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Guide · Mezzanines and platforms

Steel mezzanine or platform: how it carries load, where it fails, and when to choose it

Dubai, UAESources checked 26 September 2026Technical review pending

Sources, edition and review status 5 source documents
Applies to
Dubai, UAE
Covers
Mezzanines and platforms · Existing structures · Building frames · Load paths · Members · Connections · Serviceability · Bases and anchors · Access and guarding · Fire and egress
Based on
Dubai Building Code 2021 Parts A (A.5.1, Table A.1), B (definitions, B.4.2.5.2) and F (F.4.1, F.5.2 to F.5.4, F.6.5.4, F.7.5, F.8.3.3, F.8.8.1, F.8.9); UAE Fire and Life Safety Code 2018, Table 1.9 item 45; ANSI/AISC 360-16 Chapters C, E, F, H, J and L, as the Code references AISC 360; SCI P354 (UK guidance named by the Code) and the SSSS buildable connections guide (Singapore, Eurocode basis) for practice
Source check
AI-assisted check of the cited pages against the source documents. Numbers, tables and exceptions were read from the source pages. Corrected on 30 September 2026 after a separate AI check against the source pages: the load path and stability requirement, the design-life rule, site welding approval, the fatigue requirement and the source of the welding advice; the corrected statements have had an author check only. Corrected on 11 and 12 October 2026 after separate AI checks against the source pages: the compression-strength condition, the approval needed for oversized holes and the continuity wording; the corrected statements have had an author check only. No independent human engineering or legal review yet.
Status
Technical review pending. Later DBC amendments and circulars not audited.

How this library uses sources · Source notes for this guide

Short answer

A steel mezzanine is an intermediate floor built inside the height of a storey, and the Dubai Building Code treats it as a mezzanine only while it is no larger than one-third of the floor it sits in.1 The answer continues below the drawing.

The reference structure

Two-bay steel mezzanine on an existing slab, step by step: its parts, downward load from the deck to the slab, the beam, connections and base plates responding, footfall on the light deck, a sideways push taken by the bracing to the bases, a push on the guardrail, and eight numbered places where such platforms can fail Base plate People Sag (exaggerated) Point load on slab Footfall Sideways push CompressionTension Held down Guardrail Push outward, towards you Post root Deck Beam Column Load path Stored goods Guardrail Bracing Existing slab 12345678

Key: amber arrows are loads and amber dashes the load path; straight black arrows are reactions, the forces the supports give back; grey dashes and dots are shapes, exaggerated; where marked, thick rust-red lines are in compression and thick blue lines in tension; a dot in a circle points towards you and a cross away from you; shaded amber areas mark where the step’s effect is greatest; numbered rust circles are potential failure points.

Load cases shown one at a time: downward load (stored goods and people), people walking, a sideways push at deck level from the right, and an outward push on the guardrail. Two-bay platform on an existing slab: simple bolted beam-to-column connections, bases drawn pinned and anchored into the slab, cross bracing in the left bay only, joists spanning into the drawing onto the primary beam, and the guardrail along the front edge, so a push on it acts out of the drawing. The braces are drawn able to carry compression; with tension-only bracing only the pulled brace works, and which one that is changes with the direction of the push. Schematic: movement is exaggerated and not to scale, and no values are calculated.

  1. The platform A steel deck on joists and a primary beam, carried by three columns on base plates anchored into the existing floor slab. The beams have simple bolted end connections, the left bay is cross-braced, and a guardrail runs along the open edge.
  2. Downward load Downward load case: stored goods and people press on the deck, which spans to the joists; the joists carry it to the primary beam, the beam's bolted end connections pass it to the columns (part of each load goes to each column of its bay), and each column takes it down to its base plate, where the existing slab holds it up.
  3. Beam, connections and slab Same case: the primary beam sags in the open bay (exaggerated), a few bolts at each beam end carry its whole reaction, and each base plate puts its column's load into the existing slab over a small area. That slab was usually designed for load spread over its area, so it has to be checked too.
  4. Footfall Footfall case: people walking set the light deck and joists moving (the wavy mark, in the open bay away from the columns). With little mass and damping the floor can feel lively even though it is strong enough; strength checks never find this, and a frequency limit alone does not predict how the floor will respond.
  5. A sideways push Sideways case, a push at deck level from the right: the simple connections cannot stop the frame leaning, so the beam carries the push to the braced bay and the two braces take it down to the bases. One brace is pulled (tension, blue) and the other squeezed (compression, red), and the anchors take the shear and any net uplift. A push from the left reverses every sign.
  6. A push on the guardrail Guard load case: people lean on and push the top rail outward (the symbol means a push towards you, out of the drawing). Each post acts as a small cantilever, so its bending is largest at the base fixing, where a short weld or a few bolts and the thin edge member it is fixed to must carry it.
  7. Potential failure points Where such platforms can fail if a check or detail is missed, numbered as in the list below: a lively deck in the open bay, the primary beam at mid-span, the beam-to-column connection, the beam under a rack leg or point load, the column (including forklift impact), the base plate on the existing slab, missing bracing and sway, and the guardrail post base. Schematic, not a prediction.

Numbered places where it can fail (the final step)

  1. Deck and joists in the open bay: floor vibration
  2. Primary beam at mid-span: deflection and lateral-torsional buckling
  3. Beam-to-column connection: bolt shear, bearing and block shear
  4. Beam under a rack leg or point load: web yielding and crippling
  5. Column: buckling, eccentric beams and forklift impact
  6. Base plate on the existing slab: anchor and slab failure
  7. Bracing, or none: sway of the whole platform
  8. Guardrail post at the open edge: bending at its base fixing
Reference mezzanine in elevation: a two-bay platform on an existing slab, braced in one bay, with a guardrail at the open edge. Diagram only, not to scale and with no design values.

Short answer, continued

Its load runs from the deck through joists and beams to columns, base plates and whatever is underneath, and the Code requires that continuous load path to be provided, and every member that restrains a critical compression member to be identified and included in the design.2 The usual failure points are a lively deck, unrestrained or overloaded beams, bolted beam ends, rack point loads, slender columns, anchors into an existing slab, missing bracing and guardrail posts, and AISC 360 has a strength or stability check for most of them, while for vibration it only requires the effect to be considered and for guardrail posts it has no specific provision.3456789 Vibration is the one that strength checks miss: the Code sends the natural frequency of steel floors for normal occupancy to AISC Design Guide 11 or SCI P354,10 and SCI P354 warns that a frequency limit alone does not tell you how the floor will respond in service.11 Choose steel for speed, light weight and the ability to alter it later; choose a concrete floor or a new storey when the area, loads or vibration performance demand it.

What it is

Engineering explanation

A mezzanine is a steel floor built inside the height of an existing storey, typically in a warehouse, workshop, showroom or shop, to add storage or working area without a new building. The same kit of parts, a deck, joists, primary beams, columns, base plates and bracing, also makes plant platforms, walkways, catwalks and equipment supports. Most are bolted frames with a chequer plate, grating, board or composite deck, standing on the existing ground slab, with a stair and a guardrail at every open edge.

The Dubai Building Code defines a mezzanine floor as an intermediate level between the floor and ceiling of a storey that is no more than one-third of the floor it is contained in; a larger partial floor is a floor.1 The UAE Fire and Life Safety Code sets its own conditions: mezzanine construction with a 1 hour fire resistance rating, and an aggregate mezzanine area within a room, outside special-purpose industrial occupancies, of no more than one-third of the room’s open area.12

How it carries load

Engineering explanation

Follow a pallet down to the ground. The deck spans between joists and carries the pallet to them; the joists span to the primary beams; each primary beam hands its end reactions to a column through a bolted connection; the column carries the load as axial force to its base plate; the base plate spreads it into the slab, and the slab and its foundations take it to the ground. Every link has to be designed, including the existing slab, which was usually designed for load spread over its area, not concentrated under a small plate.

Engineering explanation

Horizontal load needs its own path. People pushing, trolleys braking, equipment starting and the small out-of-plumb of every column all try to move the deck sideways. Most mezzanine beam connections are simple shear connections that carry no useful moment, so the frame on its own is a mechanism. Cross bracing in at least one bay each way, moment connections, or a checked tie to the host building must stop the sway.

Part F requires the features that are critical to overall stability to be identified and included in the design, including all members that restrain critical compression members, and requires continuous load paths from the point where an action is applied to the ground.2 AISC 360 requires stability for the structure as a whole and for each element, considering member and connection deformations, second-order effects, geometric imperfections, stiffness reduction from inelasticity and uncertainty in strength and stiffness.8

Part F sets minimum uniform live loads by reference to Chapter 4 of ASCE/SEI 7-16, which this library does not hold, and adds that concentrated loads from objects such as machinery, vehicles and storage racks are evaluated, and that the structure is designed for mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment in its designated areas and along its access route.13

Where and how it fails

Engineering explanation

1. Deck and joists in the open bay: vibration. A light deck on long joists has little mass and little damping, so footsteps, trolleys or a nearby machine can set it moving near its own natural frequency. Nothing breaks, but people feel it and call it unsafe; strength checks never find it.

Part F requires the natural frequency of steelwork floor systems for normal occupancy to be evaluated in accordance with AISC Design Guide 11 or SCI P354.10 SCI P354 explains that a minimum frequency limit only reduces the likelihood of resonance and gives no indication of the floor’s response in service, so the designer should predict the response to the expected excitation and compare it with acceptability criteria.11 It also recommends that no floor structure, and no single element within it, has a fundamental frequency below 3 Hz.14 AISC 360 requires the effect of vibration on occupant comfort and on the function of the structure to be considered, including occupant loading and vibrating machinery.9

Engineering explanation

2. Primary beam at mid-span: deflection and lateral-torsional buckling. Under load the beam sags; too much sag cracks finishes, tilts racking and makes the floor feel soft. If the compression flange is not held sideways, the beam can also twist and buckle sideways at a load well below its bending capacity. The dangerous moment is often erection: before the deck is fixed, nothing restrains the top flange.

For doubly symmetric compact I-shapes and compact channels bent about the major axis, AISC 360 takes the flexural strength as the lower of yielding and lateral-torsional buckling, and lateral-torsional buckling does not apply when the unbraced length Lb, the distance between points braced against lateral movement of the compression flange or against twist, is no more than Lp.3 Part F sets steel deflection limits by reference to AISC 360 and AISC Design Guide 3, which this library does not hold.15

Engineering explanation

3. Beam-to-column connection: bolts and block shear. The end reaction passes through a few bolts in a fin plate, end plate or cleat. The bolts can shear, the holes can elongate or tear out towards an edge, and a coped beam web can tear out as a block along the bolt line.

AISC 360 gives the tensile or shear strength of a bolt as its nominal stress times its unthreaded body area, and requires the tension to include any prying action.16 It checks the connected material at each hole for bearing and tearout,17 and checks block shear rupture along a shear failure path and a perpendicular tension path.4

Engineering explanation

4. Beam under a rack leg or point load: web yielding and crippling. A rack upright or a machine foot standing directly on a beam flange puts a concentrated force into a thin web. The web can yield locally or crumple, especially near the beam end.

AISC 360 Section J10 covers concentrated forces applied normal to the flanges of wide-flange and similar built-up shapes, and requires stiffeners or doublers where the required strength exceeds the available strength.18 Web local yielding and web local crippling each have their own equations, with a separate case for a force applied close to the member end; for web local yielding the near-end case gives the lower strength.5 Part F asks for concentrated loads from storage racks and machinery to be evaluated.13

Engineering explanation

5. Column: buckling and impact. A mezzanine column is slender: long compared with its section, and often carrying beams on one side only, which adds bending to the axial load. It fails by bowing sideways. In a warehouse it also stands in the path of forklifts and pallet trucks, and a strike at low level can bend it or shear its base.

AISC 360 determines the compressive strength of a nonslender member from flexural buckling, with the critical stress depending on the slenderness Lc/r, unless torsional or flexural-torsional buckling (Section E4) controls, and a user note says Lc/r preferably should not exceed 200.6 Combined compression and bending is checked with the interaction equations of Section H1.19 Part F requires structural elements to be designed for the accidental impact conditions of Section 4.6 of ASCE/SEI 7-16, not held here, and recommends that every primary member be given a secondary system that protects it from such impact.20

Engineering explanation

6. Base plate on the existing slab: anchors and the slab itself. Post-installed anchors can pull out, split the concrete near an edge or break out a cone of concrete, and a thin ground slab can crack or punch under a heavily loaded plate. This is where a mezzanine meets somebody else’s structure.

Part F permits post-installed anchors into reinforced concrete to support steelwork where cast-in anchors are impractical, designed to ACI 318-19 for all conceivable failure mechanisms; its Figure F.14, adapted from ACI 318-19, shows steel failure, pullout, concrete breakout, splitting, side-face blowout and bond failure of single anchors and groups under tension, and steel failure preceded by concrete spall, pryout for anchors far from a free edge and concrete breakout under shear.21 AISC 360 requires anchor rods to resist the loads at column bases, including net tension from moments, and refers their transfer of force into concrete to ACI 318 or ACI 349.7

Engineering explanation

7. Bracing, or none: sway. With simple connections and no bracing, the platform can lean over as a whole under a small horizontal push, and the columns then carry extra moment from their own lean. Removing a brace later to clear a forklift route is a classic way to create this failure.

Part F lists stability against overturning and sway among the limit states a design must include as applicable,2 and AISC 360 requires second-order effects and geometric imperfections to be considered in stability design.8

Engineering explanation

8. Guardrail post at the open edge: bending at its fixing. Each post is a small cantilever. People leaning, or a pallet pushed against the rail, put a moment into a short weld or two bolts at the post base and into the thin edge member it is fixed to.

A guardrail at least 1,200 mm high is required for any walking or standing space elevated 760 mm above the finished floor, with listed exceptions such as the loading side of loading docks and the audience side of stages, and the assembly has to withstand the loads specified in ASCE/SEI 7-16.22 Those loads are not stated here because the standard is not held.

Advantages and limitations

AspectAdvantageLimitation
SpeedBolted steel goes up quickly inside an operating building, with little wet workNeeds an accurate survey of the floor, columns, services and headroom first
WeightMuch lighter than a concrete floor, so less load on the existing slab and foundationsLight floors are more prone to footfall vibration
AdaptabilityCan be extended, altered, dismantled and reusedEvery change of use changes the loads; the loading plan has to be kept current
Deck choicePlate, grating, boards or composite deck to suit the usePlate and grating add little mass or damping; a composite deck brings back wet work
Space belowFew columns keep the floor below usableFewer columns mean longer spans, deeper beams and higher point loads on the slab
FireSteel is noncombustibleThe fire code requires mezzanine construction with a 1-hour fire resistance rating, which usually means protecting the steel
Host buildingA free-standing platform need not load the host frameIt still needs its own bracing and base anchorage, and the slab must be checked
Steel mezzanines compared with the other ways of adding floor area (our assessment)

Engineering judgement for comparison, not a code rule. The fire rating point is from the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code, Table 1.9, item 45.12

Why this structure, and not another

Engineering explanation

Our explanation. Steel against concrete: a new concrete floor inside an existing building is heavy, slow and wet, and it needs formwork and propping in a space that is often still in use. It is stiffer and has more mass and damping, so it rarely has vibration problems. Steel wins when the programme is short, the slab below is modest or the floor may change later; concrete, or a composite deck on steel, wins for heavy loads, wet processes or floors that must feel solid under crowds.

Engineering explanation

Mezzanine against a new storey: once the partial floor exceeds one-third of the floor it sits in, the Code treats it as a floor, not a mezzanine,1 and the fire code measures its own one-third limit against the open area of the room.12 Size alone does not decide the authority route, though: Table A.1 treats any increase in a building’s gross or built-up area as an addition,23 so a mezzanine below one-third can still be an addition, and one above one-third is a new floor with the fire, egress and structural rules of a storey.

Engineering explanation

Mezzanine against a rack-supported platform: for pure storage, a deck carried directly on pallet racking can be cheaper because the racks already exist. But storage racks are among the structures the Dubai Building Code does not apply to,24 so the racking manufacturer’s standard and the authority’s requirements govern, and neither is held by this library. A structural mezzanine keeps the floor and the racking independent.

Engineering explanation

Braced against moment frame: cross bracing is the cheapest and stiffest way to stop sway, but a brace in the wrong bay blocks a route. Moment connections free the bays at the cost of deeper columns and heavier connections. Tying into the host building avoids both only if its frame is checked for the force. Short walkways and equipment supports follow the same logic with knee braces or a fixing to a stiff wall.

For the experienced engineer

SCI P354 (UK guidance, cited by the Code as an accepted method) notes that the traditional UK approach checked primary and secondary beams separately for a minimum natural frequency of 4.0 Hz, and that such limits do not predict response.11 Its recommended critical damping ratios run from 0.5% for fully welded steel structures such as staircases and 1.1% for bare floors to 3.0% for fitted-out floors and 4.5% where the designer is confident that partitions are placed to interrupt the relevant modes, and the mass used should be the unfactored self-weight plus superimposed dead loads that will actually be present.25

P354 adds that a floor plate that is not continuous should be treated as independent simply-supported slabs, which makes the participating area small and the response likely to be larger,26 that areas near beams and columns respond less, so walking paths can be placed there, and that where load is uneven the heavier load can be used for frequency and the lighter load for response as a conservative design value.27

Engineering explanation

Our reading: a grating deck clipped to joists gives almost no continuity or mass, so each joist vibrates on its own; check the empty floor too, because people walk on it before anything is stored.

AISC 360’s flexure chapter is based on the assumption that points of support are restrained against rotation about the member’s longitudinal axis.28 A beam sitting on a column cap plate without torsional restraint, or connected to a slender column by a single short fin plate, may not provide that, and the lateral-torsional buckling check is then unconservative (our reading).

For connection practice, the Singapore SSSS guide (Eurocode basis, owner-supplied, practice only) prefers bolted to field-welded connections, summarised as weld at the factory and bolt at site, and, for connections with slip-critical bolts, oversized holes in splice and brace connections for erection tolerance at a lower bolt capacity.29 AISC 360-16 permits oversized holes in slip-critical connections, with the engineer of record's approval, but not in bearing-type connections, so the recommendation does not carry over to ordinary bearing bolts.30 The SSSS guide also advises avoiding overhead welding, allowing site adjustment through slotted holes in one direction only, and welding a fin plate directly to a hollow section column rather than using a through plate.31 Part F says welding should not be done on site, and where it is unavoidable the detailed method of work, with the necessary certificates and tests, shall be submitted for approval; connections may never rely on welds and bolts sharing a load.21

Table F.1 recommends a minimum design life of 50 years for buildings and 10 years for temporary structures, and F.5.2 requires the Engineer to specify the design life from these values and the project design life to be agreed between the Engineer, the Owner and the Authority before design starts.2 Equipment supports that carry vibrating machinery should be checked for fatigue, and where fatigue is critical the steel design shall be checked to Appendix 3 of AISC 360.32

Engineering explanation

Erection stage: bolt the bracing before the deck is loaded, and keep bundles of grating or plate off the mid-span of unrestrained beams.

Which rules apply in Dubai

The Dubai Building Code applies to new buildings and to changes to existing buildings; Table A.1 distinguishes renovation, modification, reconstruction, change of use and addition, and where an addition relies on the rest of the existing building for escape, vertical transport and similar, the existing building is also assessed against the Code and the fire code.23 A new mezzanine can fall under more than one of those headings, so name the one that applies in the design basis (our reading). Part F applies to buildings and to structures or appurtenances connected to a building.33

The fire code’s mezzanine conditions also require all of a mezzanine, other than walls up to 1,065 mm high, columns and posts, to be open to an unobstructed exit from the room unless the occupant load of the enclosed space is no more than 10, and set conditions for mezzanines with two or more means of egress.12

Engineering explanation

Detailed rules in this library: the guide Steel mezzanines: loading, serviceability and fire questions to settle early covers classification, loads, fire and egress; Industrial platforms, walkways and fixed ladders in Dubai covers equipment access, guard heights and ladders; and Serviceability of steel structures in Dubai: deflection, wind drift, vibration, movement joints and fatigue covers deflection and vibration. Gaps: ASCE/SEI 7-16 live and guardrail loads, ACI 318-19 anchor design and AISC Design Guides 3 and 11 are not held.

What to settle before design

Settle these before the steel is sized

  • Plan area of the mezzanine against the floor and the room it sits in
  • Use now and later: storage, office, plant, walkway, with rack and equipment loads
  • Deck type, and who will walk on it before it is loaded
  • What the columns stand on: slab thickness, reinforcement, joints and edges
  • Which bays can take bracing without blocking routes or doors
  • Whether the platform ties into the host building, and who checks that frame
  • Stair, guardrail and exit arrangement, and the fire rating required
  • Design life, and whether it will be moved or extended

A working list for a junior engineer. It is not an approval checklist.

Scope and limits

Practical consideration

Written from the 2021 Dubai Building Code, the September 2018 UAE Fire and Life Safety Code, ANSI/AISC 360-16 and SCI P354 (2009) as held on the check date; later amendments and circulars were not audited. ASCE/SEI 7-16, ACI 318-19 and AISC Design Guides 3 and 11 are not held, so no live load, guardrail load, anchor capacity or deflection or vibration limit is stated. The SSSS guide is Singapore Eurocode practice, used for buildability only. The engineering explanations are ours. This guide is not a design of any mezzanine and does not replace the project engineer’s calculations or the authority’s acceptance.

Questions this guide answers

Source notes

Numbered notes point to the exact section and physical PDF page. Page numbers are the PDF viewer’s page, which can differ from the number printed on the page. Sources checked 26 September 2026. These notes support the statements; they are not a substitute for reading the current document for a project.

  1. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part B definitions, Mezzanine floor (printed page B8), PDF page 28. Open the publisher PDF at page 28 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩

  2. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.5.2 Design life and Table F.1, F.5.3 Design acceptance criteria and F.5.4 Structural stability (printed page F13), PDF page 339. Open the publisher PDF at page 339 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

  3. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Section F2, F2.1 Yielding and F2.2 Lateral-torsional buckling, printed page 16.1-47. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  4. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Section J4.3 Block shear strength, Eq. J4-5, printed page 16.1-138. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  5. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Sections J10.2 Web local yielding and J10.3 Web local crippling, printed page 16.1-143. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  6. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Sections E2 Effective length, with User Note, and E3 Flexural buckling, printed page 16.1-35. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  7. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Section J9 Anchor rods and embedments, with User Notes, printed page 16.1-141. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  8. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Chapter C, C1 General stability requirements, printed page 16.1-22. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩

  9. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Chapter L, L4 Vibration, printed page 16.1-166. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  10. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.8.8.1 Vibration, steelwork (printed page F47), PDF page 373. Open the publisher PDF at page 373 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  11. Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 1.2 Traditional approaches to design and 1.3 Scope of this guide (printed page 2), PDF page 14. Open the publisher PDF at page 14 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩

  12. UAE Fire and Life Safety Code of Practice, September 2018 (the edition offered on the publisher page when checked). UAE Ministry of Interior, General Command of Civil Defence; distributed by Dubai Civil Defence. Chapter 1, Table 1.9, item 45 Mezzanine, conditions i to vi (page 96 of 1348), PDF page 96. Open the publisher PDF at page 96 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

  13. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.7.5 Live loads, items a and d (printed page F34), PDF page 360. Open the publisher PDF at page 360 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  14. Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 7.2 Minimum floor frequency (printed page 49), PDF page 61. Open the publisher PDF at page 61 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  15. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.8.3.3 Steelwork deflection limits (printed page F45), PDF page 371. Open the publisher PDF at page 371 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  16. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Section J3.6 Tensile and shear strength of bolts and threaded parts, Eq. J3-1, printed page 16.1-131. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩

  17. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Section J3.10 Bearing and tearout strength at bolt holes, printed page 16.1-135. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩

  18. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Section J10 Flanges and webs with concentrated forces, introduction, printed page 16.1-142. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩

  19. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Chapter H, H1.1 Flexure and compression, Eq. H1-1a and H1-1b, printed page 16.1-77. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩

  20. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.7.8 Accidental impact load (printed page F35), PDF page 361. Open the publisher PDF at page 361 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  21. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.6.5.4.1 to F.6.5.4.3 Structural connections and Figure F.14 (printed page F31), PDF page 357. Open the publisher PDF at page 357 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  22. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part B, B.4.2.5.2 Guardrails for fall protection (printed page B29), PDF page 49. Open the publisher PDF at page 49 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  23. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part A, A.5.1 General and Table A.1 Changes to an existing building (printed page A9), PDF page 11. Open the publisher PDF at page 11 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩

  24. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part A, A.5.1, structures to which the DBC does not apply (printed page A10), PDF page 12. Open the publisher PDF at page 12 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  25. Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 4.1.1 Damping, Table 4.1, and 4.1.2 Floor loading (printed page 20), PDF page 32. Open the publisher PDF at page 32 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  26. Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Section 4.1.5 Continuity and isolation of critical areas (printed page 22), PDF page 34. Open the publisher PDF at page 34 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  27. Design of Floors for Vibration: A New Approach (SCI P354), Revised edition, February 2009. Steel Construction Institute. Sections 4.2.1 Walking paths and 4.2.2 Distribution of floor loading (printed page 23), PDF page 35. Open the publisher PDF at page 35 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  28. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Section F1 General provisions, items (b) and (c), printed page 16.1-46. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩

  29. Design Guide for Buildable Steel Connections: Bolted and Welded Connections to SS EN 1993-1-8, 2019. Singapore Structural Steel Society (SSSS). Chapter 8, 8.2 Recommendations for cost-effective connection design, items (2) and (6) (printed page 660). Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩

  30. Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-16), ANSI/AISC 360-16, July 7, 2016. American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). Section J3.2 Size and use of holes, items (a) to (f), printed page 16.1-128. Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩

  31. Design Guide for Buildable Steel Connections: Bolted and Welded Connections to SS EN 1993-1-8, 2019. Singapore Structural Steel Society (SSSS). Chapter 8, 8.2 items (9), (16) and (18) (printed page 661). Publisher page (opens in a new tab) ↩

  32. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.8.9 Fatigue (printed page F48), PDF page 374. Open the publisher PDF at page 374 (opens in a new tab) ↩

  33. Dubai Building Code, 2021 Edition. Government of Dubai; official copy hosted by Dubai Development Authority. Part F, F.4.1 Application (printed page F11), PDF page 337. Open the publisher PDF at page 337 (opens in a new tab) ↩