Don’t slip up: effective choices for communal spaces

Beware taking the cheap option when it comes to busy communal spaces – it could prove to be a false economy. Martyn West of Altro advises on how to make informed specification choices based on safety, durability and reducing maintenance costs.

Maintaining communal spaces is a tough business. Public areas such as entrance halls, corridors and stairwells experience heavy foot traffic and are often the buffer zone between homes and the street. Floors need to be able to withstand heavy traffic, remain easy to clean and yet also keep tenants, staff and visitors safe. In areas where water and mud is brought in on shoes and wheels, slip risk increases dramatically.

Walls are vulnerable to impact-damage, being easily knocked and scraped by pushchairs and bikes, wheelchairs or walkers. With budgets under greater pressure than ever before, housing associations and local authorities could be forgiven for having to overlook the challenges and opt for the cheapest possible walling and flooring finishes, on the understanding that ‘it will have to be replaced soon anyway’.

However, that approach will almost always prove to be a false economy – and could even prove extremely costly in this modern litigation culture. Thankfully there are some practical solutions for making budgets work harder, in terms of performance and lifecycle costs, cleaning, hygiene and safety, without compromising on aesthetics.

Safe for now…

First and foremost, landlords need to keep tenants, visitors and staff safe from harm. Older residents and those with mobility issues can be massively affected by a fall. Minimising slips and trips should be an essential part of your planning and risk assessment, and is particularly important in busy communal areas.

Safety flooring is essential, but you’ll need to ask suppliers some tough questions to ensure you get the best long term performance. Choosing products with a guarantee of sustained slip resistance for the life of the flooring ensures you continue to meet your responsibilities and also prevents expenditure on untimely replacement – always consider life cycle costings alongside initial outlay.

Safety flooring with a slip resistance of PTV ≥36 (the HSE standard) makes the chances of anyone slipping or falling one in a million. However, you’ll need sustained slip resistance for the lifetime of the flooring to keep it that way. Be wary of flooring that meets that HSE standard when fitted, but loses slip resistance over time when in use.

This can bring the odds of a slip or fall as high as one in two. Always ask to see manufacturers’ figures for sustained slip resistance, so you make an informed choice rather than a costly mistake.

Tough enough to last

Surfaces in communal and entrance areas also have to withstand heavy traffic from buggies, bike wheels, wheelchairs and walking aids. Walls often take a real battering, with newly painted surfaces getting covered in scuffs, scrapes and knocks in no time at all. Corners and outer surfaces of doors are particularly vulnerable to damage.

Not only does this call for frequent repairs and decorating, but the general scruffiness and a perceived lack of care can impact on the way tenants and visitors view and treat their surroundings. Flooring also needs to be tough, easy to maintain and look good. For longevity and improved life cycle costs, consider heavy duty 2.5mm safety flooring for communal areas, as it is thicker and more durable than standard 2mm thick flooring.

Good quality 2.5mm safety flooring will have very high resistance to damage and impact and should come with a long guarantee, so you can be confident it will stand the test of time. Ideally, choose a walling and flooring system from the same manufacturer, as these will be designed to work together, ensuring an effective bonded finish, and avoiding the risk of incompatible materials ‘parting company’ along joins.

Ensure products are compliant with all the relevant standards, and look for time saving features such as larger standard sheet sizes for wall protection, requiring fewer joins and being quicker to install.

Homely interiors, suitable for all

While it is essential to protect the fabric of the building, the visual impact of spaces is also important. The good news is that there’s no need to choose between performance and aesthetics as the latest generation of walling and flooring products combine both.

Wall protection systems come in a variety of popular colours, while the range of safety flooring available has changed beyond recognition in recent years, with many now incorporating technologies to make them easier to clean, reducing time and costs for upkeep. Options now include wood effects for a homely feel, bright and bold colours to create a wow factor as well as many more subtle options.

These include safety flooring without the traditional ‘sparkle’ which can be a disadvantage to someone living with dementia. To ensure communal spaces are accessible to all, you should also consider tonal contrast between floors, walls, steps and doorways. This ensures a clear difference between the surfaces that can be easily identified by someone with visual impairment.

Where different types of flooring are used alongside each other and there is no step between them, it’s equally important to ensure that the materials are similarly contrasted to avoid creating the illusion of a step where there is none. Tonal contrast is measured in Light Reflectance Values (LRVs).

As in so many areas of life, it is important to avoid false economies when selecting wall and floor surfaces for communal areas. Choosing hard working products, designed to last the distance can unlock local authorities and social housing landlords from short maintenance cycles in areas attracting the greatest wear and tear, keeping them safer, looking smarter and more welcoming for longer.