Mobile shelving concentrates a lot of weight in a small footprint. Here's how to check whether your floor can take it — and what to do if it can't.
Why floor loading matters
A fully-loaded archive bay can weigh well over a tonne. When you compress a static shelving room into half the space using mobile shelving, you roughly double the floor loading underneath the system.
Most modern UK office floors are designed for 2.5–5.0 kN/m² imposed load. Mobile shelving on a fully-loaded run can apply 7–10 kN/m² or more — well above an ordinary office floor's rating.
How we check your floor
Every Rackstor site survey starts with a floor-loading review. For modern buildings we ask for the structural engineer's loading schedule. For older buildings we work with your surveyor — and where needed we arrange an independent structural assessment before quoting.
If the floor needs strengthening, we'll tell you up front — and we have long-standing UK partners who can spec the works.
Options when the floor is marginal
Where loading is borderline, we can specify lighter aluminium-construction systems, reduce bay height, leave gaps between runs to spread load, or install on a load-spreading raft. We've delivered hundreds of installations in listed buildings, period properties and converted commercial space across the UK.
If you're not sure, the safest first step is a free survey — we'll give you a clear yes / no on floor suitability before you spend money.