Anti Slip Resin Flooring: R Ratings and Slip Resistance Explained
Anti slip resin flooring is a seamless resin floor finished with an aggregate texture that grips footwear even when the surface is wet or contaminated. There is no single “anti slip” product category – slip resistance is a performance requirement set by the conditions in each room. Manufacturers grade systems using R ratings from R9 (lowest) to R13 (highest) and the installed floor is assessed in the UK using the pendulum test. This guide explains what both measures mean and how to specify the right finish for your environment.
Key takeaways
- R ratings run from R9 to R13 and come from the German DIN 51130 ramp test. They are laboratory classifications of new samples, not UK legal grades – no UK law specifies an R rating. The scale starts at R9, so R9 is the minimum grade, not a mid-point.
- The HSE’s preferred method for assessing installed floors is the pendulum test. A pendulum test value (PTV) of 36 or above indicates low slip risk, provided the floor is tested under the contamination it will actually see.
- Slip resistance in resin floors comes from broadcast aggregates such as quartz, aluminium oxide or silicon carbide. Coarser aggregate generally means more grip and a floor that is harder to clean.
- Match the rating to the contamination in the room, not to a general idea of safety. Dry corridors and wet process areas need very different finishes and the specification should follow a risk assessment, not a chart.
- Slip resistance wears. Re-test when the texture visibly wears, the cleaning regime changes or a slip is reported, because a floor that passed at handover can fall below PTV 36 as texture wears smooth.
What is an R rating?
An R rating is a slip resistance classification from the German standard DIN 51130, measured with the ramp test. An operator wearing standard boots walks on an oiled sample of the flooring while the ramp angle increases and the angle at which they slip sets the rating, from R9 for the lowest grip to R13 for the highest.
Three things about the scale catch buyers out. First, it starts at R9 – there is no R1 to R8 – so R9 sounds mid-range but is actually the lowest classification available. Second, the bands are based on ramp angle, not a linear grip percentage, so the difference between R10 and R12 is much bigger than it looks on paper. Third, the test is run on a new laboratory sample in controlled conditions, so an R rating describes the product as manufactured, not the floor as installed, worn and cleaned in your building.
What do the R ratings R9 to R13 actually mean?
Each R rating corresponds to a band of ramp angles and maps to typical environments as follows:
| Rating | Ramp angle | Grip level | Typical environments |
|---|---|---|---|
| R9 | 6 to 10 degrees | Low | Dry interiors: offices, reception areas, corridors |
| R10 | 10 to 19 degrees | Moderate | Warehouses, retail, workshops with occasional spills |
| R11 | 19 to 27 degrees | Good | Production areas, plant rooms, loading bays, external ramps |
| R12 | 27 to 35 degrees | High | Commercial kitchens, food production, wet process areas |
| R13 | Over 35 degrees | Very high | Abattoirs, breweries, areas with oil, fat or greasy contamination |
Treat the table as a starting point, not a specification. The right rating for a specific room comes from a risk assessment of the contaminant, footwear, drainage and cleaning regime – a commercial kitchen with good drainage and disciplined cleaning may perform safely at R11 while a poorly drained one needs R13. Outdoor areas add further variables: algae, frost and standing rainwater matter as much as the R class. What ends up on the floor and how often it is removed, sets the answer.
What is the pendulum test and why does the HSE prefer it?
The pendulum test, now standardised under BS EN 16165 (which superseded BS 7976), measures slip resistance by swinging a rubber slider across the floor surface and recording how much friction slows it, expressed as a pendulum test value. The HSE and UK Slip Resistance Group identify it as the preferred method for assessing pedestrian slip risk because it tests the actual installed surface – complete with its wear, cleaning history and contamination – rather than a new laboratory sample.
The accepted thresholds are simple: a PTV of 36 or above is low slip risk, 25 to 35 is moderate and 24 or below is high risk. The number only means something if the floor is tested in the condition that creates the hazard – a dry PTV tells you little about a floor that gets wet or oily in service. It is also important to understand that the pendulum test does not verify an R rating. The ramp test and pendulum test measure different things and there is no reliable conversion between the two scales, which is the single biggest source of confusion in slip specification. In practice a specifier uses both: an R rating to select the system from the manufacturer’s range and a PTV measured on site, under representative contamination, to prove the installed floor performs. Quoting only an R rating from a datasheet is not evidence of a safe floor.
How is anti slip resin flooring made?
Anti slip resin floors get their grip from hard aggregate broadcast into the wet resin – most commonly quartz sand or aluminium oxide with silicon carbide and proprietary blends used where extra durability is needed. Once the base coat cures, excess aggregate is removed and a seal coat locks the texture in place. The size, shape and density of the aggregate set the finished grip level.
As a rough guide, fine aggregates produce a light texture suited to R10 to R11 while coarser broadcasts push the finish towards R12 and R13 – though binder choice, coat thickness and installation quality all influence the class actually achieved. Harder aggregates such as aluminium oxide generally hold their edge longer than quartz under heavy traffic, though wear life also depends on particle shape, the binder and the cleaning regime. Full broadcast systems, where aggregate saturates the whole body coat, retain their texture better than lightly textured coatings because fresh aggregate keeps exposing as the surface wears – though slip resistance still declines over time and should be monitored.
What are the ABC barefoot ratings?
The ABC ratings come from DIN 51097 and classify slip resistance for barefoot wet areas. Class A covers mostly dry barefoot zones such as changing rooms, class B covers pool surrounds and shower rooms and class C covers ramps into water and areas with constant standing water. They are measured on a wet ramp with a barefoot operator rather than in boots.
For most commercial and industrial specifications the R scale is the one that matters, but the ABC scale appears wherever the public goes barefoot – leisure centres, spa areas, poolside wet rooms and sports facilities. Resin systems for these areas are specified with both a hygiene requirement and a class B or C barefoot rating, achieved with the same broadcast aggregate approach at a finer grade so the surface stays comfortable underfoot.
How do you clean an anti slip resin floor?
Clean textured resin floors mechanically rather than with a mop. A rotary scrubber-dryer with a medium brush – not a pad, which rides over the texture – lifts contamination out of the profile that a mop simply spreads around. Chemical choice follows the contamination: alkaline degreasers for fats and oils, neutral cleaners for general soiling.
Cleaning regime should be agreed at specification stage, not discovered afterwards. A floor specified at R12 for a kitchen only keeps its performance if fat is actually removed from the texture daily – and in practice many slip incidents trace back to cleaning and maintenance failures rather than to the wrong floor being specified. The cleaning method is part of what the contractor recommends at survey alongside the finish itself.
What is the trade-off between slip resistance and cleanability?
The trade-off is direct: the coarser the texture, the more grip it provides and the more it traps dirt, fat and bacteria. An R13 floor is harder to mop clean than an R10 floor and in food environments a too-coarse floor can become a hygiene problem of its own.
The answer is to specify by zone rather than applying one finish everywhere. Wet process zones take R12 to R13 with a cleaning regime built around mechanical scrubbing. Adjacent dry corridors and packing areas step down to R10 to R11, which clean easily. Our guide to flooring for food production covers how this zoning works in hygiene-critical facilities.
Which anti slip rating do I need for my facility?
Start from the wettest, greasiest realistic condition in each area, not the average day. UK case law and HSE guidance both treat foreseeable contamination as the design condition. If a floor sees oil once a week, it is an oily floor for specification purposes.
As a working rule: offices and dry retail R9 to R10, warehouses and workshops R10 to R11, external ramps and loading bays R11 to R12, kitchens and wet food production R12 and finally abattoirs, breweries and wet process areas with fat or standing water at R13. These are starting points – the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess the risk, so the specification for each area should follow from that assessment rather than a chart. A site survey confirms it, because drainage, footwear policy and cleaning regime all shift the answer. Surface Specialists arranges a free site survey through our network of vetted contractors and the contractor recommends the finish alongside the quotation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest anti slip rating for resin flooring?
R13 is the highest classification under DIN 51130, achieved with coarse full-broadcast aggregate systems. It is specified for the wettest and greasiest environments such as abattoirs, wet process areas and commercial kitchens with heavy fat contamination.
Is R10 slip rating enough for a warehouse?
For a dry warehouse, yes – R10 is the standard specification and cleans easily. Step up to R11 at loading bays, battery charging areas and any zone where rain, spills or forklift-tracked water is foreseeable.
What PTV value is considered safe?
A pendulum test value of 36 or above is classified as low slip risk in HSE and UK Slip Resistance Group guidance. Values from 25 to 35 indicate moderate risk and 24 or below high risk. Safety-critical areas should be tested in wet conditions.
Do R ratings convert to PTV values?
No. The ramp test and pendulum test measure slip resistance differently and there is no reliable conversion between them. Specify the system by R rating, then verify the installed floor with an on-site pendulum test at handover.
Does anti slip resin flooring wear out?
The texture wears under traffic, which gradually reduces grip. Full broadcast systems resist this best because fresh aggregate keeps exposing as the surface wears. Re-test with the pendulum when texture visibly wears, the cleaning regime changes or a slip is reported – a worn floor can usually be re-broadcast and re-sealed rather than replaced.
Can you make an existing resin floor anti slip?
Often, yes. Unlike anti static performance, slip resistance can be retrofitted – the existing floor is abraded, a new body coat is applied and aggregate is broadcast into it. Whether that is viable depends on the existing floor’s adhesion, contamination and moisture condition, so a survey comes before any recommendation.
Is anti slip flooring a legal requirement?
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require floors not to expose people to risks from slipping and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess those risks. No specific R rating is written into law – the duty is to match the floor to foreseeable contamination and keep it suitable in service, which is what R ratings, PTV testing and the cleaning regime together evidence.
What is the best anti slip flooring for a commercial kitchen?
Typically a polyurethane or epoxy screed with a broadcast aggregate finish at R12, coved at the walls and laid to falls so water reaches the drains – though the risk assessment for a specific kitchen may support R11 or demand R13. Polyurethane screeds are the usual choice where hot oil and steam cleaning are involved because they tolerate thermal shock.
Specifying a floor where safety and cleanability both matter? See our anti-slip resin flooring service, browse all resin flooring systems or read our companion guides to anti-static flooring and bund lining.