Whether you’re shopping for tiles for your home, perhaps your kitchen or bathroom, or if you’re buying in bulk for a big project, you should always consider the potential safety risks that a tiled floor could present, especially if you’re tiling an area that receives high foot traffic.
It goes without saying that a tiled floor can present a slip hazard, especially when wet - not really ideal for kitchens and bathrooms then? Thankfully, at Tile & Build we source tiles that have been designed to mitigate the risk of a wet floor, perfect for kitchens, bathrooms and even wetrooms. Sourced directly from the manufacturer, our anti-slip tiles are perfect for ensuring your building projects remain stylish, robust and most importantly, safe.
Anti-Slip Tiles at Tile & Build
In order to be anti-slip, these tiles are manufactured to a slightly different specification to ordinary wall tiles which makes them perfect for use on the floor. Anti-slip tiles are coated with a matte glaze that adds additional surface to the face of the tile, this allows for better moisture dispersion and importantly, grip. This glaze does not impact the integrity or the design of the tiles, so you can be sure that all anti-slip tiles sourced at Tile & Build are still in keeping with our high standards for build and design.
We source anti-slip tiles directly from some of the industries finest brands and manufactures, including ABK, Cercom and Florim.
Anti-Slip Tile Ratings
In order to make sourcing the right tiles for the job a little easier, the majority of floor tiles now carry an anti-slip rating though the jargon can sometimes make those ratings a little unclear. Shown as either an ‘R Rating’ (which is the result of a ramp based slip test) or a ‘PTV Rating’ (a pendulum based test), the anti-slip rating is used to give buyers a better idea of how slip-proof their new tiles will be once installed. First of all, let’s take a look at PTV ratings.
PTV Anti-Slip Tile Ratings
A PTV Rating is captured by using a pendulum to hit a tile in the same way the heel of a shoe or foot might. The process captures the amount of friction generated between the pendulum and the tile in order to create a PTV score. The PTV Rating is the preferred rating method used by the Health & Safety Executive, therefore if your build is a commercial build, this rating is particularly important.
A higher PTV rating means higher friction and a better anti-slip score. Tiles can be rated within the following groups:
PTV 0 - 25 High risk of slipping.
PTV 25 - 35 Medium risk of slipping.
PTV 35 - 65 Low risk of slipping.
PTV 65+ Very Low risk of slipping - best for high traffic applications.
R Anti-Slip Tile Ratings
An R Rating uses an actual person as the test subject. Wearing a safety harness and controlled footwear, a test subject walks across an oiled, tiled surface (using the tiles to be tested). The angle of the tiles is slowly increased until the test subject slips - thankfully caught by their safety harness. The angle at which the slip occurs, is then translated to an R rated of between 9 and 13. The R rating then tells us which application the tile is best suited for, based on the potential chance of a slip.
R9 Tiles - For use in dry indoor areas away from any potential moisture.
R9 Tiles - For use in dry indoor areas away from any potential moisture.
R10 Tiles - For use in areas with potential moisture, including shops and restaurants.
R11 Tiles - For use on industrial premises with some risk of ground contamination.
R12 Tiles - For use in factories with production lines that handle liquid goods.
R13 Tiles - For use in areas with high chance of spills, for example oil processing.
Anti-Slip Tiles at Tile & Build
Generally speaking, when you’re reviewing anti-slip ratings on tiles, you should look for tiles that carry a higher number, whether that's as an R Rating or a PTV Rating - a higher number means less chance of a slip occurring. Having said that, don’t get hung up on ratings and numbers, you can ensure your tiled floors are kept safe by simply ensuring they remain clean and free from liquid contaminants. By simply using ‘wet floor signs’ and by carrying out the correct risk assessment in your commercial premises, your tiled floors will not only be safe, they will look incredible too.
Check out our huge range of anti-slip tiles, featuring quality designed by leading tile manufacturers such as Coem, Marca Corona and Iris Ceramica Diesel Living.