FIRE RATING
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Mezzanine floors are constructed from steel columns, steel beams, purlins, and a chipboard deck. Left unprotected these materials offer no fire resistance and in the event of a fire the structure would potentially collapse. 

Depending on the use of your mezzanine floor, it may be necessary to add protection to your mezzanine floor by means of a suspended ceiling, column cases and fascia to the exposed edges of the mezzanine floor. These components when combined will provide 60 minutes fire protection to the structure. 

Typical scenarios where fire protection is required are;

• If the mezzanine floor exceeds 50% of the footprint of your building 
• If the floor exceeds more than 20 metres in length 
• If the floor will have operatives working permanently below or above the floor 
• If the intention of the floor is for office accommodation 
• If the floor exceeds 400 square metres 

Mezzanine floors that are solely used for storage purposes, that are under 20 metres in length and are under 50% of the warehouse footprint would not need fire protection.

The most common (and most cost effective) way to provide 60 minutes fire protection to the underside of a mezzanine floor, is to install a suspended ceiling. There are only a limited amount of suspended ceiling tiles and grid’s that have been tested under a mezzanine floor and are suitable for this application. Suspended ceiling tiles are available in either flat lay or tegular configurations. Suspended ceilings are also commonly used because they provide easy access into the void which is an advantage when you need to access any services within the void. 

Another solution that offers fire protection to the underside of the mezzanine floor is the installation of a plasterboard ceiling. Mezzanine floors naturally deflect so to prevent the plasterboard cracking under movement, we must install a MF ceiling (Metal frame) which compensates for the deflection and alleviates the problem. However these ceilings are expensive (when compared with a suspended ceiling) and allow no access into the void for access to services. 

To protect the mezzanine columns, they must be cladded. The most cost-effective way is to clad the column with a pre-formed column case. Typically, the column cases are a white plastisol finish, although a galvanised finish is also available for more industrial environments. These column cases are generally used in environments where aesthetics is less important because the base plate is left exposed. 

Another option (which is typically common in an office fit out environment) is to clad the mezzanine columns with plasterboard. This technique is used when the base plate needs to be concealed too. The wall can then be skimmed and decorated, ensuring the columns blend into the office environment. 

To complete the fire protection, the exposed edge of the mezzanine floor needs to be clad with a fascia. Similar to the column cases, the fascia can either be finished with a pre-formed fascia (available in white or a galvanised finish) or they can be finished with plasterboard (which is more suitable to an office fit out environment). The plasterboard finish is more expensive and similarly to the plasterboard ceiling, a deflection head is required to stop the plasterboard cracking under movement.