the Storage Solutions Blog

A recent permit application by one of my customers has him spending a lot of money. Applying for a permit is always the right way to proceed, but when the city told him there was work on the drawing that didn’t match what they have, is when that can of worms was opened.

By doing so, he now has to bring up to code or dismantle all the work that was previously done without a permit. If he goes forward with bringing it all up to code it will likely cost him $35,000 minimum.

The lesson learned: talk to someone about what your plans are and  find out if work has been done in your building that was done without a permit.

You’ve heard the saying “careful, you could be opening up a can of worms”!

Well that happened to one of my customers who had no history of previous work that was done in their building. So, when they applied for a building permit, the city began to question why the drawing that was submitted, didn’t look like the the latest one they had on file.

As well intentioned as they were, when the city determined that they had done work without a permit, they wanted to find out more about it. The story continues but here is the bottom line:

if you plan to apply for a permit like the law requires, it would do you good to know if there has been any construction performed on site since the last time a permit was taken out. If there has been, you could be responsible to have it meet todays building code; and that could get expensive.

It’s always a good idea to get some professionals involved to fill you in on details like this prior to making a commitment.  Those who work within the scope of work you plan to do, will likely be able to help you.

On January 23 2010 Hi-Cube Storage Products attended the Celebration of Creativity marking the completion of the Museum of Anthropology’s Partnership of Peoples renewal Project and the launch of the “new” MOA. The launch of the new facilities, along with a major exhibition of contemporary works, performances,  speeches, and tours behind the scenes where Hi-Cube supplied and installed the Spacesaver compact storage systems for the collections rooms. The celebrations were a big success.

We have probably all heard the horror stories about trying to get a building permit for installing pallet racking, shelving or a mezzanine. Some municipalities are worse than others. Some don’t require a permit for certain products. Others make you get information that has you going in circles, and it can become expensive. It seems there are no set rules, which makes it overwhelming for the un-initiated. But don’t beat yourself up. Even after 11 years of dealing with permitting for my customers, I still get surprises during the process.

Many ask, “Why do I have to go through this process”? I would like to draw your attention to what has happened in Haiti. It all comes down to engineering, and the more that is learned about earthquakes, the more engineering becomes critical in the design of pallet racking and mezzanines. Since I work so closely with these issues I can understand why those who are not involved with seismic engineering find the process as mysterious and frustrating. If you find yourself in this position, engage the help of professionals. It will cost you some money but it will save you countless hours of frustration.

In this post I’ll be discussing the various types of mezzanines briefly, and I will be expanding on this in upcoming posts.

Catwalks

Catwalk mezzanines are usually adjacent to an elevated conveyor or other materials handling equipment. This gives maintenance personnel easy access to the equipment. You can add pallet drop zones, stairways and gates to your catwalk system.

Freestanding

Freestanding mezzanines are generally considered a fixture in the building. Its steel support beams bolted to the floor and take up minimal space. Where the usual configurations or loading requirements aren’t a factor modular freestanding mezzanines can be the perfect solution.

Full Mat

Full mat mezzanines combine the features of both freestanding and catwalk systems. They have an open second level and can be installed over your existing shelving and rack uprights.

Integrated or Structural

Structural mezzanines are manufactured into the building as part of the original design and are considered part of the structure. These permanent mezzanines typically have a concrete floor. The primary benefit is the load weight they will support.

Structural mezzanines

Shelving and Rack Supported

Shelf and rack supported mezzanines are supported by conventional pallet rack uprights or bin shelving systems, so they don’t require any structural columns. Their primary advantage is affordability, because they are built upon storage you already have.

Pallet rack mezzanines
Shelving mezzanines

Customized

Almost any design, componenents, column spacing and unusual load characteristics can be accommodated in a custom mezzanine design.

Contact us regarding a customized mezzanine
We install and service Cogan Mezzanine systems in Vancouver

If you’re considering a mezzanine as a storage option, I’ve put together a list of some of the benefits they offer:

♦ they essentially double your available floor space through efficient use of the existing cube in your facility
♦ they increase your productivity
♦ you avoid or minimize moving expenses
♦ you minimize disruptions during installation
♦ you avoid the need to rent, build or purchase additional space
♦ you avoid or minimize additional property taxes
♦ you make optimum use of existing heating, ventilating and cooling systems
♦ they provide demounting and relocating options
♦ they provide expandability for future growth
♦ they offer possible tax advantages through accelerated depreciation


Vancouver Mezzanine Systems
Structural Mezzanines
Shelving Mezzanines
Pallet Rack Mezzanines

In tight workspaces, mezzanines can increase your facility’s capacity and productivity. Cramped distribution centres can become increasingly inefficient. A mezzanine puts your vertical space to use and many companies have found them to be a very cost effective space solution. When compared with the costs of construction and real estate to expand horizontally mezzanines represent a real bargain.

Our mezzanines are pre-engineered or custom engineered structures that can be added to warehouses, distribution centres and manufacturing operations to increase storage capacity or create additional areas of production. Mezzanines can be constructed of roll-formed steel, structural steel, aluminum or fibreglass. We can design your mezzanine to fit your exact specifications for height, area and load requirements.

Vancouver Mezzanine Systems
Structural Mezzanines
Shelving Mezzanines
Pallet Rack Mezzanines

5 Bays of the office type shelving have sold already!

Try our SEARCH function at the top of the page for extra help to find what you are looking for.

Interesting job posting for a retired or semi-retired structural engineer. See our employment page.

We have put more items for sale on our Clearance and Used pages. If you are looking for some office type shelving we have some really good quality shelving at very good prices.