Frequently Asked Questions

TERMS & DEFINITIONS

Basic space
A space bounded by reference planes, assigned to receive a building component or assembly including the appropriate allowances for joints and tolerances.

Bridging / beams
Load bearing component to accommodate situations where pedestals cannot be located in their normal positions.

Cavity depth
Nominal vertical dimension from the subfloor to the lowest part of the panel or supporting structure.

Chipboard
High density particle board that is used extensively to provide a high strength core to many designs of raised floor panel.

Churn
The frequency at which office layouts are changed.

Class
The loading grade for which the system is designed.

Collapse
State reached when deflection of the element or panel will continue without further increasing the load.

Components
Parts of access floor elements, e.g. panels, pedestals, stringers, etc.

Datum height
This positions the raised floor in the vertical plane in relation to all building structures, fittings etc.

Deflection
The distance the system or its parts move from the original position when subjected to a load.

Deformation
Alteration of shape.

Deviation
Difference between a specified dimension or position and the actual dimension or position.

Earthing
The connecting of electrically conducting components to the building earth for safety reasons.

Edge trim
Component of the panel, either adhered or mechanically fixed to all four sides to provide protection to the panels and to the floor covering.

Expansion gap
A perimeter gap left to allow for thermal expansion of the floor when the building is heated.

Finished Floor Height (FFH)
Nominal vertical dimension from the specified sub floor level to the specified finished floor level.

Finishes
Factory applied surface coverings to the raised floor panels such as carpet, vinyl, marble etc.

HVAC
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Indentation
Movement of the indenter into the panel surface.

Lifting device
The device used for the correct lifting and replacing of floor panels. A vacuum device is used for bare or vinyl finished panels. Spiked devices are used for carpet finished panels.

Manufacturer’s stated panel size
Dimension to which the tolerances are applied.

Mechanical fixings
Nail fixings or similar used to provide additional fixing security of the pedestal base plate to the sub floor.

Module size
The nominal size of the floor panels normally 600mm square but can be 500mm or 750mm square.

Nominal size
Theoretical dimension used for commercial description.

Office layout
The location of individual desks / work stations within a office area.

Operating & Maintenance Manual
This will spell out clearly how the raised floor system should be used and what maintenance should be undertaken to ensure the raised floor performs satisfactorily for many years.

Panel
Load bearing horizontal component of the access floor.

Pedestal
The complete vertical, adjustable supporting structure.

Pedestal adhesive
This is normally a 2 or 3 part epoxy resin based adhesive with good adhesion to concrete and steel. Normally this adhesive will be of a thick consistency in order to cater for local undulations in the concrete sub floor.

Pedestal fixings
The means of attaching the supporting structure to the sub floor.

Pedestrian traffic
This is the frequency that the floor is subject to from foot traffic as personnel move across the floor. Important to consider in areas of high traffic such as lift lobbies.

Plenum
Available space between the underside of the panels of the access floor and the sub floor.

Protection
A means of preventing damage to the raised floor surface by other building trades.

Raised access floor system
Factory made flooring system comprising panels supported on understructure of pedestals and/or stringers or other components providing a load bearing structure for the fitting out of a building.

Rolling loads
These loads are imposed by items of equipment fitted with wheels or castors that are frequently moved around.