Are you considering whether or not to have a raised floor installed in your office but not sure whether it is possible or if it is the right option for you and your business? We can give you a quick answer to the second question… Check our previous article for some help and inspiration around what raised floors can be used for. In summary, if you need to provide cold or hot storage for your business, then raised flooring could be ideal for you to create those defined rooms and areas that require specific conditions for optimum operation. Alternatively, if you are office based and need to deal with numerous cables and wires and get them out of the way, raised flooring could be a good solution. Finally, if you need a place for extra storage but are short on space, a floor cavity below a raised floor could be the ideal option for you.
As for the first question, well this one is a little more technical. So let’s take a closer look at what you need to think about if you are considering having a raised floor installed.
A dry environment
Moist or humid environments are not ideal for raised floors. Not only is it trickier in terms of the installation and materials, but it is not ideal for the types of materials you are likely to be storing under the floor. Typically, they are used to store and run cabling, whether in an office or IT server room, or for goods, whether in retail stores or for keeping items that you don’t need frequent access to.
A robust subfloor
A strong subfloor is necessary as it will have to support not only the items you are placing into the floor cavity but also the raised floor itself. It should be level, smooth, and flexible enough to be able to support the combined weight that it will be bearing. If there are any cracks or gaps, they will need to be fixed first to avoid moisture, dust, and vermin from finding their way into your floor void and cause problems.
Installation requirements
Installing a raised floor will take a little time and require a fair amount of materials and equipment to get the job done right. First and foremost, you should have enough space for engineers to work in as well for the flooring materials and tools. If you are located higher up than the ground floor a lift or other means of lifting heavy equipment will be required. An uninterrupted power supply, strong lighting, and good ventilation are also key to getting the job completed quickly and without any hitches.
Whatever you may need a raised floor for, make sure you understand the specifications that come with what you need in order to make it happen. Talk to one of our specialist engineers at Fieldmans Access Floors who can advise on what those are and help you decide if they are right or suitable for you and your business. All you need to do is give us a call on 020 8462 7100 and we can take it from there.
