can be installed on a mezzanine where the floor has been designed for its loads and layout. Rack-supported platforms, where the racking itself holds up the floor, are a different arrangement that we can also discuss.