Raised flooring

PTS

UK The continual increase in technological and design equipment in workplaces (electrical, telephone and IT networks, heating systems and air conditioning systems) and research into optimising operativity and the wellbeing of workers has led to a growing trend in raised flooring; above and beyond arranging and moving cables and pipework freely.

PTS is the profession system for indoor raised flooring Made in Mirage® and involves a flooring system raised onto metal structures using supported, removable modules that create a space for design.

The special feature of this system is its functionality; it allows you to access systems and operate them without having to intervene in the wall structure. This provides unquestionable savings in terms of time and management costs.

PTS is made up of two main parts: panels and a substructure.

The panel creates a connection between the support and the stoneware strip of the cover that forms the footboard. This ensures aesthetic quality and excellent stability and resistance over time.

The purpose of the substructure is to support the footboard and transfer stress placed on it to the screed underneath. As the panels are installed dry (without glue) on site, it is possible to intervene on each floor panel to move them. Also, all components can be reused at a later time in different rooms to those in which the floor was originally installed. The type of installation used for the panels also ensures that they can be disposed of at the end of their useful life in a way that has no impact on the environment.

Advantages

Flexible

The architectural design can be separate from the design of systems.

Practical

Systems can be inspected and repaired at any time without the need for demolition.

Versatile

PTS can also be placed on top of an existing floor.

Repositioning

Each panel can be reused in different rooms to those in which they were originally installed

Components

1. Upper covering in porcelain stoneware

The upper covering - in Mirage® porcelain stoneware - can be used in various finishings produced to ensure the best solution for each situation. The porcelain stoneware is fitted to the structural core. The panel created in this way is ground to create a flare of approximately four degrees towards the inside and towards the bottom. This operation is required to allow the panels to be installed and removed easily.

The consequent grinding of the porcelain stoneware strip, together with the structural core, provides very accurate sides that allow you to use small sized edges, making them less visible but extremely efficient in protecting the panel itself and the seal between the various panels. Panels of various shapes can be produced alongside the 60x60 shape. These include: 45x45, 30x60, 60x120 and 30x120.

2. Structural core

The structural core is the base on which the porcelain stoneware slabs are fixed. Mirage® uses 4 types of products, depending on the specific requirements of the project.

Chipboard

The chipboard support is a mixture of wooden chips, resins and bonding agents that, once pressed, form a high density panel. Mirage® only uses high density chipboard of 720 kg/m3 that has low formaldehyde emission.
The thickness of the support is 38 mm which, once fixed to the porcelain stoneware slabs, gives the final panel a thickness of 48 mm.
Once they have been attached to the support, the ceramic slabs are rectified and finished off on the sides with an outer edge of selfextinguishing plastic material.
The chipboard supports comply with all the fire resistance norms and regulations and have a Class 1 fire rating.

Calcium sulfate

A panel made from calcium sulphate is an anhydrous panel reinforced with organic fibres that does not contain asbestos or any toxic materials. It combines excellent mechanical strength with optimum sound insulation and therefore produces less noise. Thanks to its characteristics, it is stable over time. The thickness of the finished panel is some 40 mm. The entire panel is rectified after being joined to the finished surface so that it becomes perfectly flush with the anchorage of the outer edge, made of selfextinguishing material and runs along the entire length of the panel. The entire top surface is then subsequently chamfered. The Mirage Engineering division will provide advice on the type of sulphate to use and the thickness of the most suitable support for the project. Mirage® uses sulphate panels of diverse thickness and density depending on the specific needs of the client.

Evoluzione I

Evoluzione is the latest addition to the Mirage® family of raised floors. The supporting material is 15 mm thick, 100% made in Italy by Mirage®. This panel is perfect for situations when it is prohibitive to use any other type of support, for example, where there is a lot of humidity, a low raise thickness available or special loadbearing requirements.
The finished panel with the glued porcelain stoneware slabs has a thickness of just 25mm. Once fixed to the support, the ceramic slab is rectified and covered with an outer edge made of self-extinguishing plastic material. The high density of 2400 kg/m3 is the characteristic of this material, which makes the system extremely stable.

FC125

The FC125 panel is the latest addition to the family of raised floors specifically studied by Mirage. The support is composed of a 12.5mmthick plaster-fibre slab, and the final panel is created by combining the support layer with a 17mm-thick porcelain stoneware slab. This makes it possible to obtain a highly optimised solution that maximises load capacity by using the exceptional characteristics of the porcelain stoneware. Thanks to its composition, the final panel, rectified and edged, also guarantees higher-than-average fire resistance: REI 60 r – a resistance of 60 minutes in the event of fire, attesting to the safety of this type of panel.

3. Lower surface finish

The lower finish of supports depends on the type of support used: for chipboard panels the lower finish is generally of aluminium or melamine, while calcium sulphate panels are usually finished using transparent primer or protected aluminium (although the latter is only used if specifically requested). Using Evoluzione panels means that no bottom protection is needed whatsoever.

4. Outer edge

Every internal panel is squared off at its edge with a 4° angle and subsequently covered along its entire perimeter edge with a selfextinguishing plastic material. A flexible edge with a minimum thickness of between 0.4 mm and 0.6 mm depending on the type of panel runs along the entire height of the panel, safeguarding the bond between the modules and maintaining the ease of inspection of the system. A characteristic of our panels is the extremely reduced joint that ensures a superior aesthetic appearance to the finished floor, one which is very often even better than those of traditional flooring. The edges are colour co-ordinated to match the finished slab.

5. Structure

In raised floors, the structure means the portion that is installed onto the floor, creating a void gap in order to reach the desired height of the raised floor.

This structure is the load-bearing element of the raised floor consisting of vertically adjustable feet and junction beams. Metallic structures are made of galvanised steel and can be used for raises from 60mm to 1 metre and over. The head of the feet and beams are covered with soundproof and antidust plastic and non-conductive material.

Upon request, they are also available in conductive material should the project and ambient specifications require it.

Base

A disk of steel plate that is sheared off and ribbed via pressing, to which a threaded bar is welded. The base disk has holes to facilitate the fixing of the column to the substrate using adhesives and/or plugs. All components of the base are galvanised. Mirage® uses three different types of base depending on the client’s needs, these bases can vary in terms of diameter, thickness and shape.

Head

A disk of steel plate that is sheared off and pressed. The disk is welded to a nut to guarantee height adjustment, achieved by turning it on the threaded bar attached to the base. The panels that are to make up the raised floor are placed onto the head using an adequate gasket. All components of the base are galvanised. Mirage® uses three different types of head depending on the client’s needs, these heads can vary in terms of diameter, thickness and shape.

Beams

Beams have a “U” shape and are made of galvanised steel of 1mm thickness. On their edge, beams have reinforcement ribs in order to allow for the mechanical coupling between the disk head and the beam. This coupling can be blocked using galvanised screws of 3.9mm diameter. Mirage® uses different types of beams depending on the client’s needs, these beams can vary in terms of height, thickness and shape.

6. Tubular structure

The tubular structure is a special type of support that is suitable for high load-bearing requirements. It is composed of special adjustable columns designed to lodge rectangular beams passing onto the head of the column and fixed to it using threaded screws. Closed-section galvanised beams of 50x25mm come with an adhesive gasket with anti-dust and soundproofing features.

This structure transfers the noise generated by the floor. In order to reduce the noise transferred to the lower floors and also to reduce the reflected noise, 100x100mm square panels of soundinsulating material such as rubber and/or cork with a thickness between 3 and 10 mm are used. These systems, supplied upon request and following a specific acoustic calculation make the raised floor more comfortable thus maintaining its technical features.

7. Accessories

A series of accessories complete the raised floor solution in order to meet the most varied needs: suction cups to remove panels, accessories for the installation of the structure such as plugs for the fixing of feet, screws for the fixing of the structure, adhesive for the gluing of feet, additional structures for the fixing of feet on the floor or wall. The list of accessories also includes access ramps and aluminium steps and air-circulation grids.