School flooring compliance: fire, accessibility and acoustics Key takeaways Three document sets touch a school floor: Approved Document B and Building Bulletin 100 for fire, Building Bulletin 93 for acoustics and Approved Document M with BS 8300-2:2018 for access. None of them is a flooring standard. There is no universal school fire class. Corridor and […]
Author Archives: Surface Specialists
FeRFA types 1 to 8: what your resin floor quote actually means Key takeaways FeRFA classifies resin floors into eight types by build-up and thickness, running from a floor seal at up to 150 microns through to heavy duty resin flooring above 6mm. The current classification is the October 2024 edition. FeRFA is the Resin […]
ESD floor testing: what gets measured, to which standard and how often Key takeaways BS EN IEC 61340-5-1:2024 is the current edition, published in the UK on 30 June 2024. It supersedes the 2016 version. Any specification or test report still citing the undated standard should be checked against the 2024 text. 61340-5-1 is an […]
Flooring and CQC Regulation 15: what inspectors actually check Key takeaways Regulation 15 is titled “Premises and equipment” and sits in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. It requires premises to be clean, secure, suitable for the purpose for which they are used, properly used, properly maintained and appropriately located. […]
BREEAM and commercial flooring: what the assessment needs from your floor Key takeaways BREEAM UK New Construction moved to V7 on 30 September 2025 and V7.1 resources are current. The 2018 scheme, commonly called V6, is legacy and applies only to projects already registered under it. Check which version your project is registered against before […]
Warehouse floor regulations: what an HSE inspection looks at Key takeaways The law that governs a warehouse floor is Regulation 12 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, titled “Condition of floors and traffic routes”. It sets a qualitative duty, not a number. BS 7976-2 was withdrawn on 25 February 2022. The pendulum […]
Fire ratings for commercial floors Key takeaways Floor coverings are classified for reaction to fire under BS EN 13501-1:2018 on a scale of A1fl, A2fl, Bfl, Cfl, Dfl, Efl and Ffl with s1 or s2 smoke sub-classes where the class allows them. The “fl” suffix means the classification applies to floorings specifically. There is no […]
Commercial vinyl vs linoleum Key takeaways They are different materials, not two grades of the same thing. Vinyl is a PVC-based product; linoleum is made from linseed oil, pine rosin, wood flour, cork, limestone and a jute backing. Cleaning chemistry is the single most practical difference. Linoleum is sensitive to strongly alkaline products and a […]
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Commercial LVT wear layer guide Key takeaways The wear layer is the clear layer above the printed design. It is the main thickness-based protection between the pattern and the traffic and it is the number that decides commercial suitability. Overall tile thickness is a different measurement and it is a poor guide to durability. A […]
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Commercial flooring cost guide Key takeaways Most commercial floors in the UK land between about 25 and 80 pounds per square metre supplied and fitted, before VAT. Contract carpet tile and sheet vinyl sit at the lower end; LVT, rubber and resin screeds sit at the upper end. The finish is rarely what makes one […]