Client Project 6

Client 6, an insurance company, was operating a raised access floor (RAF) system more than 30 years old—and critically, it was a stringerless design. While stringerless floors can function in lighter-duty environments, they often struggle in modern data centers where continuous rolling loads, frequent hardware refresh cycles, and heavier equipment are the norm.

Why the Existing Floor Was No Longer “Future-Ready”

The customer recognized a growing mismatch between the legacy floor and current demands:

• Modern refresh activity requires repeated movement of heavy rolling loads (racks, battery systems, crated gear, transport dollies)
• AI deployments can introduce higher cabinet weights and concentrated loading patterns
• Older RAF systems can become a constraint on capacity, stability, and long-term reliability

Unique Site Constraints

This project required engineering-level planning because several building elements were dependent on the raised floor:

• Stabilizing and replacing flooring around live equipment loads
• Maintaining safe movement of heavy rolling loads in and out of the room throughout the refurbishment
• Glass modular security partitions installed on top of the RAF
• Portions of sheetrock divider walls also bearing on the RAF system
• A hard requirement: no outages and no wall demolition

The Solution: Full Replacement Without Disrupting Operations

We developed and executed a controlled replacement plan that kept critical operations running while addressing structural and logistical complexity:

• Sequenced work to maintain stability near live loads
• Planned and maintained roll paths and material handling to support ongoing moves and staging
• Replaced the raised floor system while protecting and preserving partitions and wall lines—avoiding costly demolition and rebuild

Result: 20,000 SF Replaced in 8 Weeks—No Outages, No Wall Demo

Over approximately 8 weeks, we completed the replacement of roughly 20,000 sq. ft. of raised access flooring with:

• Zero outages
• No demolition of existing walls or security partitions
• A floor system positioned for future refresh cycles and higher-load environments

Customer feedback:

“We did not think it could be done—you proved us very wrong!”