Jonathan --

Are you planning to leave the plywood exposed?  That's
pretty unusual but wood floors are not uncommon in
historic buildings with old furnishings without
causing problems.  I would be more concerned about
insect infestations in the wood and noise that walking
or wheeling carts over the plywood would cause.  

As a precaution, you might want to wait several month
after the floor installation before moving the
collection back into the area in order for the dust to
settle.  That should give your HVAC system a chance to
ventilate the area after construction and remove most
of the gases.

When we installed a Spacesaver compact storage system
in 1985 in our Library/Archives we wanted to cover the
floor with vinyl flooring (for ease of cleaning,
minimizing insect problems, etc.)  The company
handling the installation convinced us to go with
carpet tiles because of the difficulty in cutting and
fitting the vinyl.  

The adhesive used to affix the carpet tiles sealed the
plywood quite thoroughly.  We assumed that any
off-gassing was completed by the time we brought the
125,000 volume collection back from off-site storage. 
In any case, we did not notice any problems.  The only
thing the plywood comes in contact with is the back of
the carpet tiles and the framework of the floor and
tracks.

We had problems with the floors sticking (plywood
tends to swell and contract as humidity levels change)
which required the electronic system be used in safety
override mode more frequently as the years went by. 
Had off gassing been a problem, it is likely we would
have noticed that books and boxes stored on lower
shelves were being affected as compared to those on
the upper shelves but we did not (the uv-rays and heat
emitted by the fluorescent fixtures did cause
problems.) The plywood flooring did not cause the 
carpet tiles to degrade or the adhesive to fail which
one might expect if off-gassing was reaching levels
that would endanger the collection above. 

Judy Turner
Whitefish Bay, WI   

--- Jonathan Bucci <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> That platform is to
> be constructed of plywood.  
> I was wondering if anyone else has had units like
> this built with a plywood
> platform.  And if so were there any precautions
> taken to prevent off gassing
> from the wood.  Is this something to be concerned
> with? 


       
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