RAISED FLOOR

Made in Italy

High performances both in means of resistance, durability and with high aesthetical contents.

Functuality and benefits:
Raised flooring is a system of modular elements designed for the indoor and outdoor floors of a building. This very effective technology makes it possible to create a continuous technical space underneath the surface of the floor to accommodate all the various types of cabling: electrics, plumbing, telephone and data transmission networks, climate control and security. This is possible because of its lightweight, completely dry construction system, consisting of a supporting structure and an upper surface.
Marazzi Engineering, thanks to its twenty year old experience in this field, offers raised floors solutions with high performances both in means of resistance, durability and with high aesthetical contents.
While the gradual spread of home automation makes raised flooring a basic component of intelligent buildings, a significant area of application is the refurbishment of existing buildings due to their flexibility, the ease and speed of installation and the diverse range of finishes. Another area where raised flooring is becoming increasingly popular due to the development of high performance technologies is outdoor flooring.
The fitting systems now used can even offer perfect continuity between indoor and outdoor flooring so that terraces, outdoor areas and public spaces can also be treated to a beautiful floor surface.

Marazzi Engineering’s raised flooring offers a number of important benefits in terms of functions and looks:

Rapid installation, be it in a new building or a renovation; what’s more, the floor is ready for use immediately
Flexibility in the distribution and location of services and utilities with easy access for inspections or modifications at a later date
Low cost in relation to the building’s life cycle
Design flexibility and the possibility to change the original design even during the installation itself
Integration with other finishing techniques, such as partition walls and suspended ceilings
High potential for customisation, both in the choice of the finishing material and its colour and for the possibility to create images, logos and decorative patterns or inserts using different materials
Availability of a wide range of accessories for customisation of the floors

Architectural design:
One of the advantages of a raised floor is that it is fitted dry, in a very small short space of time and its flexibility makes it possible to overcome any difficulties on the building’s floor slab. In order to take full advantage of these benefits, it is vital that the designer takes several key issues and any ideas the customer wants to incorporate into the floor into consideration during the preparation of the basic plans for the floor, discussing them with Marazzi Engineering’s technical personnel.
In addition to the look of the floor (the covering material used, its finish and colour plus any custom designs), particular attention should be paid to the layout of the cabling systems, as they are a crucial element for raised floors, especially if they are already in place or must be sited unavoidably in a set position. Therefore, a meeting should be arranged between the various people involved at the planning stage in order to establish the exact needs of the systems. Two further aspects that should also be taken into account when finalising the plans, are the height of the raised floor and the location of any accessories and services on its surface. Before starting to draw up the plans,it is also essential to arrange an inspection of the premises and check the proper conditions exist to guarantee an optimal installation of the raised floor.

Structure and technology:
Raised floors are a technological system with five main parts:

Support structure:
The combination of the horizontal and vertical parts supports the raised floor panel so it can be raised up higher than the building’s floor slab and be set level. Each part can interface and be used in conjunction with the other parts in the system to cope with any functional or design requirement.
Core:
There are two basic types depending on the material it is made of.
Surface layer:
Applied on top of the upper face of the core, the surface covering is the material that gives the floor its final looks.
Perimetral edge:
The perimetral edge is another important part of the system because it protects the sides of the panel during transport and installation and also provides a permanent barrier against humidity or water infiltration.
Backing:
The bottom surface of the panels can be finished with a covering (also called plating) that can play a structural role and a functional purpose

The last four parts make up the supporting panel. There is a range of accessories to complement these basic parts.

Accessories
Accessories are available to interface the raised floor with its immediate surroundings and exploit its features fully. These include:

Indoor and outdoor ramps
Indoor and outdoor steps
Partition walls for sound-proofing, fire prevention or air ducts
Front curtain walls
Grills and perforated panels for ventilation
Panels with grommets for electric wiring and data cabling
Grommet hatches
Raised or flush outlet boxes with electric sockets or telephone points
Expansion joints
Suction caps for lifting the panels
Lateral finishes with contrasting strip for connection to the wall
Structural Bridges

Outdoor raised floors:
The pursuit for new solutions and the shift in market demands has driven the development of new lines of raised floors for use out of doors. Marazzi Engineering, as part of its ongoing pursuit to address the new trends in the field, permits to realize raised floors also in outdoor, thanks to a studied technology with high technical, functional and aesthetical features.