Acceptable Solution D1/AS1 states that adequate slip resistance is required on all public access routes, including access into and within buildings.
Adequate slip resistance: defined as meeting a co-efficient of friction of not less than 0.4 when tested in accordance with AS/NZS 3661.1. When a surface will remain dry under normal usage, almost all surfaces will provide adequate slip resistance and do not need to be tested. D1/AS1 lists these surfaces as having an acceptable dry slip resistance: timber, cement, concrete, marble, granite, slate, terrazzo, sandstone, ceramic tile, clay pavers, concrete pavers, fibre cement sheet, rubber tiles, vinyl, linoleum, carpet and timber composite. When a surface may get wet under normal circumstances, it should be tested under AS/NZS 3661.1 to prove its suitability.
Residential: ‘public access route’ is defined as the pathway to the front door. As this access route would usually get wet under normal circumstances, a tile that passes 0.4 when wet is required. Decks, pool areas, bathrooms and laundries are not public areas and therefore are not required to be slip-resistant.
Commercial:
- ‘Access within buildings’ is considered to be the public access between private areas of the building, eg. corridors and bathrooms. Both of these spaces would remain dry under normal use.
- ‘Access into buildings’ can often become wet during normal use, so require a surface that will pass 0.4 when wet.
- D1/AS1 also provides a guide for the transition zone between ‘wet under normal usage’ and ‘dry under normal usage’. This zone can use either water-absorbent matting for an area sufficient to absorb most water from shoes (suggested as minimum 1.8 metres), or an extended area of the wet slip-resistant surface (suggested to be 6-10m from where the ground gets wet from rain, eg from entrance door or if there is an awning or overhang outside, from the outside edge of this).