Whilst we continue to face economic uncertainty in the UK, it’s encouraging to hear talk turning to the need for us to look once more at nurturing and developing the nation’s manufacturing base – particularly in respect of technological advancement and high value OEM products.

Like many ‘low tech’ businesses, Jigfloor continues to maintain and where possible, grow it’s reputation and market position – we are committed to providing a quality product at what we believe to be SENSIBLE prices, and our success bears out the sanity of our approach to the opportunities which exist!

As investment in new technology and growth industry sectors increases, Jigfloor will continue to seek to place its floors in new premises, at rates which reflect our take on where we stand in the greater scheme of things. We are a low tech, low cost,  LOW PRICE, HIGH QUALITY supplier and you will find few Mezzanine providers who can compete with us on either price, service or quality!

We are often asked by our Customers for ancillary elements which complement our Mezzanine Floors – things like Office Partitions, Conveyors, Scissor Lifts and interior fitouts.

Whilst we have always been happy to consider these services, we haven’t pushed them since we are keen to promote our core products – Mezzanine Flooring, Fire Protection & Staircase Enclosures, and Steel Partitions. However, it’s clear that given our solid reputation, our Clients would much prefer to procure these externally sourced items from us too!

We have decided to offer a small range of high value, supplementary product lines for sale under the Jigfloor name – these are elements which we are confident will reflect our renowned quality and value, and which will enable the Customer to gain more from their new Mezzanine installation.

Keep an eye on our website – our new pages will be appearing quite soon and you will be able to procure a more comprehensive ‘package’ from us should you wish, in the very near future!

Multi – tier floors or walkways around racking installations, or very large floors with relatively few exits, often require escape methods to be upgraded in order that persons evacuating the structure in the event of fire can achieve relative safety quickly, without necessarily leaving the building.

In these instances, the creation of fire rated enclosures around vertical exits (staircases) or the introduction of horizontal enclosures (fire corridors) – in both cases incorporating a final exit from the building  into an adjacent SEPARATE premises or to outside air, is an acceptable means of achieving this requirement and allowing escape to occur within permissable perameters.

According to the Building Regulations, minimum acceptable travel distances are laid down, taking into account different scenarios (overall size of structure, number of tiers,etc.) and compliance can be achieved by incorporating extra staircases, creating fire door exits into adjacent compartments or by forming enclosures as described above.

Jigfloor can provide expert advice as required – just ask us!

Modern Concrete slabs are typically very strong and uniformly level, whereas older premises can have slabs which fall far short of modern standards.

When proposing a new Mezzanine structure, the quality of the base upon which the structure will stand is of paramount importance, since a fully laden Mezzanine will exert heavy point loads which need to be accommodated.

Often, when the details of the slab and subsoil are unavailable, the Local Authority will have generic details for the immediate vicinity, since neighbouring units may have already had work carried out which required them to provide this data, however in instances where this isn’t the case, data must be gathered to support any applications.

Trial holes (or bore holes) are useful when it is only the composition of the slab which is unknown, however where both the slab and subsoil quality is unknown, a ‘PLATE TEST’ is recommended, whereby a series if seismic readings are taken when heavy steel plates are dropped onto the slab from a set height using a specially designed rig.

Typically, a plate test will cost £1500-£4000 depending upon the number of locations to be tested, and there are many Companies who can provide the service.

Jigfloor can help you to decide whether this is a necessary expense and assist you in securing the services of a reputable Engineer to carry out the test.

At Jigfloor we are quite evangelical about receiving testimonials from our customers – we obviously don’t print everything since the idea is to give potential clients a feel for what kind of thing is being said about us rather than publishing page upon page of similar comments.

We appreciate that there is often some Skepticism surrounding this type of ‘reccommendation’ since anybody can state that people love them and are impressed by them, but at Jigfloor we won’t print a logo without the customer’s testimonial, and in most cases we publish the name of the respondent so that should you wish, you can look them up and ask them for their opinion of us in their own words!

The Mezzanine floor market is full of suppliers who claim to be up there with the best and we have no doubt that many are very good. The best way to satisfy yourselves that they are up to the task is to seek testimonials and speak to people who have dealt with the supplier previously – at Jigfloor we encourage you to take up references before entering into a relationship with us!

Typically, Staircases are compliant with PART K or PART M of the current UK building regulations.

Part K stairs are standard access stairs where the design relates to the simple need to ascend to or descend from a structure safely, at a minimal cost – they are ‘bog standard’ with little emphasis placed upon aesthetic features or ease of use for those of us with mobility difficulties and as such, they lend themselves perfectly to incorporation for use on storage floors or floors where access by less mobile persons is not  factor.

Converesely, part M staircases are designed to comply with DISABLED ACCESS regulations – they are typically wider, have lower risers and longer goings, they have mid landings at proscribed maximum intervals and different handrail designs. Finally, part M stairs have CLOSED TREADS – that is, they have no gaps between treads.

Where access is unrestricted (in retail environments or offices for example) part M staircases are necessary (at least one) and they can be used in conjunction with part K stairs and personnel lifts.

For access to floors where it can be demonstrated that less mobile persons would be at significantly greater risk in the event that escape was necessary, or where any disabilities would preclude the individual from doing the job, part K is normally acceptable.

Jigfloor can advise you and steer you toward a sensible conclusion as part of our service when providing you with your new floor!

Whilst Plasterboard and pre-finished ‘timber’ type partitions are attractive and well suited to office enclosures, meeting rooms, showrooms and other spaces where aesthetic is perhaps more important than price, modern steel partitions are resurgent in a market where Manufacturing and Warehousing is now receiving considerably larger proportions of Company capital expenditure.

Single skin steel, double skin steel and mesh partitions are robust, cost effective and easy to install and relocate, since fixings are either exposed (in the case of single skin and mesh) or designed to facilitate simplified installation and take-down using well conceived componentry  (in the case of double skin partitions).

Since finishes are pre-applied and in most cases, POWDER COATED, steel systems remain the first choice in environments where durability and integrity is desired over and above a wider choice of appearances – this type of product also lends itself perfectly to ‘CLEAN’ environments since the durability of finish reduces shedding and stands up well to cleaning and airborne particulate reduction.

Jigfloor can provide all of these types of steel partitions in cojunction with expert manufacturers – all you need to do is give us a call and we can help you to achieve the correct solution to your space management requirement.

It’s that time of year when suppliers take the opportunity to do their housekeeping and carry out all of the necessary processes that they struggle with during the rest of the year.

The Mezzanine Flooring trade is not immune to the disturbances that shutdowns can cause, with deliveries often going out by a couple of extra weeks and certain materials becoming temporarily difficult to get hold of in good time!

Jigfloor are sensible – we know that this situation arises every year at this time, just as we all know that Christmas will fall on 25th December! As a consequence, we anticipate and manage our supplies, so that our lead times will be remaining constant at around 2 weeks or so from drawing approval.

Buy your Mezzanine Floor and Steel Partitions from Jigfloor. We are competitive, consistent and great at what we do (we’re even nice people to talk to).

Once you’ve determined that you need a floor and identified where it will be sited, invariably your thoughts turn to the subject of access, safety requirements and the other elements which might be desirable or necessary.

In the past, before the days of professional H&S  advisors and stringent legislation, many elements which are frowned upon today, would have met with little resistance at application/approval stage.

In order to assist you, here are some of the various considerations along with ‘OLD’ and ‘NEW’ solutions:

CHEAP ACCESS/ESCAPE FROM STORAGE FLOOR

OLD FASHIONED SOLUTION: CATLADDER

MODERN SOLUTION: PART K STAIRCASE

Catladders are no longer considered to represent adequate PRIMARY means of escape from a Mezzanine. They may still be permissable on very small structures (access platforms/maintenance structures, etc) but a part k staircase is the preferred option.

LOADING GATE ONTO FLOOR

OLD FASHIONED SOLUTION: SLIDING OR SIDE HINGED GATE

MODERN SOLUTION: UP & OVER GATE

Whilst sliders are still commonly used, more and more Local Authorities and Approved Inspectors are commenting upon their inadequacy where the ability to leave them ‘open’ is easily achieved!

Hinged gates are rarely used these days.

Up & over gates are a much more acceptable solution to Fork Truck loading issues as the design is such that the edge of the floor is never left unprotected and operator safety is therefore, not compromised.

….TO BE CONTINUED

In most instances, we think of a Mezzanine floor as having a staircase leading up to the deck with handrailing to the perimeter and perhaps a loading gate, creating a defined storage space.

Often though, the structure might be relatively large or multi tier or have personnel working upon it – either in an office environment, or assembling, or engaged in full time order picking for example.

In these instances, there may well be a requirement for two or more means of escape – this could be a second staircase, a doorway (with the necessary fire rating measures) at first floor level into another compartment or a simple Catladder (although this type of escape is increasingly frowned upon by Building Control and should therefore, not be considered an adequate measure).

As a rule of thumb, if there are personnel working on the floor for long periods or members of the public are allowed access onto the floor, if the floor level is enclosed (by partitions for example) or if it is large or multi tier structure, then it is worthwhile presuming that more than one means of escape may be required to satisfy Building Regulations requirements and typically, there must be a minimum of 45 degrees of separation between the primary and secondary means of escape in order to meet requirements.

Maximum allowable travel distances to safe refuge varies depending upon the number of adequate exits available, and the layout of rooms or stored items which might impact upon the route travelled to these areas, and a Mezzanine professional will be able to help and advise you in this instance.

In all cases, Jigfloor will assist you in identifying and satisfying the requirement through sensible interpretation of the Building Regulations and liaison with your Local Authority or an Approved Inspector.