Suitability of Brazilian Slate for outdoor use

[RealEarth]

hi there,

i have a customer who is looking to replace the tiles on some steps outside a hotel entrance.

he is replacing some terracotta tiles which are ancient / cracked / unsightly. i have suggested the brazilian black slate as it is hardwearing / callibrated / available in large 900 x 600mm which can easily be cut on site to suit.

Because this is a hotel entrance, he is worried about visitors slipping when the tiles are wet. The tiles have a cleft finish, so there are slight undulations in them but it is not riven where you encounter large variations in texture.

Is there anywhere i can point them to (web or otherwise) that will put their mind at ease with regard to the durability / slip risk compared to other tiles.

I told him the other options he could use are indian stone flags / brick pavers but there is only a 15 - 20mm depth to work with, so we are limited on choice to something in a tile format.

Is the slate suitable or would you suggest an alternative product?

Cheers.

 

[DHTiling]

As long as the fixer installs none slip nose treads on the step edges then it should meet H&S spec..

 

[nybor62]

dont the nose treads have to be a different colour from the tile , so they stand out

 

[DHTiling]

Yep.. nice silver ones would got well with the black..

 

[RealEarth]

i was wondering about the edges - where the risers meet the treads - there'll be suitcases and allsorts banging into them with guests arriving - they will ideally need some sort of edging put on there.

but with regard to the slippage aspect of the tiles - am i just best telling him that there will not be a problem as long as the tiles are maintained and kept free from moss / algae etc. (which you would expect anyway with it being a hotel)

 

[DHTiling]

It is a honed type finish and pretty good in the wet and really less slippy than say a frost resistant ceramic.. so ok in my book..

They will have to realise that all most any tile can be slippy if very wet or iced over.. but make sure a topical sealer is not used but you would know this being into stone..