The biggest misconception about polished concrete flooring is that it is slippery. Because it is glossy and almost looks wet, a floor with polished concrete can be scary to a building owner or retailer. For this reason, standards exist to protect any facility with the knowledge that their floors are safe for their patrons and meet the requirement for slip resistant flooring.
Concrete Polishing is High Traction Flooring
Titus’ polished concrete meets the slip resistant definition of “High Traction” for wet SCOF as defined by ANSI B101.1-2009. Titus can slip test your floor with a BOT 3000 tribometer and provide you with a printed read out for your use. You have peace of mind in case of slips or falls.
In addtion, Titus has taken this one step further, our 2 polished concrete systems have been independently tested and certified by the National Floor Safety Institute. This high traction certification is in accordance with ANSI/NFSI B101.1-2009. What does this mean to you? That polished concrete is high traction flooring and you can rest assured your facility is safe from hazardous slips trips and falls.
See our High Traction Certifications here.
When is polished concrete not slip resistant?
The slip resistant certification does not test for floor contaminants. So, for example, if vegetable oil is spilled on a polished concrete surface – it will certainly be slippery. However, this is true for all flooring certified as high traction.
Why Polished Concrete is a High Traction and Slip Resistant Floor
The benefits of mechanically grinding and flattening the floor do not significantly change the coefficient of friction when compared to ordinary concrete. Polished concrete to 1000 grit exceeds OSHA (.5) and ADA (.6) slip resistance standards for floors.
In addition, Titus uses Titus’s lithium silicate Densifier as a concrete densifier in its concrete polishing process. Titus Densifier is high in reactive solids to achieve better concrete densification and has a silane additive to minimize liquid penetration into the concrete. Titus’s lithium Densifier significantly reduces the moisture vapor emissions of a concrete slab to help prevent wet slippery floors and efflorescence of the slab.