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Frequently asked questions  

SMF Designs - Structural Mezzanine Floors

What is a Mezzanine Floor?

A structural mezzanine floor is the most economical way to increase your operational floor area, without having the inconvenience of relocating your entire business or part thereof. A mezzanine floor adds a second or third level thereby doubling or tripling your existing floor area. Every company wants to grow yet some get there a lot faster than anticipated or sometimes it just creeps up on you and before you know it you are bursting at the seems. All it takes is about one week of discomfort (for approximately 100 square meters of mezzanine floor) to ease the squeeze. Or better still, you could save some cash initially by buying or renting smaller premises than what you need and add the mezzanine floor, at a fraction of the square meter purchase price, to make up the floor area that you need. Either way you will be saving money.

Our floors are specifically designed to suit your individual needs. Each new floor design is scrutinized by our registered engineers and all installations have at least one mandatory site inspection after which an engineer’s completion certificate will be issued to ensure your safety.

Everything in the design of the mezzanine floor is variable. You can have any height, span or carrying capacity. The finishes are generally either enamel painted or galvanized for the steel work and the floor finish is either timber or steel grid but other variations are also possible. We will work around your existing structures or obstacles such as plant and equipment where possible to cause minimal disruption to your business during construction.

Structural mezzanine floors can be used in various applications including warehousing, storage space, distribution centers, company records store, production space, assembly space, parts department, bulk material storage, display area, office space, employee cafeterias, locker rooms, trade show exhibits, etc.

How much would it cost per square meter?

  • Factors that influences the cost of Structural Mezzanine Floors include: size, height, carrying capacity and specifications of the floor.
  • Depending on the length and breadth of the floor there could be a lot of wastage in the cost of steel as the beams come in specific standard sizes.
  • This also applies to the height.
  • The required carrying capacity also influences the cost of the floor as more weight means more steel e.g. a floor that needs to carry 300kg/m2 will be cheaper than a floor that requires to carry 700kg/m2.
  • On average the cost surrounding the construction of a floor is R800/m2.

Do you also manufacture staircases and handrails?

  • Yes.
  • The steel staircases are manufactured to exact specifications. The angle of the staircase can very from 35 to 45 degrees.
  • The handrails are made of galvanized steel for lasting quality and minimum wear.

What are the finishes on a raised, steel mezzanine floor?

  • The main steel structure is primed with etch primer and then coated with a long lasting high quality "Battleship grey" enamel. Other colours are available on request at a nominal extra cost.
  • Optional is to have the whole structure galvanized

What materials does a mezzanine floor consist of?

  • A mezzanine floor is a steel structure that is elevated by columns of square tubing, mounted with Universal Bearer Beams and crossed with Lip Channel or IPE joists.
  • The standard decking is a 21mm pine ply wood or a steel grid decking (the steel grid decking is more expensive than the timber decking)

Can I dismantle a floor when leaving the premises?

  • Yes
  • If you intend to dismantle the mezzanine floor and relocate it in another location it is recommended that a bolted system is used as opposed to the welded system.

What about the safety of a raised steel floor?

  • To meet the best safety regulations, each floor is issued with an engineer's completion certificate.
  • Each floor is also graded and checked for its load carrying capacity, which can range from 200kg/m2 to 2000kg/m2.