The Friction and Slip Resistance of Travertine Tile

“How slippery is travertine tile“?

This is a common question asked by customers interested into installing travertine.

General rules can be applied to different travertine finishes. Considering the “static co-efficient of friction” (SCOF), which in layman’s terms is a description of the force required to move a stationary object in relation to the condition of the surface on which that object stands.

Knowing that the factors which impact SCOF ratings include force, footwear, and surface condition, consider those all when deciding which kind of travertine tile best suits your location.

How do you judge the slip potential of a surface

There are a numerous scientific tests which determine the SCOF value for architects, contractors, builders, and anyone else who may need to specify a certain level of friction of building materials for legal reasons.

The minimum safety requirement in the United States is the value of .50 for slip resistance.

Different travertine tile finishes will have different co-efficients of friction:

• Polished travertine tiles own the most slippery finish, providing the lowest SCOF value, generally in the .40 to .50 range.
• Honed travertine tiles are less slippery, offering the next highest SCOF rating in a range of .40 to .60.
• Textured finishes like tumbled and brushed are the least slippery finishes with a SCOF rating in the .50 to .70 range.

These rules should only be treated as guidelines because the SCOF measurement is not an exact science. Furthermore, different testing methods on the same tiles can often produce different co-efficient of friction numbers.

Slippery when wet

The SCOF tests were done on dry surfaces because it was assumed that all wet flooring surfaces would be below the minimum suggested SCOF of .50.

But the truth is that one of the environmental factors that can influence SCOF is wetness, the most common source of this being water.

There are many “non-slip” coatings which can be applied to natural stone tiles that will increase their SCOF rating. Applying a “Non-slip” coating or sealer can raise the SCOF by .10 to .30.

You should remember that hotels, casinos and shopping malls successfully use travertine tiles with many different types of finishes when you choose travertine tiles for your project.  Travertine tiles chosen by this type of planners for these high traffic areas, where safety of the customer is first, lays as a testament of how trustworthy travertine tiles are.