Last Updated: 05.05.26
If you’ve chosen to have a wet room installed, you may be considering the various options available to you.
It’s usually the flooring that ends up being the part people worry about most and for good reason. Get this wrong and it causes problems you don’t want later.
None will be more important than the wet room flooring.
Wet rooms can offer a new lease of life to a bathroom and provide life-improving facilities to the property. They make day-to-day washing safer and easier, especially for those with mobility issues.
But because of the very nature of a wet room, selecting the right type of flooring is vital.
A wet room will frequently get wet, possibly over a large area of the room, daily or even more often.
Traditional bathroom floor tiles will not perform to the standard you need and will most likely be wholly unsuitable.
Many tiles, particularly gloss floor tiles, will be slippery when dry. But in a wet room, they will become like ice in terms of how dangerous and slippery they are.
It’s the kind of thing that only becomes obvious after installation, which is where people get caught out.
There are other considerations, too, such as selecting a tile with no sharp edges or textures that will impact the usability of the wet room, but selecting a slip-resistant floor is going to be your number one priority.
How To Make Sure Your Flooring Is Suitable
Installing an entire wet room floor before considering the tiles’ slip resistance is not practical.
It will waste a significant amount of money and it can be time-consuming and damaging to the floor when you need to take them up again.
So this needs checking properly before anything goes down.
Before installing the wet room floor tiles, you can perform a couple of tests to ensure they are suitable.
Even if you cannot perform these tests yourself, it’s worth checking that the tiles you select have already been tested and certified. This is also what most insurers and professional installers will expect to see.
These tests are recommended by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and your installer should be familiar with them.
There are two key tests you should be aware of.
Slip Resistance Testing
The pendulum CoF test, also known as the portable skid resistance tester, is standard practice for assessing how slippery a surface is.
In simple terms, it shows how likely someone is to slip on it in real conditions.
Secondly, a UKSRG ramp test can be performed on the tiles which you wish to use.
This test essentially sees a subject in soiled footwear walk up and down a tile that has been soaked with fresh water.
The tile’s incline is gradually increased until slipping occurs. It’s a practical way of checking how the surface behaves when wet, not just in theory but in real use.
Cleaning & Everyday Use Matter
Finally, you should consider how you will clean the tiles once they are installed.
Cleaning materials and solutions can often leave a tiled surface slippery, even if the tiles themselves are rated correctly. That catches people out more often than you’d think.
So think about what you will use, how often and how long the surface takes to dry afterwards.
If it stays damp for long periods or gets slippery after cleaning, it’s not ideal for regular use.
If Your Chosen Tiles Aren’t Quite Right
If you have your heart set on a tile that isn’t particularly suitable, or if your tiles haven’t been tested for suitability, you may consider applying an anti-slip coating to the floor tiles.
This can work in some situations, but it’s not a universal fix. It depends on the tile type and the installation, so it’s something that really needs checking properly rather than guessing.
Your professional installer will be able to advise on this and whether it’s a sensible option or not for your specific bathroom layout.
Speak To Our Wet Room Specialists
If you’re at the stage of choosing flooring and want to avoid costly mistakes, speak to our team before anything is installed.
You can call us directly on 0151 525 3610 or complete our quick and easy enquiry form here.
We can tell you what will and won’t work for your space, explain slip ratings in plain terms and arrange a no-obligation home survey if needed.
It’s straightforward advice, no pressure, just making sure it’s done right the first time.