A quick guide to floor tile rating
Publish date: 26th October 2019Responding to customer demand, tile manufacturing is improving the performance of many of their floor tile ranges. Many of our most popular ranges are now available with an option of a slip resistant finish. The level of slip resistance is tested and certified according to pan European norms. Your architect or engineer is the best person to determine which level of slip resistance you should use.
We have summarised the 5 categories below and then suggested some of our ranges and their relative slip rating.
Slip Resistant R9 Tiles
R9 rated tiles will tolerate an angled floor of 3 to 10 degrees. They can be used in areas where there are no special risks of slipping. This is the basic requirement for any public area.
R9 tiles can only be used internally and must not be liable to wetting, spillages, inclines or declines. The benefits of using R9 over higher rated tiles are the ranges available, price and ease of cleaning.
Some of our most popular R9 tiles are: Frenchwood Wood Effect Tiles, and Explorer.
Slip Resistant R10 Tiles
R10 rated tiles will tolerate an angled floor of 10 to 19 degrees. They can be used in commercial areas which are accessible from the outside and may have moisture carried in from outside. Use R10 on commercial floors, which are susceptible to spillages or dirt e.g. public toilets, counter areas at bars and Mostly dry barefoot areas.
Some of our most popular R10 tiles are: Millelegni Scottish Oak, Geostone, Uniquestone and Infinity.
Slip Resistant R11 Tiles
R11 rated tiles will tolerate an angled floor of 19 to 27 degrees. These tiles can be used in many commercial and industrial applications where some degree of slip resistance is required but must be matched with relative ease of cleaning. R11 tiles can be used on pool decks and barefoot areas, which are regularly wet. R11 Tiles that are suitable for barefoot areas are denoted by a scale of water that can be held on the surface of the tile without affecting its grip. The scale is A, B or C, with R11 C being the bigger volume tile and therefore the most tolerant of residual surface water. R11 is the minimum rating for outdoor use i.e. patios, doorways, steps and shopping malls. R11 is required for commercial kitchens up to 100 meals per day.
Some of our most popular R11 tiles are: Geostone and Emilia.
Slip Resistant R12 Tiles
R12 rated tiles will tolerate an angled floor of 28 to 35 degrees. They can be used in areas where there are major liquid spillages such as commercial kitchens & other large industrial areas where liquid spillages are a hazard and can occur at any time.
Some of our most popular R10 tiles are: Infinity.
Slip Resistant R13 Tiles
R13 tiles will tolerate an angled floor of 35 degrees and greater. These tiles will only be required in the most demanding production areas such as fish processing and butchering. The animal fats likely to be present on the floor demand the extra slip resistance associated with these tiles.
