Mezzanine Loading Evaluation

[Engr83]

Hi all,

I've been tasked with determining the load capacity of a "mezzanine" to meet OSHA requirements.

IBC 505.1 General. A mezzanine or mezzanines in compliance with Section 505 shall be considered a portion of the story below. Such mezzanines shall not contribute to either the building area or number of stories as regulated by Section 503.1. The area of the mezzanine shall be included in determining the fire area defined in Section 902. The clear height above and below the mezzanine floor construction shall not be less than 7 feet (2134 mm).

The mezzanine is inside a garage with a ceiling elevation of 13'-4". There is 5'-8" of headroom above the mezzanine. (There are also other issues that make me question whether this is actually a mezzanine, but this clear height issue is the first one.)

By definition, I am not dealing with a mezzanine? Is the loading evaluation still even necessary? What else could this "intermediate floor" be considered?

Thank you.

 

[jayrod12]

I lived in a house for years that maybe had 5'-8" of headroom in the upstairs bedroom. I would likely still be calling it a mezzanine.

your other option is calling it storage and designing for 100 psf anyway.

 

[darthsoilsguy2]

Is this a service garage that keeps stuff up there? if so... the "Mezzanine" might actually be "Light Storage" with a uniform 125 psf loading requirement per IBC.

 

[Engr83]

There is light storage up there. I assume the workers will still walk around (hunched over) on top of the mezzanine as well.

The mezzanine is already built. I don't need to design it, I need to provide a load capacity. Or do I if this isn't a mezzanine?

 

[Once20036]

Isn't this two different things?
You can calculate the load capacity of the structure, regardless of what you call it
OR
you can go through OSHA to determine the correct nomenclature for it

As a structural engineer, I'd defer the second question to the architects.

 

[msquared48]

Loft?

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[steellion]

The question of whether it is considered a "mezzanine" by code is related to architectural code requirements related to things such as fire rating. No matter what you call it, you should be able to determine the rated load capacity of an existing structure by back-calculating the capacity of the members.