When Should Your Mezzanine Floor Have Additional Fire Protection?
Unsure whether your new mezzanine flooring will require additional fire protection? We explain the common methods of fire protection and when they should be used.
If your mezzanine floor is considered to be an additional storey in your business premises, it’s a legal requirement to provide a 60-minute fire protection to the underside.
Your mezzanine floor must be fire rated under the following circumstances:
- When used for any other purpose besides storage, where people are permanently employed (for example, as an office space)
- If it measures more than 20 metres in each direction
- When it exceeds 50% or more of the floor area of the space in which it’s installed
- If the size of the mezzanine floor exceeds 400 sqm
When Is It Safe To Install A Mezzanine Floor Without Fire Protection?
A storage mezzanine floor can be installed without fire protection provided it:
- Doesn’t exceed 20m in length or width
- Doesn’t exceed more than 50% of a business’s total floor area
For more information about fire protection for your mezzanine flooring, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01789 764172.
Common Methods Of Fire Protection
- Column casings
- Suspended ceilings
- Bulkhead and fascias
- Cavity barriers
Suspended Ceilings
We specialise in high-quality suspended ceilings and can supply and install any fire rated suspended ceiling available in our range. The fire rating required will affect the choice of tile available, but we offer a wide variety in our product range to ensure you find the ideal solution for your business.
Cavity Barriers
Cavity barriers are vertical barriers within the ceiling that are designed to prevent smoke and flames from travelling through the cavity between the ceiling and the underside of a mezzanine flooring structure. These will be required if the floor-ceiling cavity exceeds 20m in length.
Our extensive product range is designed to ensure the health and safety of your business. If you have any concerns or queries about whether your workplace requires increased fire protection, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our knowledgeable team today on 01789 764172.
Fire Resistance
To maintain fire resistance throughout a mezzanine floor, any open edges around loading areas or stairs are covered with a fire rated fascia system. This is normally installed with Glasroc MultiBoard, a plasterboard-like product that can be supplied in a galvanised, white or coloured PVC steel fascia to match the specification of the columns.
If your building has an existing fire sprinkler system, you may wish to consider extending this beneath the proposed mezzanine flooring. Safe fire rated partitioning and doors can be installed around one of the staircases, in order to provide a protected escape route back to an existing external fire door. You will also need to consider emergency lighting, smoke and fire alarms, and relevant safety signage.
For more information about fire protection for your business, including how to make your mezzanine flooring safer, please contact us on 01789 764172.