Is porcelain tile slippery?

bwwhite49

7 years ago

I want to use a porecelain tile that looks like marble. Anyone have any pics?

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Creative Tile Eastern CT

7 years ago

Excellent responses above relating to the Dynamic Coefficient of Friction. Ask your sales person for the rating. After they give you that deer in the headlight look. You will now probably be educating them. The answer is one phone call away. Have them make the call and watch as they absorb the newly found knowledge:)

http://uofcts.org/2013/08/coefficient-of-friction/

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Comments (8)

aprilneverends
7 years ago
They make a lot of textured porcelain tiles nowadays. These aren't/shouldn't be slippery.

The tile that will look like marble will not be textured. Slippery or not-you'll have to decide for yourself. For me, 90% of the tiles in the world are slippery. For someone else, wouldn't be a concern, as long as this tile is approved for flooring in the bathroom.

Every normal store will either give you a sample of a tile to try at home, or even to try to put a bit of water on the tile and try it right in the store. That's what I did (of course I wiped it clean-clean-clean after))

Now. There are products that can be applied to tiles surface to improve their traction. It works pretty well, in case tile is one color, say white or cream. If tile has pattern/deeper color, the color may fade. I did this experiment with a porcelain tile I loved-it became significantly less slippery, yet the pattern I loved faded.
bwwhite49 thanked aprilneverends
roarah
7 years ago
I used marmi Calcutta in my shower and was thinking of using it on my floor in their large hex format and it had a decent COF. The small shower tiles are not slippery at all. I did use a wood format large porcelain tile on my floor and it is not very slippery at all but it does have some lippage so that might help.

Porcelain floor with wood like texture
bwwhite49 thanked roarah
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badgergal
7 years ago
Like previous posters have noted, make sure the tile is rated for floors. Glossy wall tiles, whether porcelain or ceramic are not suitable for floors because of the gloss. Also look at the slip resistance rating for the tile. According to national standards:

Slip Resistance for Level Interior Floors.

The new measurements in ANSI 137.1-2012 require that wet tiles have a minimum slip resistance of 0.42 DCOF. Keep in mind that this is a minimum level of slip resistance for level interior floors. Other situations may require higher DCOF numbers.

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dchall_san_antonio
7 years ago
Little known fact: all tile has a COF, DCOF, and WCOF value relating to the coefficient of friction dry and wet. You might be surprised at some of the WCOF values on some relatively glossy tile. We ended up installing what could only be called semi-gloss tiles on the floor in our shower and sure enough, they were not slippery at all when wet. Daltile should be very up to speed on these COF values.
tsth5236
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I'm sure it can be, but I LOVE my glazed porcelain floor. It is beautiful, easy to maintain, and I just make sure to be careful when getting out of the tub. I've never felt a slip once on it? If you have a rug to stand on first, I'd think it would be fine? I brought a sample home and tested it to see if easily showed spots or dirt. I walked on it, put some water on it, etc. I did this w/several samples and found the glazed porcelain looked the best and was the easiest to maintain.
bwwhite49 thanked tsth5236
plan2remodel
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Some porcelain tiles are slippery; some aren't. I made this mistake in my master bath remodel - and so have bathroom rugs covering the floor near the shower and tub.

I initially narrowed my flooring selection to two porcelain field tiles from Dal-tile that met the slip-resistance requirement - but both had a rough-feeling texture that I didn't think I would like.

Instead, I chose Texere (linen-look) porcelain tile at Ann Sacks for the bathroom floor. Salesman assured me that it was suitable for bathroom floor use and it matched well with the wall tile I chose - Ann Sacks Piatra.

The Ann Sacks Texere porcelain field tiles are very slippery. I nearly fell on a tiny puddle of water the first time I stepped out of my new shower. I have no problem with the same tile in a small mosaic, which I used on my shower floor.

The Ann Sacks Piatra tile in matte finish that I used on the walls in my master bathroom is slip-resistant. So, I would have been fine if I had reversed them: Piatra on the floor; Texere on the walls. I am considering using the Piatra in matte finish for the floor on my hallway bathroom.
damaton
5 years ago
Ok, so I am getting ready to redo my kitchen, entry way and powder room, all connected. I want glazed porcelain, partly because I feel the area is too dark, even though I have lots of windows. My friends disagree. Maybe I just love the look of marble. Anyway, I am also already in a 55 & community so I have to think about resale. I don’t want people to walk through our door and think they are going to fall. Love to hear some views! Any realtors in the audience?