Mezzanine on 2nd storey of landed property

[AlanQuah 0]

Hi all, I would like to ask about building Mezzanines on 2nd storey of a landed property to maximize space

1) if mezzanine is more than 5 sqm, URA/BCA approval is required. if so what are the cost involved, anyone have an estimate.

2) A little on the grey area, that one contractor had told me is that the mezzanine is build as a carpentry work (i.e. part of a walk in wardrobe), one can argue that it is not part of a mezzanine. I want to make this correct so have to check if this is arguable.

3) Can mezzanines be built over, say a toilet if the piping are routed away.

4) Is the free standing type of mezzanine such as provided by Mezzanine Singapore,  considered as it is not a fix feature?

Hope to hear from you soon and thanks in advance.

[snoozee 98]

You can’t built a mezzanine on a storey. A mezzanine is technically a storey by itself though URA now doesn’t consider it as one as long as it is reasonable in size. Technically mezzanine is only up to 50% of a normal floor area but URA does allow bigger now subjected to approval. 
 

in order to build a mezzanine, you need to have enough headroom clearance above and below the mezzanine which is at least 2.4m. So after factoring in a floor slab thickness of at least 0.15m thick, you will need to have at least 5m of overhead clearance for your 2nd storey in order to build a mezzanine. Also, the mezzanine would need to be tied back to the columns of the house and have additional beams to support it. 
 

this is different from a loft which does not have a overhead clearance limit above the loft and is usually a structure built to sit on the floor slab which in this case is your 2nd storey

[AlanQuah 0]

2 hours ago, snoozee said:

You can’t built a mezzanine on a storey. A mezzanine is technically a storey by itself though URA now doesn’t consider it as one as long as it is reasonable in size. Technically mezzanine is only up to 50% of a normal floor area but URA does allow bigger now subjected to approval. 
 

in order to build a mezzanine, you need to have enough headroom clearance above and below the mezzanine which is at least 2.4m. So after factoring in a floor slab thickness of at least 0.15m thick, you will need to have at least 5m of overhead clearance for your 2nd storey in order to build a mezzanine. Also, the mezzanine would need to be tied back to the columns of the house and have additional beams to support it. 
 

this is different from a loft which does not have a overhead clearance limit above the loft and is usually a structure built to sit on the floor slab which in this case is your 2nd storey

@snoozee I would like to first thank you for always helping the forum with your knowledge.

Didn't that there is a difference between a loft and a mezzanine. I would like to know the distinct and more detail on it. 

I m getting an old 2-stories landed house. The objective is to reclaim same more space used by removing the artificial ceiling at level 2. I do not intend to do extensive A&A to make another attic level hence thinking of partial loft/mezzanine solution after  removing the artificial ceiling level. I would also like to avoid all the costly approval due to budget constraint. 

Thanks again for your feedback. \  

[snoozee 98]

I may be wrong but my understanding is that loft is built to sit on the existing floor slab whereas mezzanine would be built as part of the building’s structure

a mezzanine storey cannot be the same size as the lower storey. So if your house is in a 2 storey zone, how are you going to built a mezzanine? You still need to be able to roof over the part where the mezzanine is not covering the 2nd storey. In this case you would be better off building an attic storey rather than figuring out how to build a mezzanine.

[AlanQuah 0]

2 hours ago, snoozee said:

I may be wrong but my understanding is that loft is built to sit on the existing floor slab whereas mezzanine would be built as part of the building’s structure

a mezzanine storey cannot be the same size as the lower storey. So if your house is in a 2 storey zone, how are you going to built a mezzanine? You still need to be able to roof over the part where the mezzanine is not covering the 2nd storey. In this case you would be better off building an attic storey rather than figuring out how to build a mezzanine.

Firstly the house is in a 3 storey zone.

Secondly, the roof to floor distance is 7.5m at the highest point and tapered down to 3.2m at the side.

Another question would be the approval. I seems to heard conflicting information from different people, same say landed dont need for mezzanine,  same say need. Will be meeting a builder to check bah.

[snoozee 98]

Since it’s in a 3 storey zone, just built an additional storey which is much simpler. You can use steel columns and beams for the new storey and install a metal roof so that the loading on the existing structure is lesser than RC

landed need or no need mezzanine is subjective. If you are in a 3 storey zone already, then you can build up to 3 storey and attic which gives you 4 storeys. If want more space, can add in mezzanine storey in between some floors which would then be like a 5 storey house.

approval is not difficult as long as all URA and BCA guidelines are adhered to

FYI, my own house which is under construction is a 2 storey house with attic and mezzanine. Mezzanine is located between first and second storey.

[AlanQuah 0]

Ok Thanks for all the information

[snoozee 98]

if you really want clear and accurate information, go and talk to an architect as they would be well versed with the building requirements from URA and BCA. not all builders would be able to give you accurate information since URA updates their guidelines quite often.