Slipping on polished flooring: a controlled issue

One of the essential requirements of the European Directive for materials that are incorporated into works is the “safety of use”. Specifically, if we speak about flooring, its slipperiness is a key factor to control, especially those with polished finishes.

From the publication of the CTE, there has been some confusion and problems with its applicability, referring to the Basic-SU Document. This is due to the fact that, in terms of natural stone, there were already some harmonised mandatory regulations that specified the requirements of natural stone flooring which in some way seemed to contradict the CTE.

What the CTE tells us is the following:

-Bush-hammered and flamed flooring is safe against slippage, so it is not necessary to perform any testing. This point is specified in the support document DA-DB-SUA 3.
-According to UNE-ENV 12633, it is necessary to perform a slip test on all other stone surface finishes for flooring, in dry or wet conditions depending on its location in the building.
-The test result classifies the material: Class 1, 2 or 3. Each of them are suitable for a certain use. So, according to the obtained result, we will know whether the material and finish is suitable for its safe use.

Specifically, polished flooring, as you can imagine, is unsafe in outdoor areas as it becomes slippery when it comes into contact with rainwater. The same precaution will have to be taken in indoor areas where there is a possible frequent spillage of liquids, such as in bathrooms or kitchens.

On the contrary, in conventional indoor locations polished flooring is safe against slippage, and this is exactly why it is the most used, because polished finishes enhance the colours and aspect of the stone. In any case, the slip test results will tell us this.