Brook Bell Tents, based in Milton Keynes, know that rhythm well. Their warehouse storage had always been built around the tents themselves – large, floor-stored units taking up most of the available space. But a growing glamping season brings more than tents. Furniture, cooking equipment, flooring, lighting and all the fittings that turn a tent into a finished glamping experience needed somewhere to go too, and the warehouse was already full at ground level.

There comes a point where a business has grown into every square metre it has, and the smartest next move is making better use of the space already there rather than finding more of it.

Making use of the headroom

BSE UK’s Alex Gay visited the Milton Keynes site to see the space in person. The warehouse had headroom above the tent storage that wasn’t being used for anything, so Alex measured up for a mezzanine floor: 19.9m x 2.5m, including a staircase, covering roughly a quarter of the warehouse footprint.

“We get a lot of businesses like Brook Bell Tents coming to us in the same boat – loads of empty space up top, limited space on the floor for a growing business. Once we’d measured up here, it was obvious a mezzanine would fit well. The customer ended up with 25% more floor space to work with, without moving anywhere.”

Alex Gay, Sales at BSE UK

Liam Doyle took the project from there, managing the contractors on site and keeping Brook Bell Tents’ Jason Brooks in the loop throughout. The whole build, from first fixing to a finished, usable floor, took two days.

Built to take the load

The finished floor gives Brook Bell Tents 49.75m² of extra space, built to a working load that comfortably takes stacked furniture, canvas and equipment without a second thought. Access is via a dedicated staircase with wide treads, a handrail and a kick plate along the open edge – the kind of everyday detail that matters once a floor is walked up and down all day, not just admired from below.

The details:

Storage that isn’t a fixed box

The customer’s challenge was that glamping equipment isn’t built to stack neatly. Furniture, canvas, poles and fittings come in shapes that don’t sit well in a standard pallet racking bay, so the new level needed to be open, flexible floor space rather than a fixed storage system – somewhere the team could arrange equipment however the season demanded, and rearrange it just as easily the next.

The result

That extra 25% floor space is now doing real work. The ground floor stays dedicated to the tents; the new level takes the rest, with room to spare as stock lists and demands grow.

No extension, no relocation – just a warehouse doing more with the space it already had, ready for whatever the next staycation season brings.

If your own warehouse has run out of floor space long before it’s run out of height, a mezzanine floor works on the same principle. Explore our mezzanine floor solutions to see what’s possible in your building. Or if you’re ready to start your project, contact our sales team on info@bse-uk.co.uk or call 0117 955 5211.

The post Making room for the staycation boom: a new mezzanine floor for Brook Bell Tents appeared first on BSE UK.

At Dragonfly Leisure’s Midsomer Norton site, two long-redundant squash courts sat unused within a building that still runs a working swimming pool alongside it. The brief was to turn that unused space into a fully equipped, two-storey gym facility with a mezzanine – plus bring the site’s changing facilities up to the same high standard.

The design for the new studio had already been developed and taken through to tender before BSE UK came on board to deliver the gym fit-out. It’s worth saying: BSE UK can pick up a project at whatever stage it’s at, whether that’s shaping the design from scratch or, as here, taking a design that’s already agreed and turning it into a finished workspace. The project was managed by Jerry Hubble, Project Manager at BSE UK, supported by Project Coordinator Haydn Couzens who worked closely with the client to deliver a high quality, modern leisure space for Midsomer Norton’s local community and surrounding areas.

Understanding the Brief: Designing a Fit-Out Built Around Wellbeing

Squash courts are very unique spaces, and make awkward gym spaces – tall, boxy, and built for a completely different purpose. The goal wasn’t just to fill the area with gym equipment; it was to build a space that felt genuinely good to train in. Dragonfly wanted somewhere members would feel motivated and supported, and not sized up or seperated – an environment built with a priority focus on body positivity and mental wellbeing as much as the equipment on the floor.

Alongside the new studio, an existing exercise room and store needed converting into high-end dry changing facilities with showers, built to handle high footfall. External ribbon windows were also part of the scope, bringing more much-needed natural light into the building.

Gym Fit-Out Finishes: Carpet Flooring, Timber Accents and LED Lighting Design

The design leans on a neutral palette – greys and soft off-whites – lifted with pops of teal that carry through the flooring, tactical lighting and structural detailing, plus warm timber accents that soften the more industrial elements of the space. Multi-tonal grey carpet planks mark out circulation routes and zones underfoot, and dimmable LED lighting throughout means the space can shift mood between a bright morning session and a calmer evening one.

A painted wall pattern runs full height between the ground floor and the mezzanine above, visually stitching the two levels together rather than treating them as separate rooms – which was particularly important to the client.

Commercial Mezzanine Floor Construction and Feature Lighting Design

Converting a squash court into a two-storey gym meant building a commercial mezzanine floor into a space that wasn’t designed to have one. The staircase connecting the two levels uses a timber handrail with a metal mesh balustrade, echoing the mesh wrapped around the structural columns on the gym floor – each column lined, painted, and lit from within with LED strips behind the mesh, so the structural bones of the building become part of the visual identity rather than something to hide.

The ground floor runs a suspended grid ceiling with shadow-gap lighting to the perimeter, while the mezzanine ceiling was left exposed and painted dark grey, broken up with a feature acoustic baffle “island” overhead and MDF trim lit top and bottom around the perimeter walls.

The result is a mezzanine level that feels built into the gym rather than bolted onto it, with the lighting and materials doing as much to shape the space as the structure holding it up.

Managing Structural Challenges During an Occupied-Site Refurbishment

Once work was underway, two issues surfaced that weren’t in the original scope: asbestos within the roof void, and reinforced concrete structure that hadn’t been accounted for, both requiring additional structural work to keep the design on track.

The reinforced concrete meant adapting the mezzanine’s fixing points as work progressed, while the asbestos required a specialist removal phase before ceiling works could begin – both absorbed into the programme without pushing the design off course.

A site manager was based on site throughout to oversee day-to-day health and safety and manage trades, and weekly site meetings kept the client and BSE UK’s project team aligned as the two issues were worked through – so the unexpected didn’t become the derailing kind of unexpected.

High-Footfall Changing Room Fit-Out: Lockers, Flooring and Cubicle Design

The former exercise room and store now house dry changing facilities designed to match the ambition of the gym upstairs: timber-effect electronic lockers, a tiled floor, and private changing cubicles with terrazzo-effect doors, with a skylight bringing natural light into what used to be a windowless back-of-house space.

“Two squash courts and a swimming pool next door don’t give you an obvious blueprint for a gym, so a lot of this project was about making the structure work for us rather than against us. Once we found the asbestos and the reinforced concrete, it became about solving problems without losing momentum – and I think that shows in how considered the finished space feels.”

— Jerry Hubble, Project Manager, BSE UK

The Result: A Two-Storey Fit-Out Built for How Space Feels to Use

From first enquiry to a finished gym took around seven months, moving through design handover, mobilisation, unforeseen structural work and fit-out before Dragonfly could open the doors.

Fit-Out Delivery Timeline: From Enquiry to Handover

It’s easy to overlook how much the smaller decisions carry a space like this – a handrail you actually want to hold, a locker that opens smoothly on your third visit as well as your first, light that falls where you need it rather than just where a plan says it should. Those are the details that decide whether a gym feels approachable on a hard day or just looks good in a photograph. BSE UK is proud of what this project became – every fixing and finish was chosen to hold up to daily use while still doing the job Dragonfly asked of it – somewhere members feel they belong and feel motivated.

Ready to transform your gym or leisure space?

BSE UK offers a free design consultation for gym and leisure fit-out projects as part of our commercial fit-outs service. Whether you’re planning a full gym conversion, a changing room refresh, or a complete leisure facility fit-out, we’ll talk through what’s possible and how to get there.

Call 0117 955 5211 or email info@bse-uk.co.uk

The post Gym Fit-Out in Midsomer Norton: Turning Redundant Squash Courts into a High-Tech, Two-Storey Studio appeared first on BSE UK.

Location: City of London, EC

Client Background: BSE UK, a leading provider of bespoke workplace solutions, was approached by a prestigious global financial institution to address their need for a print room installation within the basement of their central London offices.

Challenges: The client required a comprehensive solution involving the design and installation of a new mezzanine floor along with associated fit-out works. The project was time-sensitive, demanding a swift and efficient one-stop-shop fit-out solution.

Scope of Works:

Mezzanine Floor Installation:

• Delivered and installed a 100m2 storage mezzanine floor in the basement of the central London offices.
• Implemented 1-hour fire protection measures for the mezzanine floor.

Office Fit Out:

• Installed floor coverings in the newly designated office area.
• Provided a full design and installation of Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) package, including MVHR system, AC equipment, ductwork, and extraction.
• Implemented a new Distribution Board, LED Lighting, and Lighting Control systems.
• Installed Small Power, Fire alarm, and data infrastructure with primary containment.
• Utilized Double Skin Steel Partitioning to create a print room below the mezzanine floor.

Building Regulations Compliance:

• Submitted Building Regulation Application and obtained necessary approvals.
• Ensured compliance with all regulatory standards and obtained official sign-off.

Floor Painting and Defined Zones:

• Applied 100m2 of floor painting to create well-defined maintenance zones and pedestrian walkways.

Project Management:

• Provided full project management services to ensure a seamless and timely execution of the entire project.

Results:

Through collaborative efforts with the client, BSE UK successfully delivered a high-quality mezzanine floor and fit-out solution within the stringent timelines. The project not only met the client's specific requirements but also adhered to all relevant regulations, ensuring a safe and compliant workspace.

Check out our gallery below featuring a few photos during the works.

The post Mezzanine Floor and Office Fit Out for a Global Financial Institution in Central London appeared first on BSE UK.

COMPANY

Daikin have more than 90 years of experience in air conditioning which makes it possible for them to offer the most comfortable, energy efficient, and reliable solutions available within their market.

CUSTOMER

LOCATION

Thornbury, Bristol.

PROJECT BRIEF

Salesperson: George Ives
george@bse-uk.co.uk
BSE UK were contacted by Daikin to help provide a solution for more storage space using the already limited space they had in their warehouse.
Daikin had been looking at options to rent out another warehouse space for storage.
BSE UK were able to provide a mezzanine floor solution over an existing shelving and caged area allowing additional storage whilst maintaining useable floor space below. .

PRODUCTS USED

Mezzanine floor
with a Total Floor Area of 132.24 m2 And one standard staircase
Building Regulation Application
BSE UK made the application on the behalf of our client using an Approved Inspector, including all required drawings, structural calculations and all correspondence.

CUSTOMER COMMENTS

”Working with BSE UK previously we knew what to expect, the service was quick and efficient from quote to installation.
They were able to provide us with a mezzanine floor solution that fixed our storage problems and allowed us to keep the existing floor space and storage layout.
We would not hesitate to use BSE UK for any future projects or to recommend them to anyone looking for any storage requirements.” Dan Blanchard, Depot Manager Download the full case study here

The post Mezzanine Floor Case Study – Daikin appeared first on BSE UK.

COMPANY

Established in 1987, Polycrown are a privately owned company specialising in the manufacture and supply of a unique range of self-adhesive graphics for industry.
Polycrown offer a total in-house service within a quality conscious environment.
Innovative product development provides there customers with high quality self-adhesive graphics and emblems for an unlimited range of applications..

COMPANY
http://www.polycrown.com/

LOCATION
Yatton, Bristol

PROJECT BRIEF

Salesman: Rob Ives
Email: Rob@bse-uk.co.uk
BSE UK were contacted by Polycrown who wanted us to supply, deliver and install a mezzanine floor for the use of storage. After visiting their site, Rob provided them with a competitive, detailed quote.

PRODUCTS USED

1 Mezzanine floor specification:
-Design Load: 4.80kN/m²
-Deflection: L/200
-Length of Floor: 3.73m
-Width of Floor 4.65m
-Total Floor Area: 17.34m²
-Underside Height: 2584mm
-Deck Height: 2800mm
-Grid Layout: 3430mm x 4150mm Bays
Accessories
-Standard Hand & Knee Rail – 4 Metres
-Galvanised Kick Plate – 4 Metres

1 Hour Fire Resistance
Installation of a 1 hour fire resistant floor which includes a 1200mm x 600mm suspended ceiling with fascia to exposed edges and white plastisol faced column cases.

CUSTOMER COMMENTS

”Right from the first point of contact it was clear BSE UK and Rob, the Salesman were very professional and knowledgeable.

At the time of order we didn’t get any other quotes which is something we usually do, but with BSE we didn’t feel the need.

the quality of products have exceeded my expectations, I will definitely be using BSE again!”

Download the full case study here

The post Polycrown – Mezzanine Floor Case Study appeared first on BSE UK.

Company

Natures Menu started as a small family business in 1981 selling a range of simple minced meats to specialist breeders and some local pet stores, they have been flying the flag for raw and natural nutrition from day one.

Project brief

Natures Menu contacted BSE UK to provide a competitive quotation to fit a mezzanine floor in their existing warehouse. This was to allow them to gain more storage for their busy warehouse. Matt Smart at Natures Menu in Bristol, wanted to deal with BSE UK as he had dealt with us in the past and has a good relationship with Rob, our Sales Manager.

What we suggested

A Mezzanine Floor to cover a floor area of 74.25m². All of our Mezzanine Floors are CE marked which means all of our steel work complies with the legal standards. We offer fire protection when recommended by building control for floors used for any other use then storage or if the floor exceeds the size of 400m.

Products used

1 Mezzanine floor with a specification of:

• Design Load: 7.20kN/m²
• Deflection: L/200
• Length of Floor: 5.49m
• Width of Floor: 13.52m
• Total Floor area: 74.25m²
• Underside Height: 3003mm
• Deck Height: 3350mm
• Grid Layout: 3933mmX2200mm Bays
• Staircase: 1 external Utility Staircase, with a mid-landing
• Handrail/Kick Plate: 20m Additional items of
• 1 up ad over pallet gate – 1 pallet load plate

Categories

Pallet RackingMezzanine FloorsSEMAShelvingPartitioningLightingSignup to our newsletter below to receive all our latest news! By submitting this form you agree to our privacy and data protection policy which governs how we deal with personal data. Twitter

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The post Mezzanine Flooring System Case Study – Natures Menu appeared first on BSE UK.

Company

PF Cusack are one of the UK’s leading suppliers in contractors tooling, personal protective equipment, and signage and traffic management products. They have 5 depots around the UK as well as a vehicle fleet of 20, enabling them to deliver their products nationwide.

Project brief

PF Cusack contacted BSE UK to provide a competitive quotation to rack out their new build warehouse in Highbridge, Somerset.

Barry Woodman, Depot Manager at Cusack, was keen to deal with a professional and local supplier who he could build a relationship with for future service and maintenance as well as the initial project.

BSE UK were awarded the contract to complete the project. The scope expanded to include Mezzanine Floors and Steel Partitioning.

What we suggested

A Mezzanine Floor was specified to maximise the available height whilst maintaining a functional work space below. We suggested steel partitioning to separate the area off from the main warehouse in order to create a safe working environment.

Products used

• Timber Decking
• Dexion P90 Pallet Racking - 1845 pallet locations
• Rack End Protection
• 190m2 Mezzanine Floor for Storage
• Single Skin Steel Partitioning to create separate work area under the Mezzanine floor
• Designed and installed in line with SEMA codes of practice

The post Mezzanine Flooring System and Dexion P90 Racking Case Study – PF Cusack appeared first on BSE UK.

BSE UK was called to a site in Portishead belonging to E-Vapor, a company that sells and supplies electronic cigarettes, e-liquids and other associated equipment.

Initial brief

The objective was to create a functional warehouse with an office for staff and additional space for storage, whilst still allowing frequent deliveries and collections to take place uninterrupted. 

BSE implemented a range of products in their warehouse including energy efficient LED lighting, a mezzanine flooring system with 1 hour fire protection, air conditioning and steel partitioning system with vinyl flooring.

Products Used:

Mezzanine Flooring with 1 hour fire protection – The 1 tier mezzanine flooring system used in this project was designed and fitted to create a functional office space for staff to work in, with the space underneath system creating further storage and work space through the use of a partitioning system.

The mezzanine supplied had a 1 hour fire rating in order to comply with Building and Fire Regulations giving the company peace of mind that stock would be safe for some time in the event of a fire.

Mezzanine floors are often used to create additional space for offices in the warehouse as a cost effective alternative to expansion or relocation.

Steel Partitioning – On the ground floor, a single skin ground level partitioning system was installed to seal off the mezzanine, making up the storage space. On the top tier, a clean room partitioning system was installed to create a four sided enclosure which would act as the workspace for employees – creating a clean environment free from contamination and allowing them to work without constant distractions from outside noise.

Vinyl Flooring – Vinyl flooring was an essential part of this project as the staff at E-Vapor are constantly handling e-liquids and associated ingredients. These substances are sticky and will stain on most types of flooring if spilt. The vinyl flooring supplied is hygienic and easy to clean as well as being durable enough to withstand the daily volume of staff.

Warehouse Lighting – The traditional highbay lighting previously in place at E-Vapor was replaced with efficient LED lighting – not only is this type of lighting brighter, but it has a longer lifespan - reducing energy costs and the companies impact on the environment.

Air Conditioning – Finally, a new Daikin air conditioning heat pump inverter system was implemented to give staff control over the temperature of the office and storage space – this was also an essential due to the liquids and other stock held on site.

The post E-Vapor – Mezzanine Floor Bristol Case Study appeared first on BSE UK.

A bit about the Client…

Danbury Motor caravans are world renowned for their conversions of beautiful retro style VW T2’s, the multi-purpose VW T5 and VW Caddy’s.

With a 40,000 square foot factory in Bristol, this long established business chose BSE UK to fit out their warehouse and production facility with a storage mezzanine system and a single-skin steel partition screen.

Mezzanine Floor for Storage

The project required BSE UK to design, supply and install a mezzanine floor with fire rating and building regulations approval.

Working closely with the client to find the best solution, BSE UK provided a detailed quote and drawing.

This enabled the client to make a fully informed decision.

Installation took just 3 days.

Specification:

• Number of Tiers:   1
• Floor Size:               19m x 17m
• Area per Tier:         317m²
• Floor Height:          3.6m to underside, 4.8m to top
• Key Features:         Handrail & Kickplate, 2 staircases, 1 Pallet Gate, 1hr Fire Rating                                                               with Suspended Ceiling

Mezzanine Gallery

Single Skin Partition for Dividing Wall

1 Mezzanine floor with a specification of:

• A steel partition was required to create a dividing wall between two areas of the showroom.
• The partitioning was finished in a ‘gleaming white’ in-keeping with the pristine Danbury showroom.
• Technical drawings of the system were issued and once approved by the client, we could start work!
• The 19m long x 3.5m high partition was installed in just one day with minimum disruption.

Completion

This project was completed within budget and on time.

This allowed Danbury to push on with their expansion plans ahead of the New Year.

The client was delighted with the project and we were then asked to provide a solution for a tyre storage racking solution in the newly refurbished workshop.

Take a look our mezzanine floors page for more information or call us on 0117 955 5211 for a free quote.

Categories

Pallet Racking
Mezzanine Floors
SEMA
Shelving
Partitioning
Lighting

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The post Mezzanine Floor Case Study – Danbury Motors appeared first on BSE UK.