In India, with the increase of industries and their demand to get a storage space without actually expanding or hindering the blueprint of industries, warehouses or other workspaces have led to better architectural solutions for these problems and the mezzanine floors popularity increased among all types of industries, warehouses, offices or other workspaces. However, in India, there are some rules and regulations that need to be met to install the mezzanine floors in different buildings. To help you learn about them in-depth, we’re here. In the article, we will learn about the rules for mezzanine floors in India, what a mezzanine floor is, and the different types of mezzanine floors too.
What is a Mezzanine Floor?
An intermediate floor between the main floors of the buildings was installed in order to add up to the extra spaces for storage solutions of the industries, warehouses, offices, retail shops, or any other workspace known to be the mezzanine floors. These are the floors made of steel, wood, concrete, or composite materials depending upon the area’s requirements. Yes, before it’s installation the customer first needs to know about the requirements of the area, future expansions, load-bearing capacities, type of construction like a temporary or permanent mezzanine floor, and others. Abiding by all these factors helps the manufacturers and customers to make informed decisions and the right choice for their better use.
Types of Mezzanine Floors
To meet the specific needs of all the different working environments like industries, warehouses, and offices to store loads of different weights and to meet all other needs of a user, the mezzanine floors come in various types. Some of these include:
- Bar Grating Mezzanine Floors: These floors are constructed by welding or locking the metal bars together forming a robust structure to be used widely and firmly in industries or warehouses to store heavy equipment and machines followed by its excellent ventilation properties.
- Wooden Mezzanine Floors: These floors are the best choice for commercial places or residential areas to increase the storage and accommodation space followed by giving an aesthetic look to the areas, enhancing not just the storage space but also the appearance in those areas of its use.
- Concrete Mezzanine Floors: These floors are the best choice for permanent mezzanine floors providing life-long durability with heavy-load bearing capacities to be used in various industries and warehouses to store heavy equipment and machinery, ensuring proper safe working areas with optimized workflow.
- Rack-supported Mezzanine Floors: For the areas that require separate sections to store the goods in the added storage space areas that are in mezzanine floors, these rack-supported floors are constructed to in-built the pallet racking system in the mezzanine floors thus providing separate distribution with shelves in them.
- Free Standing Mezzanine Floors: these floors do not withstand or comply with the building’s main blueprint or construction, rather providing separate beams, columns, and roof parts to allow them to be installed in different parts of the building and provide added load-bearing capacity. These floors are mainly installed in big warehouses or industrial areas.
- Multi Level Mezzanine Floors: these are the floors with multiple tiers or levels in the same mezzanine floor which is used in areas with high ceilings like big warehouses or industrial spaces to meet all the demands for storage systems. These are generally helpful for areas that are constantly growing and would need extra space in the near future. Thus multi level mezzanine floors are the best way to use the vertical space of the building.
What are the Rules for Mezzanine Floors in India?
To install the mezzanine floor in specific areas of work you need to follow some rules and regulations stated by the Indian government to ensure the safety of people working around in the environment. Thus the rules for mezzanine floors in India are as follows:
- Buildings Regulations: The mezzanine floors need to comply with the building regulations which are majorly the height of the floors which should not exceed the one-third height of the floor in which the mezzanine floor is being constructed.
- Weight Capacity: The mezzanine floor must be constructed in a way such as to comply with the load-bearing capacity needed for the specific area of use to avoid any risks of accidents in the particular areas.
- Structural Integrity: The mezzanine floors are required to meet the structural integrity of the building which means the beams, columns, roofs, and other parts of the mezzanine floors are capable of holding the specific weights in the area of use.
- Ventilation: The mezzanine floors must have proper ventilation to avoid any suffocations in terms of office or library workspace for the people surrounding that area and complete the work for which the mezzanine floors were constructed intentionally.
- Accessibility: the mezzanine floors must have proper accessibility as per the workspace of the area and the users around it, to ensure their safety and enhanced working space. This involves the proper railings and grids to be fitted for proper safety.
- Fire Safety: The structure and construction of mezzanine floors should be done in a way such that they are resistant to fire, followed by the installation of fire security alarms, fire extinguishers, and other equipment to avoid hazardous fire conditions in the building.
- Permissions: Before starting the installation and construction of mezzanine floors it is important to present the specific plans and blueprints of the mezzanine floors to the building committee and government to ensure its safety and no rules are violated.
- Purpose: always use the mezzanine floor for the intended purpose it is constructed, for any other use you must complete a proper approval and then change its purpose to meet the structural integrity and safety of the building.
FAQs on What are the rules for mezzanine floors in India?
Q1: Are there height restrictions for mezzanine floors in Indian regulations?
Ans: Yes, in India the height of mezzanine floors should not exceed one-third of the room’s height in which the mezzanine floors are being installed.
Q2: Are there fire safety regulations that apply to mezzanine floors in India?
Ans: Yes, it is compulsory to install fire safety equipment like fire alarms, fire extinguishers, and fire sprinklers and make use of construction material that is fire resistant for mezzanine floors in India.
Q3: What are the structural considerations one must keep in mind while designing a mezzanine floor in India?
Ans: Structural considerations for mezzanine floor construction in India require the weight capacity of the floors, the rods, columns, beams, and roof must be able to withstand the load of the floor and goods on it and it should meet parallelly with the main structure of the building complying its rules and regulations thoroughly.
In conclusion, the mezzanine floors in India, although quite popular in different aspects from industries to offices, and warehouses to libraries still need to comply with the various rules stated by the government in India. For further inquiries regarding the cost and installation of mezzanine floors you can contact our customer support team at SimcoSteel.