Slip Resistance Considerations For Balcony Decking

26 Oct Slip Resistance Considerations For Balcony Decking

As you are well aware, the use of Class A rated materials is essential on any specified attachments on the external walls of a building over 18 metres in height.

However, it’s also important to consider other health and safety factors to make sure your installation is as safe as it can be. One of these is making sure that the flooring used is also slip-resistant and that it meets the standards expected of certain HSE guidelines.

This means that when you’re choosing material for your next project, as well as making sure it is non-combustible, you should consider materials and coatings that are slip-resistant.

In this blog, we’ll highlight certain HSE regulations that you should consider as well as the materials that offer these levels of protection, making sure you’re next flooring project is as safe as it can be.

What Are The Anti-Slip Regulations?

According to a recent health and safety report, slips and trips count for over 40% of injuries to members of the public. This usually occurs when floor surfaces haven’t correctly combatted contamination such as water or grease.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 were created in order to allow people to move around freely and safely and therefore legislate that any flooring has to be suitable and in good condition

To sum it up, you need to consider different levels of roughness that lower the slip potential.

Alfresco Floors has a range of external balcony flooring that meet the above requirements, while also remaining non-combustible. This way, you have the best of both worlds on your next project, non-combustibility and slip resistance.

ZERODECK

The latest non-combustible flooring from Alfresco Floors, ZERODECK is a great solution when you want to combine timber aesthetics with non-combustibility and slip-resistance.

Engineered and manufactured from mineral composites, ZERODECK provides a slip-resistant decking solution for use in any outdoor setting and in any weather.

The result of this is an A1 fire-rated decking system that meets all of the requirements for your balcony flooring project.

Porcelain

Porcelain is of course a fantastic solution for outdoor decking. Rated A1 for non-combustibility, it’s also extremely low maintenance and scratch-resistant.

Despite this, you might initially think that it wouldn’t be a good option for a slip-resistant solution – after all, porcelain tiles can also be used in bathrooms.

However, the textured design on the tiles used means that they can be considered anti-slip, without losing any levels of combustibility.

The tests done on this surface prove that in all conditions, it has a low slip rating with an average roughness Rz value of 36.1. You can view the full slip resistance test here.

AR-DECK – Aluminium Decking

Aluminium decking has been one of the ‘go to’ materials for external decking. Because of its sleek design and class-A rating, it’s a fantastic material for a variety of projects.

However, left untreated aluminium is an extremely slippery surface.

At Alfresco Floors, all aluminium decking, including the extensive aluminium AR-DECK system, are protected using a unique coating system providing anti-slip characteristics.

What’s more, this coating helps the aluminium decking keep its Class A rating meaning it can still be used on projects that require the strictest fire regulations.

Conclusion

It can be difficult to find the best possible material that ticks all of the boxes, especially when the requirements around fire safety and slip resistance are so important.

Despite this, there are solutions that can make sourcing materials for your next balcony flooring project effortless.

As we’ve discussed, Alfresco Floors has a range of different flooring options with all of this in mind. With the AR-Deck system, porcelain and even the brand new ZERODECK, there are options for slip resistance, but more importantly non-combustibility.

If you’d like to speak to our expert team and find the perfect material for your next project, get in contact with us today.