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Slip Resistance
The Importance of Considering
When Selecting a Flooring Surface
While mentions of design often spark images of beautiful colors and textures, blending to make paint beauty across a space, aesthetics are only one element of thoughtful design. Before deciding which materials look best in your project, ensure all of your options will be safe and durable enough for your intended use.
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One of the major factors to consider in a flooring material is its Slip Resistance. Some materials can be treacherous after minor splashes or misting while others can be used as the floor of a shower.
What makes this difference and how can you know you're making the right choice?
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The first step in these situations will always be to check what official guidelines are with groups like the TCNA. After that, there are a variety of different factors to consider and decisions to be made, but below, we can provide a few tips we've come across over our years of experience.
Naturally Non-Slip
While there are ways of increasing the coefficient of friction on by means of texture and topicals, you can most easily achieve the natural beauty and luster of a stone if you choose one that has a naturally non-slip texture.
Once such stone we recommend, especially in uses around a pool, is Marbella Shellstone. Its physical composition grants a DCOF of 0.67, (even while wet and Honed & Filled) which significantly surpasses the commercial standard of 0.42.
Textured ≠ Non-Slip
For many natural stones, a great option for increasing slip resistance could be selecting a finish that has more texture and surface area to grip onto.
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However, it is important to ensure that the specific finish you like has been tested for slip resistance as there are some cases, like with our Luxe Grey, the Honed samples actually tested with a higher coefficient of friction than their Brushed counterparts.
Post-Installation Solutions
After your stone is installed, there are fewer viable options for increasing its slip resistance. Textured adhesives or mats are unsightly and hide your carefully selected stone. They will also create a space for dirt and contaminants to collect, eventually staining.
There are liquid coatings that can be applied to stone which will increase their DCOF rating and even create a protective barrier, but it would be imperative to check with both the vendor of the coating and the stone that the products would be compatible.
Feel free to call in today if you have any questions in your search for the perfect material.
We will do our best to provide you with the correct answer or guidance on how to find it.