The decline in use of traditional decking materials on residential developments (such as timber and composite) has been a result of the recent government advice note, this means that more and more specifiers are opting for the non-combustible option of aluminium decking. One assumption that is often made about aluminium decking is that it will be very slippery underfoot – especially when wet. This is not the case! To combat this assumption, we decided to update our slip resistance data.
Previously, when testing our decking range to assess the risk of slip, we have used the Pendulum Test. Although this is still a popular method of testing, this time we chose to use the SlipAlert method because the results are available much faster and can it can be carried out in our on-site manufacturing facility.
SlipAlert is the only method of testing, other than the Pendulum Test, that appears in the British Standards (BS8204) and is used by global brands like Virgin, Tesco and IBM – so we’re in good company!
The SlipAlert test equipment is placed on top of the supplied ramp, pulled back until the equipment’s light turns from red to green and is then released down the ramp onto each of our 2m x 2m flooring samples. This is repeated 3 times and an average is taken to ensure our results are as accurate as possible. For each sample of our decking range, we tested in the direction of travel, parallel to the ribbing and at a 45-degree angle.
The results showed that all of our decking options are categorised as ‘low risk of slip’ in the direction of travel in both wet and dry conditions. If you require the results for a specific decking option, please contact sales@neaco.co.uk. Although the method of testing we used was SlipAlert, the results can be easily converted to give the Pendulum Test value using the graph below.
