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News

Is my existing Mezzanine floor fire rated?

Is my existing Mezzanine floor fire rated?
Underside of new mezzanine floor

Is my existing Mezzanine Floor Fire rated? We come across this question quite a bit, and to the untrained eye it can be difficult to tell. Only an expert like Cre8tive Interiors can really delve into the detail. What should happen of course, is once a mezzanine floor has been installed, the company installing must provide a Building Regulation approval document to demonstrate the structure has been inspected, from initial design through to construction. The design of the floor depends on the function required and the areas involved.

Office or Storage?

Small floors that are purely used for storage, dependant on the floor area and means of escape may not need fire protection. If the design has been checked prior to construction, there are certain things like the composition of the floor slab, that need to be considered in the initial design. Depending on the height of the floor, the spans of the beams and what the floor is going to be used for depends on the amount of loading that travels down the pillars. Often assumption have to be made, and the bottom of the posts can have large floor plates in order to spread the loading onto the base floor that the mezzanine structure is going to sit on. So it is not usually an issue.

Fire Protection

Another consideration if whether offices, or people are going to be working on the raised floor area. If offices are built, then there is an extra level of fire protection needed, which is usually where suppliers fall down. Many ceiling fitters for example, will just fix a cheap basic ceiling and no-one will know the difference. However ceiling tiles and grid may not necessarily be fire rated, so in effect you do not have any fire protection for the underside of the floor. You may think so what? As mentioned in our previous posts, the problem with a steel floor is that in the event of a fire, the whole structure bends and softens. The steel will not melt, but the steel beams are stressed formed, rolled sections, so the heat anneals the steel releasing the stresses that are creating in formation of the shapes, so in effect go soft. What happens is that the whole structure twiists and if people are working on it, they have no chance of getting out, and this softening can happen really quickly.

Getting back to the main question, well how do you know? Most people will not. Fore example you be provided a test certificate on a ceiling tile, which may say it has been tested for 60 minutes, and you may get another test report for a different grid also showing 60 minutes, but unless they have been tested together, and in the situation needed, so under a steel mezzanine. then the certification is useless.

Suspended Ceilings - are they important?

On a new mezzanine floor the supplier should provide a test report for the tile and grid, tested to 60 minutes if office are required above, under a steel mezzanine floor. To our knowledge so far there are only a couple of combinations that comply. Just looking at the grid and tile to see is pretty hard if there is no identification on it, however various website are available online to look at the profiles and sections of ceiling grid in order to determine this. The same with the tile, you can look online, and then if you do not have the certification you can contact the support desks from the major suppliers of components.

Unfortunately the distributors of tile and grid still get it wrong, only this week we contacted a supplier, and they gave us the wrong information. Only the manufactures can supply the correct details.

As well as the suspended ceiling, there are other aspects to look at as well. The floor loading, edge protections, escape routes and protection of office / warehouse all have rules. Other things that need to be considered include heating and ventilation, all legal requirements with Building Regulations.

Other links and articles about Mezzanine Floors

Other articles or blog posts can be seen here, as well looking at the projects that we have carried out on the main project page.

  1. Mezzanine floor protection.
  2. Why do I need Building Regulations
  3. Can I alter my existing Mezzanine Floor?
  4. How do I create more office space?

If you would like to have a look at some of our projects, please click the link to take you to the mezzanine floor page on this website. Below the main text will be some filtered projects with photographs of building.

Need to know more? Please contact us on 01380 7388 44 or email us at [email protected]

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Categories
News

Mezzanine Floor Fire Protection

Mezzanine Floor Fire Protection
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Mezzanine floor fire protection is the most important task to determine correctly when considering a mezzanine floor, old or new. When a new mezzanine floor is installed by us we always liaise with Building Control to ensure that the correct level of fire protection is carried out on the steel structure. You may think that steel is pretty strong which it is, but in a fire the steel will tend to twist and deform at not very high temperatures and there are several reasons for this.

The effects of fire on a steel mezzanine floor structure

The steel sections that are used in the construction are in themselves very strong but will have been formed from flat sheet steel and either rolled or welded to form the sizes required. Heat on steel anneals or softens the steel which wants to convert to its pre-stressed state. The effect of this is that the whole floor structure twists and due to the weight of the floor, what is on the floor and the steel the whole lot can come crashing down quickly.

All of our steel structures are calculated, and often have triangulation steels in the corners of the floor to prevent twisting in just loading conditions, so the design needs to be calculated properly.

Mezzanine floor fire protection – Suspended Ceilings

Contrary to popular belief and pure incompetence by many of our competitors there are actually very few suspended ceiling types that are fully tested with a specific suspended ceiling tile to give the 1 hour fire protection required by Building Regulations. Some mezzanine floors which are small in proportion to a building and maybe are just used for occasional light storage may not actually require any protection as there is actually no perceived danger to employees and staff. 99% of floors will need mezzanine floor fire protection.

There are a few advantages of using a suspended ceiling over a plasterboard one, the main one is you can hide the services inside it. It is also a finished product without the need for skimming or painting. It can also provide sound performance preventing noise from the ground floor going through the floor. It is also quick to install.

We visit many installations carried out by others where the cheapest ceiling tile has been used, and the cheapest grid, and there is absolutely no way that the suspended ceiling is fire rated and we have to advise the customer of this fact.

Mezzanine floor fire protection other items.

There are many other things that need to be considered but that is perhaps for another article, if you are in any doubt please give us a call and we can check.

What else needs to be done to a Mezzanine Floor once built?

Cre8tive Interiors can carry out all of the work required so that the client can just use the space straight away. This will include the following:

  1. Initial design and layouts for the new space along with costs
  2. Building Regulation Approval
  3. Planning for the work to be done, understanding what needs to be carried out prior to the install date.
  4. Supply and Installation of the mezzanine floor, including relevant fire protection
  5. Electrical work
  6. Partitioning and suspended ceiling work
  7. All lighting, emergency lighting, air conditioning and ventilation
  8. Construction of any toilet areas, canteen or warehouse areas
  9. All types of flooring and decoration.
  10. Office furniture if the extension is for offices.

What Mezzanine floor projects has Cre8tive carried out?

  1. Mezzanine floor in Devizes (light storage)
  2. Fire rating of a Mezzanine Floor in Warminster for Offices
  3. Fire rating of a Mezzanine Floor in Milton Keynes for Offices
  4. Converting / Fire rating an existing storage mezzanine in Corsham for use into Offices
  5. Installation of a new mezzanine floor into an existing warehouse to create offices in Gloucester
  6. Installation of a new mezzanine floor to extend existing offices at first floor level and below in Salisbury
  7. Construction of Fire rated partitions on top of an existing mezzanine floor to meet Building Regulation in Corsham
Categories
News

Why have Building Regulations for my offices?

Why have Building Regulations for my offices?
Fire damaged office

Building Regulations are a legal requirement enforceable by Law. The building regulations are designed so that occupants of a building are safe in the event of a problem or issue. The chances of anything happening are of course pretty remote but they do happen, and when problems happen people can get hurt. The Regulations have not been designed as a set of rules that prevent people from doing what they want do and to be as obstructive as possible, there are very good reasons for them.

They are designed to protect staff within buildings from unscrupulous owners of buildings or directors who do not care, or do not know that they need to comply with the law. We focus on offices, and there are many Building Regulations that relate to all kinds of properties, but offices is our speciality. Building Regulations for offices are not too onerous, and the main thrust of them covers fire protection and access routes for staff to get out of a burning building as safely and as quickly as possible. Associated with this is that it is a mandatory requirements that all commercial premises must have a fire risk assessment carried out every five years, we can organise this if the customer does not have one in place.

Non Compliance to Building Regulations

We come across many offices that have not had any consideration to the Law, offices have been built in the wrong place with no fire rating when they should be and this may be for a number of reasons, it could be that the Interiors company installing the partitioning did not understand the regulations and the customer has instructed the company to install the partitions in on price. Unfortunately it will be the directors of the company who will be in trouble if people can’t get out quickly enough or can’t get out of a building because they employed a fit out contractor that did not give them the right advice, people die and Directors go to jail. Ignorance is no defence in the eyes of the law and it is incumbent on the directors to understand their legal obligations to their staff.

Mezzanine Floors

We have covered Mezzanine Floors in a few places, but this is one of the improvements that people do in offices that is fraught with risk if it is not built properly. If you take on a new space with the floor in place, it may not comply depending on what you are using the floor for. Although you can plead ignorance if you have not determine the proper levels of fire protection, and in the very unlikely event something happens then the Directors are in trouble.

General Advice

We offer a service where we can provide a report which highlights areas that need to be looked at. It will not go into formal detail such as quoting for any work, or actually producing plans and drawings to get Building Regulation approval, it is designed to be before this stage is initiated as it may not be required. The report is designed for Directors to at least highlight areas that should be looked at prior to any work being commissioned as many Directors and owners of buildings do not know that things need to be considered in the first place.

Please give us a call on 01380 73 88 44 to see how we can help

Fire damaged office

Fire damaged office

Categories
News

What is Demountable Partitioning?

What is Demountable Partitioning?
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Good question. Before being involved with office interiors I did not know what Demountable Partitioning was either. Once in the industry you forget that for most people, they just want an office built or extended, and do not know that there are many different types and options to consider depending on what you want to achieve from the partition.<

What does Demountable mean?

The clue is in the name, the physical partition system can be taken down and relocated after being re-assembled should you wish to move it. The main benefit of Demountable Partitioning is that they create less damage to the ceilings and floors than a traditional metal or timber stud partition wall that is typically found in everyone’s house. Most timber or stud walls are plastered or tape and jointed, which means that when you remove them they make a mess. A demountable system usually has pre-finished plasterboard which is decorated with a wall covering, so when you dismantle the system the fixers just remove the board cover trims, and remove the finished boards.

You do get some mess still but no-where near as much as you would have with a traditional stud wall.

Why do Landlords like Demountable Partitions.

Some landlords actually insist that any offices being built in the office by a tenant have to be demountable. So anyone renting office space should check the small print. The main reason is that if for whatever reason the landlord has to get the tenant out, or the tenant leaves, there is much less mess and damage needing to put the space back to an original condition ready to let out again, if Demountable Partitions are used.

What are the different types of Demountable Partitioning?

The key difference is the thickness of the wall which reflects the performance and cost. All of the systems can have glazing of different configurations, heights, widths, single or double glazed, or silicon jointed. There are three basic widths, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm. The all glass version which has a very minimal frame, uses very thin ‘u’ channel tracks to support the glass

Summary on Demountable Partitioning?

  1. Using Demountable Partitioning is very tax efficient as they are seen as movable items and so can be treated differently in writing down allowances in the accounts.
  2. We can also lease Demountable Partitioning as they are movable, this spreads the costs of having the work done as Demountable Partitions always cost more than customers think.
  3. Leasing of demountable partitioning is very tax efficient and Cre8tive can provide illustrations, please contact us for further information.
  4. Most landlords insist on Demountable Partitions being used for offices as it is much easier to take them out should the tenant renting the space leave for any reason. The benefit is that is saves making a huge amount of mess and destruction that would be need with a conventional stud and plasterboard constructed wall.

Questions on Demountable Partitioning?

If you are not sure about anything as well as taking about all kinds of partitioning including Demountable we love to talk about projects and sort out problems and issues with space, please give us a call on 01380 738844

Categories
Mezzanine Floors News

Can I Alter my Existing Mezzanine Floor?

Can I Alter my Existing Mezzanine Floor?

The short answer is yes, but you will need to take some specialist advice from someone like Cre8tive Interiors. The above photo shows a problem mezzanine that is none compliant with Building Regulations. Hence the question Can I alter my Existing Mezzanine Floor?

Just give us a call or email. The main question that we will ask is what is the purpose of extending, for example offices or storage. We will need to assess the existing structure to ensure that anything we do to it in terms of changing it will comply with current Building Regulations.

My existing Structure was built a few years ago, will it still comply?

The regulations have not really changed over the years as the main aim of the Building Regulations for Mezzanine Floors is to ensure that the floor is adequately fire protected for people that may be under them or on top of the floor. If the existing structure has no fire protection and the upstairs is used as offices, the fact that it was built a few years ago does not mean that people will be safe in a fire, so our advice is for us to examine the overall layout of any alteration, including the existing structure, to ensure that people can exit the building safely.

We will look at exit routes as well as look at fire protection for the overall situation with the extension.

We regularly see structures which have been built by general builders and there are no design calculations to determine what weight can be put on the floor and no evidence that the floor has been submitted for Building Regulation Approval. I am sure in some cases that the structure will be strong enough but often there is no approval to say it is ok. The problem with this is that the owner of the building probably has never been aware that the structure is not safe, and of course to fire protect it will cost money. If nothing is done, there is a high chance that there will never be a problem, but there is a very slim chance that if there is a fire in the building and the owner has not taken adequate steps to look after the safety of the tenant or staff then the owner of the building is in big trouble.

My existing Structure was built by a Builder and is not a designed Structure. What can I do?

Always pretty difficult, and the easiest answer is if you are not sure, strip it out and Cre8tive Interiors can put in a properly designed and calculated structural mezzanine floor that will meet Building Regulation approval. Often it will be cheaper. The above photo shows a problematic structure. The main cross beam as well as not being fire rated just sits on the pillar that supports the outside frame of the building. The building is a portal frame construction and so will have been designed to be a free standing structure without having a massive great steel sitting on one of the pillars taking lots of weight.

We can get around this problem though. If you are unsure about your existing mezzanine floor structure please give us a call.

What else needs to be done to a Mezzanine Floor once built?

Cre8tive Interiors can carry out all of the work required so that the client can just use the space straight away. This will include the following:

  1. Initial design and layouts for the new space along with costs
  2. Building Regulation Approval
  3. Planning for the work to be done, understanding what needs to be carried out prior to the install date.
  4. Supply and Installation of the mezzanine floor, including relevant fire protection
  5. Electrical work
  6. Partitioning and suspended ceiling work
  7. All lighting, emergency lighting, air conditioning and ventilation
  8. Construction of any toilet areas, canteen or warehouse areas
  9. All types of flooring and decoration.
  10. Office furniture if the extension is for offices.

Can I alter my existing mezzanine floor?

What Mezzanine floor projects has Cre8tive carried out?

  1. Mezzanine floor in Devizes (light storage)
  2. Fire rating of a Mezzanine Floor in Warminster for Offices
  3. Fire rating of a Mezzanine Floor in Milton Keynes for Offices
  4. Converting / Fire rating an existing storage mezzanine in Corsham for use into Offices
  5. Installation of a new mezzanine floor into an existing warehouse to create offices in Gloucester
  6. Installation of a new mezzanine floor to extend existing offices at first floor level and below in Salisbury
  7. Construction of Fire rated partitions on top of an existing mezzanine floor to meet Building Regulation in Corsham

Can I alter my existing Mezzanine Floor?

Categories
News

How do I create more office space?

How do I create more office space?

How do I create more office space?

How do I create more office space? Is a question we get asked regularly. There are many things you can do inside an office and the requirements maybe to fit more people, to open out the space as it is too cramped. If the building has height that can be used then the introduction of a mezzanine floor is very cost effective if the customer has the space.

What is a mezzanine floor?

Many shops, offices and warehouses make use of the height of a building to increase the floor area without the need to extend the building. The simplest way to do this is by building a false floor across any void.

Focusing on offices and warehouses there are stringent rules and legal regulations that apply to the construction and fire protection of mezzanine floors, the aim of the rules is to ensure that people in the offices working above or below can get out safely in the event of a problem, usually a fire. We do come across structures that have been built by general builders and there is no way that anyone would survive a fire if one took hold and the floor would collapse.

What are Building Regulations for a mezzanine floor?

It is very important for any Business Owner to get a floor installed properly, and one that meets the Building regulations as the Business Owner would ultimately be responsible if the worst happened and people lost their lives. Lack of knowledge is no defence. If the construction work does not comply with Building Regulations and the floor has not been signed off by an Inspector then the Law has being broken, quite simple really.

The design of the floor is crucial, as well as taking into consideration the use of the floor, travel distances are really important to fire exits, if over a certain distance then the exit routes need to be protected out of the building. The actual floor itself is made from steel. The steel is stressed steel in rolled formed sections or beams, with timber floors. The whole structure is stressed with triangular support pillars usually at the corner to ensure the floor does not twist. You may think steel is fine in a fire, steel does not catch fire until extremely high temperatures, but it is not the catching fire that causes the problem. If a fire gets hold even in a small area at one end of a floor the steel will start to bend, it’s structural properties start to change and as the mezzanine floor is stressed it will twist and collapse very quickly. Fir protection to the columns and floor is therefore important particularly if there are offices or people up on the mezzanine floor level.

How much weight can a Mezzanine Floor take?

It is actually quite important to understand the purpose of the floor as the structure will be designed to take certain weights. General light storage and offices mean that the beams can be thinner and therefore cheaper. If you storing a bit of weight on the floor then we need to know. We have two grades that will be fine on a normal floor but if there is considerable weight needed to be supported the beams get alot bigger reducing the head room below and the structural slab of the floor will need to be assessed and taking into consideration in the design to ensure that the support pillars can take the weight and do not disappear into the ground.

What Mezzanine Floor projects has Cre8tive Interiors carried out?

Some of the projects we do are just purely floors, so maybe for storage or for sorting out the fire protection. Other projects are wider in scope and the floor is only one aspect of what the customer wants to achieve overall. There are some links below.

  1. Mezzanine floor in Devizes (light storage)
  2. Fire rating of a Mezzanine Floor in Warminster for Offices
  3. Fire rating of a Mezzanine Floor in Milton Keynes for Offices
  4. Converting / Fire rating an existing storage mezzanine in Corsham for use into Offices
  5. Installation of a new mezzanine floor into an existing warehouse to create offices in Gloucester
  6. Installation of a new mezzanine floor to extend existing offices at first floor level and below in Salisbury
  7. Construction of Fire rated partitions on top of an existing mezzanine floor to meet Building Regulation in Corsham

How do I create more office space?

How do I create more office space?

Any questions on floors?

Every project is different, so the easiest thing to do is to just give us a call or email us for further details and someone can visit to discuss any requirements.

01380 73 88 44 or email us at [email protected]

Categories
News Suspended Ceilings

What type of suspended ceilings should I have?

What type of suspended ceilings should I have?

What type of suspended ceiling should I have? There are many different types of suspended ceilings, and we generally select a good  quality plain faced tile in most cases, which will not bow if there is a bit of moisture, and is nice a bright and no pattern. There are many different types of suspended ceilings and the range of tiles now can be quite baffling. The current trend is to focus on sound performance within the office and this can be dealt with by using a special tile.

The image to the right shows an ‘egg crate’ type of grid system that was quite common a few years ago. It is possible still to get the materials to build this system but it is much more expensive now than the new more conventional suspended ceilings installed today.

Office refurbishment in Bristol for Smurfit Kappa

Why should I have a suspended Ceiling?

Suspended ceilings are used for a number of reasons, they are quick to install and mean that all the services required for offices such as pipework for plumbing and air conditioning, as well as power and data can be hidden out of sight. Access to the services is also much easier than using a traditional plasterboard or MF type ceiling as the ceiling tiles just need to be lifted from the grid.

There are many offices with old fissured tiles, with sagging tiles and a mottled grey look they make the office look very dated. We like to fit nice white clean tiles to give a fresh look.

Why not use a Plasterboard Ceiling

Are strictly a no-no in most offices. You may see them in big shopping centres but usually there are lots of other things hanging from the ceilings to deal with acoustics, lighting and ventilation and the acoustics consideration would have been designed into the scheme. Plasterboard ceilings are fine in houses as they are quick to install and there are other plasterboard surfaces such as the partition walls in houses which need to be plastered and then painted. It is quicker just to skim the whole lot in a house. Most houses suffer from noise problems and noise transmission due to this method of build. New Building Regulations  In offices sound is one of the biggest problems, and sound bounces off hard surfaces..

Advantages in using Suspended Ceilings over plasterboard.

Another advantage with a suspended ceiling over plasterboard is that it does not need any finishing, so no plastering / tape and jointing or painted. It is a finished item. When carrying out a refurbishment project you want to minimise the amount of wet trades as speed is of the essence and you do not really want to wait for plaster to dry. If the area is cold then this will create a problem. The ceiling will also not have to be painted which is one less trade or activity to worry about.

Creating Features in Ceilings

You may have to have some hard surfaces to form thing like a bulkhead, see picture to the right. The construction of this was quite hard as it had to match the radius of the breakfast bar.

Formation of this bulkhead would be pretty hard to do with ceiling tiles.

Breakfast bar curve following bulkhead curve.

Access Problems with Plasterboard Ceilings

We come across problems all of the time where a traditional ‘builder’ has built an office and used plasterboard. We experienced one recently where a builder had sealed the complete ground floor up and had provided no access hatches or any way to get into the ceiling void. It is impossible to add additional voice / data cabling, get access to filters for air conditioning and ventilation units for servicing or if pumps fail, so a complete nightmare and this makes us very angry as these people should not be involved in building offices.

The other problem with this project was that the builder had not designed the offices properly and had missed out providing adequate ventilation to the offices, and completely ignored the law on this (Building Regulations). He was asked to fit air conditioning but completely threw his hands in the air as there was no-way to get anything through the building without destroying the ceiling. As it happens air conditioning was not the problem, no ventilation was provided and so an even bigger problem. At least with a suspended ceiling you would have had a chance to get the pipework through. Another problem is that a building inspector cannot assess the fire protection for the floor above with it all sealed up.

Sound Problems with Plasterboard Ceilings

I am afraid that the title of this section says it all, the other major problem with the project above was sound, it was extremely noisy in the offices, and there is no chance of improving it easily.

Projects with Suspended Ceilings

  1. Project in Reading:
  2. Suspended Ceiling in a Squash Court:
  3. Suspended Ceiling in Corsham
  4. Part of a larger project in Weston Super Mare.
  5. Suspended Ceiling in Bristol -(part of a larger project)
  6. Very large suspended ceiling for a warehouse.
  7. Awkward suspended ceiling in a church in Swindon.
  8. Ceilings in some toilets in Chippenham.
  9. Difficult suspended ceiling for Chippenham Motor Co.
  10. Fire rated suspended ceilings

We have more projects that can be found on the ‘projects’ tab above
If you want to improve sound performance for a space, or want to hide some services, or have any questions about suspended ceiling types please give us a call on 01380 73 88 44

Categories
News Office Furniture Uncategorized

New Bench Furniture Ranges

New Bench Furniture Ranges

Cre8tive has been working with a UK manufacturer for a while now and is very excited to be looking at introducing their new range of bench furniture. The image above shows bench furniture designed into a pod arrangement. The main reason for the introduction of this new product is to promote closer team working. Traditional bench type systems where you have long rows of people working are very functional but if the people in the row of desks is working as a team, then the person at one end, will not speak to, or sometime see the other person.

Bench Furniture Ranges.

We have a few projects where we have installed a more traditional bench type system. The word bench is used to describe the cluster of desks that share leg frames. The sharing of leg frames under a bench top has several advantages over conventional radial, wave or straight desks, the first is that the number of components are reduced, thereby reducing costs, and the second main one is that more legroom is created under the desk. The footprint of desks is reducing, and even though people need less working room now with the advent of tablets, laptops and flat screen monitors people forget about what is under the desk. You still need somewhere for the cpu and pedestal, as well as legs and cabling.

The Pod concept allows everyone to be together and yet the screens reduce ambient noise getting out of the pod into the other areas of the office. Cre8tive is working on a couple of schemes where we hope to introduce this product.

For more information please call Cre8tive on 01380 73 88 44