Free Axez – raised access flooring system contributes to LEED points/credits

Following is a breakdown of our Free Axez raised access flooring system relative to the USGBC LEED rating system.

LEED Credit Contributions

MR Credit 1 – Building Reuse
MR Credit 2 – Construction Waste Management
MR Credit 3 – Materials Reuse
MR Credit 4 – Recycled Content

MR Credit 1 Breakdown:
Excerpts from Green Building Rating System For New Construction & Major Renovations (LEED-NC) Version 2.1
Intent
Extend the life cycle of existing building stock, conserve resources,
retain cultural resources, reduce waste and reduce environmental
impacts of new buildings as they relate to materials manufacturing and transport.

Requirements
Maintain at least 75% of existing building structure and shell (exterior skin
and framing, excluding window assemblies and non-structural roofing material.)

Potential Technologies & Strategies
Consider reuse of existing buildings, including structure, shell and
non-shell elements. Remove elements that pose contamination risk to
building occupants and upgrade outdated components such as windows,
mechanical systems and plumbing fixtures. Quantify the extent of building reuse.
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How FreeAxez All Steel Low-Profile Flooring System Contributes to Building Reuse:
FreeAxez provides significant benefits for the retrofit and renovation of existing
structures. Today’s demand for hi-tech space requires significant power/voice/data cabling.
Oftentimes existing buildings are considered completely obsolete due to the difficulty
in running these cables. Raised flooring solves this problem, and the FreeAxez
design is optimal since it does not attach to the building at the sub floor or walls.

The FreeAxez low profile wire management system accommodates
power/voice/data cables to allow older buildings to meet the current
and future technology requirements of the modern office environment.

Historic structures are a perfect application for FreeAxez. As a result of its unique design, the gravity-held FreeAxez floors can lay on top of existing terrazzo, marble or wood floors without any destruction to the floor. Since the floor is not screwed or connected to the walls, FreeAxez does not damage the fine woodwork on the walls.
As the lowest profile access floor on the market (at 1.6” in height), the freeaxez floor allows for complete wire management with negligible impact to the vertical dimension. In lower existing floor-to-ceiling space, the addition of drop ceilings or tall floors to run wires often compresses the space to such an extent as to make reuse of the space impractical. FreeAxez extends the life cycle of existing building stock.
FreeAxez installation results in negligible invasive / destructive impact to the existing floor and walls, as the system is gravity-held and assembled without glues, screws or fasteners. Core-drilling for wires is virtually eliminated, thus preserving the existing floor/wall structure and facades. FreeAxez conserves resources, conserves cultural resources and reduces waste.
Once FreeAxez is installed, the space can be reconfigured continually for new occupants or changes in intended use without impacting the existing structure.

MR Credit 2 – Construction Waste Management

Excerpts from Green Building Rating System For New Construction & Major Renovations (LEED-NC) Version 2.1

Intent
Divert construction, demolition and land clearing debris from landfill disposal. Redirect recyclable recovered resources back to the manufacturing process. Redirect reusable materials to appropriate sites.

Requirements
Recycle and/or salvage at least 50% of construction, demolition and land clearing waste.

Potential Technologies & Strategies
Consider recycling land debris, cardboard, metal, brick, concrete, plastic, clean wood, glass, gypsum wall-board, carpet and insulation.
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How FreeAxez All Steel Low-Profile Flooring System Contributes to Construction Waste Management:
FreeAxez minimizes construction waste at both initial construction and in the future when the space is vacated or planned for demolition. Moves, adds and changes are handled easily and efficiently without frustration or feelings of obsolescence for the occupants. FreeAxez prolongs the lifecycle of useful space for any given project by 2 or 3 times.
FreeAxez is gravity-held and is assembled without glues, screws or fasteners. The FreeAxez array of intelligent border components allows any space to fitted without the need for cutting metal and producing waste. A FreeAxez installation produces negligible construction waste and therefore diverts material from landfill disposal.
When a space is vacated or planned for demolition, the portability attribute of FreeAxez allows for the redirection and reuse of material to the next application. The durable FreeAxez all steel floor can be disassembled, transported and reassembled / reused many times without degradation. If there is no planned follow-on space requirement, the manufacturer will buy back the material for up to 10 years from purchase. Also, the FreeAxez floor is 100% recyclable. A FreeAxez installation diverts material from landfill disposal.

MR Credit 3 – Materials Reuse

Excerpts from Green Building Rating System For New Construction & Major Renovations (LEED-NC) Version 2.1

Intent
Reuse building materials and products in order to reduce demand for virgin materials and to reduce waste, thereby reducing impacts associated with the extraction and processing of virgin resources.

Requirements
Use salvaged, refurbished or reused materials such that the sum of these materials constitutes at least 5%, based on cost, of the total value of material on the project.

Potential Technologies & Strategies
Identify opportunities to incorporate salvaged materials into building design and research potential material suppliers. Consider salvaged materials such as beams and posts, flooring, paneling, doors and frames, cabinetry, brick and decorative items.
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How FreeAxez All Steel Low-Profile Flooring System Contributes to Materials Reuse:

When a space is vacated or planned for demolition, the portability attribute of FreeAxez allows for the redirection and reuse of material to the next application. The durable FreeAxez all steel floor can be disassembled, transported and reassembled / reused many times without degradation. If there is no planned follow-on space requirement, the manufacturer will buy back the material for up to 10 years from purchase. Also, the FreeAxez floor is 100% recyclable. A FreeAxez installation diverts material from landfill disposal.

Materials & Resources Credit 4: Recycled Content

Materials & Resources Credit 4: Recycled Content intends to increase demand for building products that incorporate recycled content materials, therefore reducing impacts resulting from extraction and processing of new virgin materials. As discussed and demonstrated below, steel building products contribute positively toward earning points under Credit 4.1 and Credit 4.2. The following is required by LEED Version 2.2:

Credit 4.1 (1 point) “Use materials with recycled content such that the sum of post-consumer recycled content plus one-half of the pre-consumer content constitutes at least 10% of the total value of the materials in the project.”

Credit 4.2 (1 point) “Use materials with recycled content such that the sum of post-consumer recycled content plus one-half of the pre-consumer content constitutes at least 20% of the total value of the materials in the project.”

The value of the recycled content portion of a material or furnishing shall be determined by dividing the weight of recycled content in the item by the total weight of all material in the item, then multiplying the resulting percentage by the total value of the item.” Since steel (the material) and steel (the building product) are the same, the value of the steel building product is directly multiplied by steel’s recycled content, or: Steel Recycled Content Value = (Value of Steel Product) x (Post-Consumer % + ½ Pre-Consumer %)

The formula above calculates the post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content percentages for steel building products. These percentages and values are easily entered into the LEED Letter Template spreadsheet for calculation. The following shows the computation and results for FreeAxez recycled content:

FreeAxez 40 & FreeAxez 70 All Steel Low-Profile Access Floor Recycled Content Value:

Steel Recycled Content Value = ($10,000) x (35% + ½ 10%) = ($10,000) x (40%) = $4,000

$4000/$10,000 = 40% (Exceeds 10% and 20% goals)

For more information on Free Axez, call Ralph Grove, LEED AP at 703-370-0000 or email.