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Design is simple for Kit Mezzanines Australia – We have worked with our Engineer to create proprietary load charts for our Mezzanine system. This allows us to get your Mezzanine Design completed quickly, without waiting on third parties.
Our spans vary depending on the load and use of the Mezzanine Floor. At the lower end of the load capacities it is capable of of spanning up to 6000mm however there are many variables and each individual project needs to be assessed individually.
The longer the span, the larger the member. So if headroom is tight, often it’s better to have shorter spans so your beams and joist are smaller ensuring you have adequate headroom above and below the Mezzanine.
We design our Mezzanine Floors to 1.5kPa, 3kPa or 5kPa depending on the use. 3kPa eqautes to around 300kg per square metre and 5kPa is around 500kg per square metre.
If you are building an office, or if the Mezzanine is in a personal shed, 3kPa is fine. If it’s for heavy storage or you are storing Pallets etc, 5kPa is probably going to be the way to go.
Our Kit Mezzanine System is made up of Steel Posts and C Purlins – Very similar to your standard shed design.
To put it simply, two C purlins are bolted back to back to create a ‘Bearer’, this Bearer sits on top of the post and then your joists are either bolted in between or on top for your floor to lay on. These Mezzanine Floor purlins vary depending on the spans and load capacity required but generally you are looking at 200, 250 or 300mm Purlins for Bearers and 200, 250 or 300mm Purlins for joists.
We supply either Particleboard or Plywood Flooring depending on the load capacity required or your personal preference. For example, if you are running Pallet Jacks on your Mezzanine Floor, we will generally use 21mm ply or higher but if you plan on putting an office on your Mezzanine, Particleboard may be adequate.
At Kit Mezzanines Australia, we generally prefer to use roll formed beams (Bearers) for our Mezzanine Floor designs. This is for a variety of reasons:
1. It’s cost effective
2. They are readily available as they are roll formed out of flat steel
3. There is no fabrication required
4. We can source these quickly
5. No reliance on a specific supplier/ fabricator
6. Available to purchase throughout Australia which minimises freight cost
7. Most joists are roll formed, meaning our beams and bearers are from the same supplier
The bearers are pivotal in supporting your Mezzanine Floor structure – The length and spacing of these will define your Mezzanines load capacity. The posts and joists definitely contribute to the overall system, however these components are generally selected after we decide the spans and load capacity of the project. Once this is defined, we choose the appropriate Mezzanine Posts and joists to support this capacity. Much like you choose your car before your tyres and not vice versa.
This brings us to our next point – Once we have defined your Mezzanine Bearers, Posts and Joists, we then decide whether or not we will design your joists on top of the bearers, or in line with the bearers.
There is no right or wrong way in terms of your joist layout – Both in-line and over the top work perfectly. In-line saves head room in the building, over the top allows your to hang your joists beyond the structure (cantilever) if required.
When you design your joists in-line with the bearers, it means you are only losing the thickness of the bearer and flooring sheet from your overall height. For example, if we used a 200mm bearer and 19mm Flooring sheet and your floor was 2219mm finished floor level, you’d have 2000mm clearance below. In simple terms, if you are restricted in height, this is the best solution.
When designing a Mezzanine Floor with joists in line, the bearers are pre punched with holes to then connect brackets to receive the joists.
Just another consideration we make when deciding on what style of floor we build you. We always weigh up the different options to ensure your project can be done in a timely, cost effective way whilst making sure the design is sound!
Joists rest on top of the Bearer and are either connected with vertical brackets or bolted directly to one another via the flanges of the bearer and joist.
We can extend the joist beyond the structure if needed however you lose critical headroom in lower sheds so often this design isn’t chosen.
To wrap it up, we do both styles of joist connections and both work great, so talk to our team about your preference or just let us assess your project and we will make the decision for you. We have thrown some drawings up above comparing the different styles, so we hope you are now a little informed about a small part of your Mezzanine design!
Staircases and Handrails make up an important part of any Mezzanine Floor Design. They also are one of the biggest costs, so ensuring they are designed correctly for your specific application is very important.
Kit Mezzanines Australia has a custom tread and stringer system that we use which allows us to build a set of stairs without the need for welding – Each part is kept in stock and ready for immediate delivery which eliminates the wait times and potential stuff ups involved in fabricating a traditional staircase.
When it comes to Handrails, we use the Kwikclamp modular system – Much like the rest of our Mezzanine Floor system, it is an off the shelf product which means it can be supplied quickly.
Whilst we are based on the Gold Coast, Kit Mezzanines services clients throughout South East Queensland including the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Hervey Bay, Toowoomba and all areas in between.
