Frost Heave: The Risks It Poses and the Best Way to Prevent It

A freezer for a food or beverage producer or distributor requires multiple elements that need to be managed and handled correctly for the space to be functional. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as building a box and making it cold!

In their newest blog piece, BFBi member Stancold breaks down what frost heave is, how it can harm a food or beverage producer’s entire facility and the way to prevent it from occurring.

The Silent Force Beneath Your Freezer Space

Permafrost buildup in the ground beneath your freezer is a serious risk across the wider facility. Unlike chillers, freezers require a fully continuous insulation envelope, including beneath the floor.

A building’s sub-floor under the freezer can be subject to an occurrence referred to as frost heave, the upward swelling of ground due to the formation of ice if not protected.

It is easy to underestimate frost heave, yet when the ground rises, the entire freezer floor moves with it. The result can be cracked floor buildups and serious structural issues across the facility.

‘The result of frost heave is like a slow-moving earthquake,’ says Stancold’s Business Development Manager, Andy Connell. ‘Everything gets pushed up, so your structural floor and floor covering will eventually become cracked and uneven.’

Frost heave would not be relevant for a chiller space as the temperature never drops below zero degrees, making ice a non-issue.

A new freezer that Stancold installed in an unused part of a food factory, where the original design already included a recess for the necessary floor buildup.

The Operational Impact of Frost Heave Floor Damage in Freezers

Floor damage inside a freezer can compromise a freezer space’s hygienic nature, undermine the insulated integrity, and cause uneven floors, which become hazardous for forklifts.

Many freezer spaces contain racking layouts to help store products, ingredients or other materials. Functional and safe racking systems rely on a level floor, so uneven slabs caused by frost heave pose a major problem. The racking could start to lean, and the system’s failure becomes more likely.

The Hidden Layer That Prevents Structural Damage

The simplest and most efficient method of preventing frost heave is a heating mat system, which applies controlled heat to stop moisture in the ground beneath the freezer from turning to ice.

Heat may sound out of place in a freezer, but heating mats only produce enough warmth to stop frost from reaching the sub‑floor. Plus, a layer of insulation is between the heating mat and floor topper, so the internal area will still be freezing (literally!).

‘If you’re standing in an industrial freezer,’ says Andy, ‘you would have no idea there is a heating mat under the floor below you.’

Unlike a chiller space, the panels of a freezer must connect with the heating mat and underlying insulation, forming the necessary complete insulative barrier.

There are two types of heating mats we encounter as part of the industrial freezer spaces we build.

The first is an electric heating mat, which, as you can imagine, is powered by electricity to distribute heat to the sub-floor. This is an electrical element contained within a layer of thin insulation.

The second is a glycol system, which is a bit more complicated. A glycol heating system does not require mains power but takes the excess heat from a space’s refrigeration condenser and circulates warmed glycol through the pipes to prevent frost heave. Glycol itself is a chemical that acts as an antifreeze substance.

The Practicality of a Heating Mat Within a Wider Facility Fit-Out

Stancold’s project specialists still encounter some sites that have freezer areas without a heating mat as part of the floor buildup. ‘If they haven’t experienced the adverse effects of frost heave yet,’ says Andy, ‘they are definitely vulnerable to it down the line.’

When a client approaches Stancold to turn an existing area into a freezer space for their products, part of their offering includes working with trusted industry partners to ensure the proper floor buildup is provided, including the installation of a heating mat.

The proper floor build-up in a freezer space can affect the way the area integrates with the wider facility. If a freezer room is being constructed onto an existing slab, due to the heating mat and floor buildup, it will be a bit taller than the other spaces. Therefore, it is often beneficial for producers and distributors to include a ramp that accommodates forklifts and prevents tripping hazards for facility staff. The space required for a suitable ramp needs to be factored into a facility’s existing operations.

A freezer installation Stancold completed with a ramp to account for the freezer’s floor buildup.

It’s the Stancold team’s understanding of best practice in these types of spaces, even outside of the partitioning element, that helps them create long-lasting and fitting solutions for their clients.

If you are looking to build a freezer or chiller space in your existing facility or new-build site, contact the Stancold team to learn more about how they can help!

📞 0117 316 7000

📧 info@stancold.co.uk