STEP INSIDE BATHROOMS
Don’t Slip Up
Robert Merry, Owner of The Stone Consultants and member of the Technical Committee of the Stone Federation of Great Britain, advises on the correct
precautions to take when supplying or specifying a stone bathroom floor to protect both your customer and your business.
When specifying a polished or honed floor, it is crucial that you understand what the slip resistance rating should be and if the product you are supplying meets the standards. This should be taken into particular consideration if you are supplying a stone finish.
The HSE currently publish a technical information sheet on ‘Assessing the slip resistance of flooring’, available free of charge on the HSE website, which is worth a read. In brief, it explains the type of test that should be carried out and the results you should be looking for.
Just be sure you are conducting the test with the correct rubber – 96 for shod feet, 55 for bare. It’s important to make the distinction, as not many people wear shoes in the shower!
The tests were developed by the Greater London Council (GLC) back in the 1970s for pavements and developed to where they are today. The tests can be carried out in-situ after installation but you must ensure that you are able to change the surface once laid if the floor does not achieve the rating you require. You don’t want to have to take it up and start again.
The interpretation of the results as published by the HSE in the same information sheet, for either wet or dry tests, are as follows: low potential for risk is stated as a reading of 36+, with medium from 25 to 35 and high slip potential 0 to 24. Most polished stones will struggle to reach 36+ when wet. Even honed floors will not necessarily achieve a low slip potential. Marble shower floors, for instance, may need a sandblasted finish to achieve the correct slip resistance. You
18 | Tomorrow’s Retail Floors
don’t even have to sandblast the whole surface of the stone – banding in patterns to suit the drain location or shape of the shower can achieve the desired rating and look very smart.
Manufacturers’ slip-resistance ratings for their products refer to the item before it is installed. Be careful the application of grout or cleaner on the installed floor doesn’t change the slip potential by leaving a slippery layer above the surface.
The HSE document also advises on surface roughness (Rz). The results need to be fed into their Slip Assessment Tool (SAT), taking into consideration all factors including sealing, cleaning and likely contaminants such as soaps, shampoos etc.
If you are using a stone floor finish, particularly in a heavily- trafficked area, you might want to consider the abrasion test results for the stone- a measurement of the likely wear of the surface. The higher the footfall, the greater the wear. Over time, the footfall will smooth the surface, increasing the slip potential.
There are now coatings available to apply to floors that provide levels of slip resistance. As a retailer, it is important to check the warranty covers all slip and how many times it needs to be applied in the lifetime of the floor to maintain resistance. It can be expensive.
So, what do you do if the client insists on the finish that you know will be a potential slip hazard? Don’t fit it. Or, if you do, ask the client to indemnify you in writing against any future claim, before you proceed.
www.stoneconsultants.co.uk www.tomorrowsretailfloors.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42
