Raised access floors

Raised access floors do not necessarily prevent dust and small pieces of debris penetrating between tiles and accumulating in the underfloor void. In many applications, a small amount of dust may not be critical, but more specialised applications may require much higher standards of cleanliness. Floor surfaces should usually be sealed to prevent dusting from cementitious materials and care needs to be taken when lifting floor tiles where the floor void is used as an air plenum and conceivably small amounts of dust and grit could be blown up into the face of the operative as a result of a sudden change in air pressure.

Furthermore, a collection of dust and grit together with excess tackifier adhesive can work its way into the joints between panels, locking them in place and making removal very difficult without risk of panel damage.

For data centres and computer rooms where delicate electronic equipment is housed, dust can be a significant problem, particularly where it could be conductive.