How to choose a raised access floor

Different rooms need different floors. An office needs a quiet floor where outlets are easy to move. A server room needs a floor that carries heavy racks and delivers cold air. Before picking a model, answer these four questions.

1. How much load does the floor carry?

Look at the concentrated load first. It tells you how much a cabinet foot or trolley wheel can press on one panel. General offices use RhinoROC ROC100 at 3.56 kN. Server rooms and control rooms use ROC200 at 4.45 kN. Areas with heavy equipment use ROC300 at 5.56 kN.

2. How high does the void need to be?

Void height depends on what runs under the floor. Power and data cables alone need little height. If the void is the cold-air plenum for a server room, allow more. Rhino pedestals are height-adjustable, and our team measures on site and recommends a height.

3. Panel material: cement-filled steel or calcium sulphate

RhinoROC is a cement-filled steel panel. It is strong, lighter, and fits most jobs from offices to data centres. RhinoEU is calcium sulphate, heavier and denser, and walks quietly, so it is popular in premium offices. If the designer specifies a European system, there is Lindner NORTEC.

4. Which finish?

Most offices use bare panels with carpet tiles on top. Server rooms use factory anti-static HPL. Rooms with static-sensitive electronics use conductive ESD vinyl. Lobbies can use the porcelain-tile Stoneline panels.

If you are not sure, send the drawings or room sizes to the Rhino team in Thailand. We will recommend the grade and height for your project.

Products

• RhinoROC® cement-filled steel raised floor
• RhinoEU® calcium sulphate raised floor

Further reading

• Raised floors for server rooms and data centres
• Raised floors for offices
• What affects raised floor price per square metre
• The Rhino and ANBS story
• All case studies