Short on floor, or long on height?
Almost always both.
Operations grow sideways until there is no room left, while metres of height sit unused above. A mezzanine turns that height into usable floor with a removable structure, without moving.
What it is
It is a steel floor that lets you use two levels where there was one: operations continue below, and area is gained above. It is bolted together and can be taken down and rebuilt elsewhere, which is what sets it apart from construction work.
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The allowable load is set by the manufacturer for each design and checked during the survey.
In practice
A mezzanine builds a new floor inside the warehouse. It is a steel structure that rests on its own columns over the existing floor, with no major civil works.
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Before quoting, loads, clear heights, access points, fire protection and permits are checked.
What a mezzanine is and what a steel platform is
What goes upstairs and what stays below
A mezzanine pays off when what goes upstairs is light and handled manually. The clearest case is order picking of small items: picking shelving over two levels, with the operator working upstairs and consolidated orders coming down to the dispatch area.
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It also works very well for offices inside the building, overlooking the operation without taking up storage surface, and for archives, which mean distributed weight, little circulation and occasional retrieval. Downstairs is where heavy and bulky goods belong, along with everything moved by forklift, because manoeuvring space and mast height need clear headroom. The most common mistake is designing a mezzanine to store upstairs exactly what is stored downstairs. When that happens, load per square metre climbs sharply, the structure becomes expensive and the project loses its edge against other ways of densifying.
What to check before quoting: loads, heights and access
First, the load the new floor will carry per square metre, which comes from the actual intended use and not from an assumption: picking small items is not the same as stacked archives or a work area with equipment. Second, clear heights, and there are two of them: the one left below and the one left above.
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Both have to allow people to work standing up with the intended equipment; if either falls short, the project does not add up even if the structure fits. Third, access: stairs sized for the expected foot traffic, handrails, toe boards and at least one means of raising goods, whether a goods lift, a protected transfer gate or an area cleared for forklift loading. None of this is a finishing detail: it defines the project from the first drawing, which is why it is settled during the survey.
Fire protection: the item that defines the budget
This is the item that stops most projects, and it is worth putting on the table from the outset. Adding a floor changes the fire load of the sector and alters how smoke and water are distributed.
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In practice it almost always means reworking the existing installation: sprinklers beneath the mezzanine as well as those at roof level, detection on both levels, and a review of escape routes and signage. It is not an accessory to be added later, nor something to leave for a second phase: it is construction work that must be budgeted separately, and in many cases it weighs as much as the structure itself. STOKA raises it from the diagnosis onwards, with the scope identified and set apart, so that the figure you see is the complete figure and no surprise appears halfway through assembly.
Permits, and the sum against building or renting
A mezzanine adds covered surface, and that may require a municipal procedure depending on the jurisdiction and the intended use: submission of drawings, signed structural calculations and an updated permit. It is best resolved before assembly rather than after.
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Within that framework, the sum is done by comparing real alternatives. Building a new industrial shed costs between USD 180 and USD 430 per square metre (OneMake, June 2026), with its own lead times and permits. Renting additional premium surface in Greater Buenos Aires averages USD 7.33 per square metre per month, with the city of Buenos Aires at USD 14.52 and the Route 9 corridor at USD 5.59 (CBRE, Q2 2026), and that cost repeats every month. Adding a floor inside what you already hold competes against both options, and the structure is demountable on top of that.
Five criteria before deciding on a mezzanine
We do not publish model-by-model specification tables: the detailed sheet comes with the assessment, sized against your operation. These are the criteria the choice is made on.
Total clear height of the building
This is the criterion that decides everything. Usable height has to remain above and below at the same time, once the thickness of the structure and the deck is accounted for. If either level does not allow work standing up with the intended equipment, the project is off.
What will be stored upstairs
A mezzanine pays off with small items handled manually. The heavier and bulkier the goods you intend to lift, the higher the load per square metre demanded of the structure, and the less competitive it becomes against other ways of densifying.
Permissible load per square metre
It is defined by the manufacturer for each design according to spans, profiles and deck type, and verified during the survey. It is never taken from a generic catalogue or estimated: it is the figure that underpins the structural calculation and the professional signature.
Fire protection and evacuation
Adding a level changes the fire load of the sector and generally means reworking the installation, with sprinklers under the mezzanine and detection on both levels. It is separate construction work with its own budget, and it should be sized from the first drawing.
Status of the premises
If the building is rented, the length of the lease and the landlord permission both matter. The mezzanine is demountable, which helps, but dismantling and re-erecting carries a cost that has to be weighed in the decision.
When is a mezzanine the wrong answer?
It does not pay if the clear height does not allow two levels where people can work comfortably: the area gained would exist only on paper.
Nor for heavy, bulky loads, because a mezzanine works best with small items; for heavy pallets it is better to densify upwards with racking. And with a short lease, assembly, fire protection and permits cannot be recovered in time.
Frequently asked questions
Can't find your question?Write to us and we reply within one business day.
Tell us about your case01How much load does a mezzanine carry?
It depends on the design: permissible load in kilos per square metre is defined by the manufacturer according to spans between columns, profiles and the chosen deck type. It is not a catalogue figure valid for every case. It is set from the actual intended use and confirmed during the survey, with signed structural calculations.
02Is construction work required?
The structure itself is demountable, bolted together and standing on its own columns, so it needs no major construction work. What usually does require work is the fire protection system, and in some cases localised reinforcement of the existing floor. That part is identified in the diagnosis and budgeted separately.
03Can it be dismantled and moved to another warehouse?
Yes, and that is one of its advantages over traditional construction: the structure is bolted and demountable. That said, dismantling, transporting and re-erecting carries a cost, and both the fire installation and the permit procedure have to be done again at the new address. Worth weighing up if the premises are rented.
04Do I need a municipal permit?
Probably. A mezzanine adds covered surface and many jurisdictions require submission of drawings, signed structural calculations and an updated permit. It varies with the municipality and the intended use. It is reviewed before assembly, because sorting it out afterwards always costs more and can halt the operation.
Other systems
Let us see whether yourbuilding takes two levels
Request the survey: STOKA measures clear heights, checks the floor, defines loads and access, and tells you what scope of fire protection and permits to plan for.