Not only is ‘mezzanine’ a pretty uncommon word, you have the added issue of the word meaning different things to different people. Depending on who you ask, it could mean a type of loan, it could mean a type of seating at a concert venue or theater, or it could even be the name of a band!

For our purposes today, however, we’ll use ‘mezzanine’ to mean mezzanine floor. Mezzanine floors are commonly seen in warehouses and factories, and are best described as a raised platform or ‘intermediate floor’ - higher than ground level but not quite the top floor, and depending on the design of your warehouse you might have further offices or fixtures above the mezzanine.

Mezzanines are unique in the sense that they are not actually part of a building’s structure, and are supported by free-standing steel columns that may have anchor points but are not a permanent fixture of the building’s design or support structure. Imagine a free-standing second floor you can install after the building is finished, and you’ve got a basic idea of what a mezzanine is!

So now you what they are - but what can they do for you? If you’ve got the space and your layout accommodates it, installing a mezzanine is an excellent and cost-effective way to increase floor space in your warehouse or factory without taking up precious room on the shop floor. They can be used to create storage space, install extra fixtures and tools, or even install more in-plant office space to help with administrative tasks!

Hopefully, this cleared a few things up for you. If you’ve got some vertical space you need to take advantage of, or you just want a cheap and convenient way to create more storage room in your warehouse, a new mezzanine might be just what you need.

And if you came here looking for one of the other uses of the word ‘mezzanine’, we hope you learned something anyway!