There are a number of things to consider when choosing tiles for a floor space – the colour, the shape, the design. But you should also think about slip resistance, depending on the area you’re tiling. For example, a wet room floor will be covered in water, so it’s important to use an anti slip tile. To find the right anti slip tile for your project, watch out for the anti slip gradings.
So what do the anti slip gradings mean?
The majority of floor tiles these days are given an anti slip rating. This rating comes in the form of an ‘R’ value. The ‘R’ stands for ‘ramp test’. This ‘R’ value ranges from R9, which has a small degree of slip resistance, right up to R13, which is the highest slip resistance. This ‘R’ value shows the degree of slip resistance the tile has.
R13 is the resistance recommended by many professionals for public wet areas such as showers in a changing room and pool surrounds, whereas R9 and R10 values are often used for domestic situations such as bathrooms and kitchens.
R9
<0.2 COF:
Tiles will mostly be smooth glazed matt finish tiles which will record this low value when wet. These tiles are fine for most domestic internal applications, when used in a bathroom a bath mat (or towel) is essential to step on to from the bath or shower.
R10
>0.2 COF<0.4 COF:
Tiles will usually be glazed matt tiles which show these values only when wet, although there may also be a small number of unglazed tiles in this category. Besides domestic bathrooms, where the use of a bathmat is essential, they may be considered for other domestic areas such as kitchens, living areas, hallways, etc.
R11
>0.4 COF<0.7 COF:
Tiles will include both glazed tiles and unglazed tiles. If a tile has this CoF as a minimum, dry and wet, it may be regarded as safe for installations including wet rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, porches, halls, cloakrooms, and living rooms. They may also be used for public areas such as cloakrooms, lavatories, communal showers,swimming pool surrounds, and larger areas such as shopping centres, airport concourses, hotel foyers, public walkways, etc. These tiles are also suitable for external situations if porcelain.
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