Here at Delforno Tiles, we believe in empowering our customers with knowledge, especially when it comes to crucial safety features like tile slip ratings. Understanding these ratings is key to choosing the right tiles for different areas of your home or commercial space, ensuring both beauty and safety.
Understanding Slip Ratings: Your Guide to Safer Floors
When you're selecting tiles, you'll often come across terms like "R-rating," "PTV," and "Barefoot Classification." While these might sound like industry jargon, they are simply ways to measure how much grip a tile provides, especially in wet or potentially hazardous conditions. Let's break down what they mean for you.
The "R" Rating (Ramp Test): For Shod Feet
The most common slip rating you'll encounter is the "R" rating, which stands for Ramp Test. This is a European standard (specifically, the German DIN 51130) that assesses a tile's slip resistance for areas where people will be wearing shoes.
How it works (in layman's terms): Imagine a person, wearing special safety boots, walking on a tiled ramp that is slowly tilted while coated with oil. The angle at which they start to slip determines the tile's R-rating.
R9: Offers the lowest degree of slip resistance. Suitable for dry indoor areas like living rooms, bedrooms, and hallways.
R10: Provides a moderate level of slip resistance. Often recommended for domestic kitchens and bathrooms, where occasional spills might occur. A minimum R10 is often required for wetrooms, though R11 is highly recommended for added safety.
R11: Offers enhanced slip resistance. Ideal for areas that are frequently wet, such as bathrooms, utility rooms, and for general outdoor use. Many outdoor porcelain tiles, like our Portico range, will have an R11 rating or higher.
R12 & R13: These ratings offer the highest levels of slip resistance, often with a rougher, more industrial feel. They are typically used in commercial settings or public wet areas, like showers in changing rooms and pool surrounds, where safety is paramount and floors are consistently wet.
It's important to note that while higher R-ratings offer more grip, they can sometimes mean a rougher surface that might be slightly harder to clean. However, innovations like Stepwise technology apply slip resistance into the tile's body before firing, resulting in a smooth, easy-to-clean, yet slip-resistant surface.
PTV (Pendulum Test Value): Simulating a Slip
Another important measure, particularly in the UK and Ireland, is the PTV (Pendulum Test Value), based on the British Standard BS 7976. This test measures the dynamic coefficient of friction, which essentially mimics the action of a shoe or barefoot on a surface, especially during a heel strike.
How it works (in layman's terms): A "pendulum" device, with a foot-like slider, swings across the tile surface. The amount of friction it encounters determines the PTV score. A higher PTV indicates better slip resistance.
A PTV rating of 36+ is generally considered certified "Anti-Slip" and is recommended for areas with frequent water exposure or where a high level of anti-slip performance is critical. This is often preferred by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for investigating slip accidents due to its portability and effectiveness in assessing real-world slip potential.
Barefoot Classification (A, B, C): For Wet Areas Without Shoes
For areas where people will typically be barefoot and the floor is likely to be wet - think bathrooms, showers, and pool surrounds - tiles are also classified with A, B, or C ratings (based on the DIN 51097 Barefoot Ramp Test).
How it works (in layman's terms): Similar to the R-rating test, but this time a barefoot person walks on a ramp that is lubricated with water.
Class A: Suitable for barefoot walkways, mainly in dry or occasionally wet areas.
Class B: Ideal for showers, changing rooms, and pool surrounds.
Class C: Offers the highest anti-slip rating for barefoot areas, recommended for steps into water and walk-through pools where maximum grip is essential.
Choosing the Right Tile for Your Space
At Delforno Tiles, we understand that selecting the perfect tile involves balancing aesthetics, durability, and most importantly, safety. By understanding these slip ratings, you can make an informed decision:
Low Anti-Slip: Suitable for dry, indoor domestic areas like bedrooms and living rooms (typically R9).
Medium Anti-Slip: For indoor areas that get frequently wet, such as kitchens, utility rooms, and domestic bathrooms (R10, R11, and PTV 25-35).
High Anti-Slip: Essential for indoor and outdoor areas with frequent wetness and high traffic, including lobbies, entryways, wet rooms, swimming pools, driveways, and garden paths (R11, R12, R13, and PTV 36+).
Shop our range of Anti-slip Tiles today, and check the product details for the Slip Rating.
Our team at Delforno Tiles is always here to guide you through our extensive collection and help you find tiles that not only look stunning but also provide the necessary slip resistance for peace of mind.
For more advice on which tile is bast for your floor, dont hesitate to call into our Cork Showroom or Dublin Showroom and talk to our experts.