Putting in Access Flooring? Add These Features and Accessories

If you're thinking about putting in a data access floor, you may be wondering which accessories and features you need. Your installer can help you hone in on the right equipment for your data cabling needs, but in addition, you may want to check out the following ideas. These products can help protect, organise and increase access to the data cabling under your access floor.

1. Snake Trays

To imagine a snake tray, imagine a series of croquet hoops connected together with wires running through them. The "hoop" design holds the cables and prevents them from moving around under your access floor, but the manner in which the "hoops" are connected allows the entire contraption to be molded like a snake. Finally, the wire hoops connect directly to the concrete under your access floor. In some cases, cable management tools like snake trees can also be installed on the ceiling if you need to run cables up there.

2. Cable Tray Modules

For large bundles of cables or for spots where lots of cables connect together, you may want to consider cable tray modules. Most access floors feature a grid like pattern, and you can access the underlying cables by removing any of the panels in the grid. These cable trays snap right into your grid system underneath individual panels, and most designs are easy to install. They can work for a host of cable management applications, and they also help support air flow as these trays get some of the cables off the ground.

3. Floor Access Grommets

In addition to keeping the cables organised, you also have to ensure that you can access them, and grommets can help. A grommet is basically an area where you allow the cables to pop out of the floor so that you can use them as needed. For convenience, you may want to choose grommets that recede into the floor when not in use but can be popped out when you need to access that cable. There are also grommets for access floors that help to boost airflow under the flooring.

4. Voice and Data Outlets

In other cases, your cables should connect directly to outlets. With most access flooring systems, you can buy several panels that are devoted to outlets. That can include outlets for ethernet connections, electrical connections, phone lines, and whatever else you need. Depending on the style you want for your office, the outlets can be covered until you need them, or they can just look like standard wall outlets but embedded in your access floor.

 

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