Detention Security Floors

Detention security floors refers to a variety of floor products used in correctional facilities and other high security installations. These security floors must be capable of withstanding a sustained assault and are often built on the ceiling of the cell below, with no gap between the ceiling of the lower unit and the security floor of the unit above.

Detention Security Floor Manufacturers

• Trussbilt provides a complete security solution build on their unique Trusscore technology. The Trussbilt security solutions include detention security floors as well as hollow metal doors and frames, security ceilings, and security wall panels. Trussbilt's TrussFloor technology eliminates the need for a concrete pour on ceiling decking and provides the possibility of more LEED points based on recycled content and no on-site waste.

Security Floor Concerns

The primary concern for security floors within detention facilities is security: the detention floors must be secure and capable of withstanding a prolonged assault. The floors must be constructed in such a way that it is not possible to pry up or chip through edges or corners to create hiding places for contraband or create weak points that can be exploited. However, there are several additional concerns in addition to security. These include:

• Cost: As with any construction project, cost is always a factor. Costs for security floors are complicated because the cost of the floor itself is not the only contributing factor. Additional costs can come into play via the construction method: how long does it take to install? How many people are needed for how much time? What is the lifespan of the floor and what are the costs of future repairs?
• Space: Space is a significant factor in detention facilities, and also plays into the cost factor. The need for high security floors, walls, and ceilings can add considerably to the footprint of a detention facility: using bulkier building materials (such as precast concrete) can add entire floors to a construction project, which inflates the prices dramatically over the materials and installation costs.
• Sound Dampening: Within detention facilities populations are almost always incredibly high, with a very large number of people per square foot. This makes acoustical dampening a very important quality in building materials. This is especially true with security floors that are constructed on top of the cell below with no space between ceiling and the floor above.

Security Floor Trends

While it was once common for detention facilities to be largely constructed from either poured concrete or precast concrete structures lifted into place, these old construction methods are largely becoming obsolete in new detention facilities. A more common construction method for security floors -- and indeed walls and ceilings -- is to use steel panels that are internally spot welded to a core. This results in an incredibly strong material that is lighter weight and takes up far less space than precast concrete. This hollow metal security floor design can include acoustical dampening similar to precast concrete and construction is much faster, which further reduces construction costs. There have been cases documented in the news of new detention facility constructions making use of hollow metal throughout the facility being able to literally remove an entire floor from the facility due to the space savings over concrete, and come in at very significantly lower costs.