Floor space overhead is cheaper than floor space on the ground. If your shop, warehouse or hangar has height to spare, a mezzanine gives you a second level for offices, parts, storage or a break room without buying more slab, more land or more roof. That one idea saves a lot of owners a lot of money.
A mezzanine is a steel platform framed inside the building, supported by its own columns or tied into the main frame. A platform is a smaller, often elevated work or access deck. Both are built from beams, joists, decking and rails, and both have to carry real loads that the code takes seriously.
We design and build mezzanines and platforms for metal buildings across the state. We also tell people honestly when their building was not framed for it and what it would take to fix.
The first question is clear height. A mezzanine needs headroom above and below. Many owners find that a sixteen-foot eave is too short for two levels, while an eighteen to twenty-foot eave works. We measure the existing building or plan the new one with the right eave.
The second question is use. Storage loads are heavy, office loads are lighter, and a platform for equipment can be heavier still. The use drives the beams, the floor and the stair. We ask what will sit on it before we pick a design, because changing the load after the steel is made is expensive.
The state has adopted the International Building Code with amendments, while some cities list their own edition. Either way, a mezzanine is a structure that the building department reviews, with floor loads, stair geometry, guardrails and egress. A mezzanine that adds a lot of floor area can also change occupancy and fire protection rules, so we check early.
Stairs, rails and guard heights are strict. A rail that is two inches low or a stair with a bad tread is a failed inspection. We detail them to the code that applies and build them accordingly.
Structural steel framing, joists, steel or concrete deck, stairs, rails, gates, support columns and footings are standard. For storage, we add pallet gates and load ratings. For offices, we frame partitions and coordinate with electrical and HVAC. Some jobs need a freestanding unit with its own columns. Others tie into the building frame where the engineer allows.
If your building has an existing slab, new column footings may need to be cut in and poured. If the slab is thin, we may recommend thickened pads. We never assume the slab can carry a point load without checking.
Most mezzanine jobs happen in finished buildings that are in use. We plan around that. Material is staged outside until needed, work areas are marked, and the schedule is built so your operation keeps moving. We cut and fit steel in a way that avoids long shutdowns.
Before we start, we verify the actual slab, the frame and the clear height. If the building is a pre-engineered building, we also check whether the frames and girts will interfere with the platform. For a new building we can plan columns and connections so the mezzanine fits without surprises, which is far cheaper.
Span and load carry the cost. A light office platform with a short span costs far less than a heavy storage deck that crosses thirty feet. Stairs, rails and doors add to it, and so does a ceiling or enclosed office on top. Compare the cost per usable square foot against pouring more slab and extending the building. For building additions, a mezzanine often wins when height is available and loses when it is not.
Lead time on fabricated steel and deck can be a few weeks. Installation itself is quick. We give you the figure at quote time.
We see them in manufacturing shops, parts warehouses, distribution spaces and hangars. Large industrial sites such as MidAmerica Industrial Park, which is described as Oklahoma's largest at 9,000 acres, house the kind of operations that use mezzanines for offices overlooking the floor. See the warehouse and manufacturing plant pages for typical layouts.
Smaller shops use them too. A repair garage might put the office and parts room above the work bay. A rural co-op might put records and break space above storage. Each one has a different load, a different stair and a different budget, and we plan accordingly.
Every mezzanine should carry a posted load rating, a gate where loads are handed up and rails that meet code. We install signs and review the rating with your staff. Overloading is the most common problem, because a stack of pallets looks lighter than it is.
During construction, we protect people working below and keep the area under overhead work clear. When the job is done, we hand over drawings and load information, so the platform is used as designed.
Once there is an upper floor, the lower one changes. Offices up top usually mean the shop floor needs a clean connection to the stair and a place for deliveries. A hangar or a high-bay shop that is also being built for lifting should read about crane and industrial buildings, since a crane runway and a mezzanine compete for the same wall and column lines. Planning both together avoids a clash.
Insulation and liners matter when the upper room is an office. Liner panels and trim give you a finished wall, and the mezzanine floor itself can carry a floor covering. Fire protection and sprinkler coverage under a solid deck are issues to bring up with the building department early, because the answer can add cost.
We work anywhere in Oklahoma, but buyer needs differ. In the oil, pipe and equipment country of the west, owners want parts and records space above the yard. Around the aviation sites near Tulsa International, hangar operators use platforms for maintenance access. A warehousing and distribution operator tends to want a second picking level, which has its own load and fire requirements.
Send the building height and what you want upstairs. We will say whether a mezzanine works and what it costs.
Usually yes. A mezzanine is a structural addition with stairs and guardrails, and the building department reviews it. Sizes and rules vary by city. We prepare the drawings.
Not always. If the building has enough height and a free-standing structure can be placed, it works. The frame and slab are checked. Some buildings need the frame or foundation reinforced.
It depends on the design. Light office loads and heavy storage loads are very different. We size the structure for your use and post the rating.
Fabrication has a lead time, and installation on site is usually quick, from a few days to a couple of weeks depending on size. We work around operations where we can.
Often, if you have the height. You skip the foundation, walls and roof. If the building has no spare height, an addition may be the better choice.
Tell us about the site, the building and the schedule, and we will set up a review of scope, schedule and permitting.
See the services, building types and industries we plan and manage across Oklahoma.