How do you build a mezzanine?
How do you build a mezzanine?
Mezzanines are currently winning over more and more fans, both for their function and for their look. Built in wood, concrete or metal, they have always added a touch of originality to interior architecture. With the many styles offered by mezzanine specialists, it is easy to personalize an installation to your tastes and preferences. Protected by guardrails or timber partitions, a mezzanine also gains you a few extra square meters of living space. This turns out to be surprisingly practical when you want to build a new bedroom or extend your living room without needing major, very costly work.
Why choose a mezzanine?
Mezzanines are now appealing to designers and interior architects for reasons that go beyond their practical side. Mezzanines can fill large empty rooms, making living rooms warmer and more welcoming.
In most cases, mezzanines are added to create a few extra rooms in a house or apartment. Solid partitions can also be added to the structure to give the space a little more privacy, particularly for a bedroom or an office. Others, on the other hand, prefer open spaces protected by guardrails for their mezzanine.
What is a mezzanine?
A mezzanine is an intermediate floor supported by beams or load-bearing walls, which can be fitted out to extend your living space. To preserve the rustic style of a country house, architects choose mezzanines made entirely of wood, but steel beams are often used to give the structure more strength.
Most mezzanines consist of a platform supported by a few steel or timber beams and sometimes need the support of load-bearing masonry (a pillar or a wall). As a result, installing a mezzanine does not require a huge construction site. It takes only a few weeks, or even a few days for companies that specialize in mezzanines.
How do you choose the type of mezzanine installation?
Depending on the function it will serve, there are different ways to install one, in particular the type of support it will use.
The most common are:
– freestanding mezzanines on legs, where, like a piece of furniture, load-bearing legs support the horizontal platform so that a living space can be created above. This type of mezzanine is generally used for small lounges, offices or children's bedrooms.
– wall-anchored mezzanines, which save space and above all avoid bulky pillars. Instead, the load-bearing walls of the house are used to carry the load of the mezzanine. This type of installation is especially common for mezzanines under an attic roof because it is easy to install and for the space it creates.
– mezzanines on shelving, found mostly in warehouses or public spaces such as libraries.
What regulations apply to mezzanines?
Most mezzanines are raised and present risks of falls that are often dangerous (especially for young people), so any mezzanine construction should follow the standards set by the authorities scrupulously. A mezzanine, in the legal sense of the term, is a structure that should allow a ceiling height of 190 cm and a minimum height of 180 cm. For any construction not exceeding 20 square meters of suspended floor area, only a works declaration granted by the town hall is needed. However, if the mezzanine exceeds the stipulated 20 square meters, a building permit must be applied for.
Can you build a mezzanine yourself?
At first glance, mezzanines seem simple to build: just a few beams and a few pillars arranged so that a livable space is available at height. However, since this type of installation can cause serious injury to the occupants of the house, or even death, it is strongly advised not to do this work yourself.
Indeed, professionals in mezzanine construction, with their many years of experience in the field, are able to follow safety guidelines and standards scrupulously while making sure that all the technical details essential to the work are right. Moreover, the administrative authorities are more willing to grant building permits when the work is carried out by companies that specialize in mezzanines.
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