Flooring
104 sources in the library on flooring. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 2 of 3.
- very strong RN-JHECNL
Health and Safety Executive
The HSE task sheet for the single most common asbestos encounter in a domestic floor: the old thermoplastic or vinyl tile and the black bitumen mastic under it. It states that floor tiles containing asbestos may also have an asbestos-paper backing or be fixed with asbestos-containing mastic, and that removal of floor tiles with an asbestos-paper backing is notifiable non-licensed work (NNLW), which brings a duty to notify the enforcing authority, keep health records and arrange medical examinations. Its first instruction is to consider avoiding removal altogether by overlaying with non-asbestos material, warning the building owner that asbestos material has been covered so it can be managed. Its blunt caution is never sand the floor. Method: restrict access, close doors, tape and notices, adequate lighting; lift tiles whole with a scraper placed in the joint, tapping with a hammer for firmly fixed tiles and using a shovel over large areas to avoid kneeling and breakage; damp down with a garden-type sprayer of wetting agent; clean up with a Class H vacuum to BS 8520 and damp rags, not a domestic vacuum. PPE is disposable hooded overalls, boots without laces and RPE, with companion sheets em4 to em9 for vacuuming, wetting, decontamination and disposal.
- very strong RN-KU7LZ2
Health and Safety Executive
Sets the conditions under which work with asbestos does not need a licence. The exposure must be sporadic and of low intensity, with the air concentration not exceeding 0.6 fibres per cubic centimetre measured over 10 minutes, and must not exceed the legal control limit of 0.1 asbestos fibres per cubic centimetre of air averaged over a four hour period. Materials listed as non-licensed include asbestos-containing thermoplastic and vinyl floor tiles worked on without substantial breakage, drilling textured decorative coatings to fit fixtures and fittings, painting or repainting asbestos insulating board in good condition, and maintenance of asbestos cement products such as roof sheeting, tiles and rainwater goods provided they are not substantially damaged. Notifiable non-licensed work includes large-scale removal of textured decorative coatings by steaming or gelling, and removal of asbestos cement where the material will be substantially damaged or broken up. This is the reference for anyone lifting old vinyl floor tiles or stripping Artex in a pre-2000 home.
- very strong RN-K3PI5V
Health and Safety Executive
The page that explains why an R rating on a tile datasheet is not the reassurance retailers imply. HSE answers the question how do I check whether my floor is slip resistant by pointing first to the manufacturer's technical data sheet, then warning that a floor labelled R9 should be treated with caution because it indicates slipperiness when wet: the R scale comes from the German shod ramp test, which uses an oil-covered ramp and a walker in boots, and the lowest classes tell you little about a wet barefoot bathroom or a contaminated kitchen floor. HSE's own definitive measurement is the pendulum test to BS 7976, available through specialist testing services. It explains surface roughness as the fine texture of the flooring, with the analogy that sandpaper would stop you slipping in the wet whereas the smooth surface of paper would be slippery, and notes that roughness readings feed HSE's Slips Assessment Tool. It also warns that safety floors, being rougher, hold more cleaning solution and leave residue as it evaporates unless a dry mop or wet vacuum is used, and that metal profiling wears round and loses grip.
- very strong RN-1X77D2
HM Revenue and Customs
Defines the boundary of the scheme, which decides whether a given trade's invoice should carry a CIS deduction. Work covered is most construction work to a permanent or temporary building or structure and civil engineering such as roads and bridges, and expressly includes preparing the site such as laying foundations and access works, demolition and dismantling, building work, alterations, repairs and decorating, installing systems for heating, lighting, power, water and ventilation, and cleaning the inside of buildings after construction work. The listed exceptions are architecture and surveying, scaffolding hire with no labour, carpet fitting, making materials used in construction including plant and machinery, delivering materials, and work on construction sites that is clearly not construction such as running a canteen. Confirms contractors must register but subcontractors need not, though unregistered subcontractors suffer deductions at a higher rate, and that the same rules apply to a business based outside the UK doing construction work in the UK.
- very strong RN-QAE4YS
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The canonical landing page for Part E of the Building Regulations in England, hosting the 2015 edition published 4 March 2015, 3.74 MB, ISBN 978 1 85946 616 2, and the citation to use when the question is which edition of Part E governed a conversion. Its stated scope is sound insulation requirements in dwelling-houses, flats, rooms for residential purposes and schools, which are requirements E1 separating walls and floors between dwellings, E2 internal walls and floors within a dwelling, E3 reverberation in common internal parts, and E4 acoustic conditions in schools. Earlier editions are held at the National Archives rather than on this page, which matters when checking what applied to a flat conversion carried out before 2015. The page also records that since April 2023 the Building Safety Regulator reviews building standards for all buildings in England. The dB performance values themselves, the floor treatments FFT1 and FFT2 for a material change of use, and the pre-completion testing regime sit in the linked PDF and in the separate Part E FAQ.
- very strong RN-GWB58E
Scottish Government
What has to come out of the ground before a floor goes in, in Scotland. Standard 3.1 requires the building to be designed and constructed so there is no threat to it or to occupants' health from harmful or dangerous substances, and names the categories: corrosive, explosive, flammable, radioactive or toxic materials, deposits of faecal or animal matter, and gases with hazardous characteristics, specifically flammable, explosive, toxic and asphyxiating gases including methane and carbon dioxide. Before construction, unsuitable material including turf, vegetable matter, wood, roots and topsoil must be removed from under the footprint of the building and the immediately adjoining ground, to a depth that prevents later growth that could damage the building. The solum, the prepared ground beneath a suspended floor, should be treated to prevent vegetable growth and to reduce evaporation of moisture from the ground, which is the Scottish version of the site covering requirement. Where gas is present the remedial recommendation is that the construction be free from unventilated voids. Cited documents: BS 10175:2001 investigation of potentially contaminated sites, BS 5930:1999 site investigations, BRE BR 255:1994 performance of building materials in contaminated land, and PAN 33 development of contaminated land.
- very strong RN-TCQ74D
Scottish Government
The Scottish trigger for building a radon barrier into a ground floor, which is the point at which a floor build-up stops being a free choice. Standard 3.2 sets the action level at 200 becquerels per cubic metre, the level above which UKHSA (formerly Public Health England) recommends radon in homes be reduced. Protective measures are required where a dwelling sits in a designated radon probability area, defined as ground where 1 per cent or more of existing dwellings exceed 200 Bq per cubic metre, or in ground where radon is known to exist. The measures themselves are not restated in the handbook: it directs the designer to BRE publication BR 211 Radon: guidance on protective measures for new buildings, with BRE Good Building Guides GG 73 and GG 74 for extensions and dwellings, and to the Indicative Atlas of Radon in Scotland for the mapping. UKradon.org is cited for postcode-level checking. Note the level is an action level, not a limit, and it applies to the annual average rather than a spot reading.
- very strong RN-NNXJYS
Scottish Government
The standard behind subsoil drainage under a new or replaced ground floor in Scotland. Standard 3.3 requires the building to be designed and constructed so there is no threat to the building or to occupants' health from flooding and the accumulation of groundwater. The site must be assessed for existing groundwater levels and seasonal fluctuation before construction, and where accumulating groundwater could affect the structure or penetrate the building, subsoil drainage or other dewatering treatment must be provided. The handbook lists the purposes of that drainage as improving ground stability, preventing surface flooding, reducing subsoil water pressure that causes dampness, protecting foundations and preventing frost heave damage, and directs field drain design to BS 8301:1985 clause 10. Where a site carries flood risk, that risk should be assessed so mitigation can be designed in, and resilient materials and details used to limit structural and material damage. Cited guidance: PAN 69 Planning and Building Standards Advice on Flooding, CIRIA C624 (2004) Development and Flood Risk, CIRIA (May 2007) Improving the Flood Performance of New Buildings, and Design Guidance on Flood Damage to Dwellings (1996).
- very strong RN-P8YSU2
Scottish Government
The Scottish build-up rules for a ground floor before any floorcovering goes down. Standard 3.4 requires that moisture penetration from the ground threatens neither the building nor the health of occupants. For a ground-supported concrete floor the guidance gives a hardcore bed at least 100 mm thick of clean broken brick or other inert material free from fine material and water-soluble sulphates, a concrete slab at least 100 mm thick, and a damp proof membrane placed above the slab, below it, or sandwiched, jointed and sealed to the damp proof course following CP 102:1973 Section 3. For a suspended timber floor the site covering is either a DPM to CP 102, or 50 mm of concrete on 0.25 mm polyethylene sheet, or 100 mm of concrete, with a dpc under the wall plates and a ventilated void of at least 75 mm from the site covering to the wall plates and 150 mm to the joists. Suspended concrete floors need a 150 mm ventilated void to the underside of the slab or beams with ventilators in opposite external walls. BS 8102:1990 is cited for below-ground walls and basements.
- very strong RN-MV24HT
Scottish Government
The classification table behind every reaction to fire claim on a floor covering, lining or insulation product sold in Scotland. Annex 2.B, Table 2.10, sets out the Euroclasses A1, A2, B, C, D, E and F and the test standards that produce them: A1 requires BS EN ISO 1182:2020 non-combustibility and BS EN ISO 1716:2018 gross heat of combustion; A2 requires BS EN ISO 1182:2020 or BS EN ISO 1716:2018 together with BS EN 13823:2020 the single burning item test; B, C and D require BS EN 13823:2020 with BS EN ISO 11925-2:2020 ignitability; E requires BS EN ISO 11925-2:2020 alone; F is no performance determined. The additional classifications differ by class: smoke production, the s1 to s3 suffix, and flaming droplets or particles, the d0 to d2 suffix, both apply to classes A2 to D, while classes E and F carry only the flaming droplets and particles classification. Note that floorings are classified on the same letters with an fl subscript, for example Cfl-s1, using the radiant panel test rather than the single burning item, so a product's wall class and its floor class are not interchangeable.
- very strong RN-O31MAS
Scottish Government
The 714-page handbook that carries Scotland's own numbers, which differ from England's. Table 4.3 sets private stair geometry at minimum rise 100 mm, maximum rise 220 mm, minimum going 225 mm, tread not less than the going and maximum pitch 42 degrees; Table 4.4 sets any other stair at maximum rise 170 mm, minimum going 250 mm and maximum pitch 34 degrees; going plus twice the rise must be between 550 mm and 700 mm, tapered treads at least 50 mm at the narrow end, a flight generally 3 to 16 rises. Table 4.5 puts effective width at 900 mm for a private stair, 800 mm where a continuous handrail is on both sides, 600 mm where it serves only sanitary accommodation or one room, and 1.0 m for any other stair, with stringer or newel projection no more than 30 mm. Clause 4.3.15 sets handrail height at 840 mm to 1.0 m above the pitch line, 4.3.16 headroom at 2.0 m, and 4.3.17 points spiral and helical stairs to BS 5395-2:1984. Table 5.1 sets separating element performance at 56 dB DnT,w airborne and 56 dB L'nT,w impact for new build, relaxed to 53 dB and 58 dB for conversions of traditional buildings.
- very strong RN-8T0SVC
Scottish Government (gov.scot)
Scotland's equivalent of the Approved Documents, and the reason a note that quotes only English rules is wrong for a fifth of the UK. This edition is in force from 6 April 2026 and applies to building warrants submitted on or after that date and to work not requiring a warrant commenced from that date. It gives guidance on achieving the standards set in the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, arranged in sections rather than parts: section 3 environment (ventilation, drainage, condensation), section 4 safety (electrical safety and installations, glazing and danger from accidents, including clause 4.13 which invokes PAS 24 for security), section 6 energy (U-values for windows and doors) and section 7 sustainability. Scotland uses a building warrant and a completion certificate rather than a building notice, and has no Part P competent person scheme equivalent, so electrical work is covered by the warrant system instead.
- very strong RN-D6BXMI
Welsh Government
The Welsh version of the sound insulation guidance that governs separating floors between flats and, in a converted house, between the new dwellings. First published 3 April 2017 and last updated 13 April 2022, with a 2 MB PDF and the September 2013 amendment slip. A note about acoustic underlay or soundproofing a floor should cite this for Wales, the Scottish Technical Handbook Section 5 for Scotland, and the English Approved Document E for England, because the required performance levels and the testing regimes are set separately in each nation.
- strong RN-QITUKE
British Board of Agrément
The body behind the BBA Agrement certificate that manufacturers of insulation, membranes, adhesives and flooring systems quote, with a searchable MyBBA certificate database covering products, people certification and product testing. Carries an important current caveat a note should not miss: on 26 February 2026 the BBA was notified that UKAS had instigated a temporary suspension of its accreditation status following a change in corporate structure in 2025, meaning it is at present unable to deliver accredited testing, inspection and certification activities, with UKAS confirming the suspension covers all activity to BS EN ISO/IEC 17020, 17021, 17025 and 17065. Advice to look for a BBA certificate should be checked against that status.
- strong RN-4Y6VYQ
BSI
BS 5325:2021, published 31 July 2021, committee PRI/60, current; it supersedes BS 5325:2001, which is withdrawn. Clause 1 gives recommendations for installing textile floor coverings in new or existing buildings, covering all products composed of textile material with a pile or non-pile use surface, including the laying of modular carpet such as tiles and planks. It details suitable methods of design and installation and advises on selecting the materials needed to carry them out. It does not include cleaning and maintenance advice, but does give guidance on design-stage decisions that assist cleaning and maintenance. Clause 4 sets out the exchange of information between client and installer covering the project, contract conditions and special attendance, which is the citation for what a carpet quotation should specify.
- strong RN-0NVN0R
BSI
Part 4 of the BS 5385 tiling series and the part that governs wet areas, which is the standard a wet room specification should name. Published 31 Oct 2015 and current. It gives recommendations for design and installation of ceramic and mosaic wall and floor tiling where there are specific functional requirements such as sterile conditions, specific environmental requirements such as wet areas, or potentially detrimental conditions such as chemical attack on either the installation or the background. It covers choice of materials, application practice and the design of backgrounds and structural bases, and augments Parts 1 (internal walls), 2 (external walls), 3 (internal and external floors) and 5 (terrazzo, natural and agglomerated stone).
- strong RN-FN2ITH
BSI
The test behind the two slip numbers a tile or paving manufacturer quotes, and the reason a floor that tested well when new can still become slippery. Published 28 March 2003 and current. It describes a test method for determining both the unpolished and the polished pendulum test value of surfacing units for pedestrian or traffic purposes, using a flat-bed polishing machine in conjunction with pendulum test equipment, so the unit is artificially worn before the second reading is taken. BSI notes that manufacturers use the pendulum test values obtained by this method to determine the slip and skid resistance of surfacing units. It is the companion to BS 7976 parts 1 to 3, which specify the pendulum tester itself and its method of operation, and it is the standard to cite when comparing a supplier's PTV claim for a floor tile or paving slab: an unpolished value is the best case, and the polished value is closer to what the floor will do in service. ICS 93.080.20 Road construction materials, committee B/507, ISBN 0 580 38096 3.
- strong RN-SZF0CB
BSI
BS 8000-11:2011, published 31 January 2011, committee B/539, current. It gives recommendations on basic workmanship on building sites, both commercial and domestic, for the tasks frequently carried out in wall and floor tiling. It applies to fixing ceramic and agglomerated stone tiles, natural stone and terrazzo tiles and slabs, and mosaics to walls and floors using adhesive and mortar. It states plainly that its recommendations are not necessarily comprehensive and that a project specification might need to cover more. It signposts the rest of the family: design aspects of wall and floor tiling are in BS 5385, natural stone cladding and lining in BS 8298, and the harmonised product specifications are BS EN 12057 for natural stone tiles, BS EN 12058 for slabs, BS EN 14411 for ceramic tiles, BS EN 15285 for agglomerated stone and BS EN 12004 for adhesives, with BS EN 12440 for natural stone naming.
- strong RN-PMJ7YM
BSI
The workmanship half of the screed rules, the companion to the design recommendations in BS 8204. Published 7 November 2003 and still current. It gives recommendations on laying cementitious levelling screeds and wearing screeds, and guidance on basic workmanship for conventional building work. The current edition fixed the naming that still confuses specifications: a screed is a levelling screed where it will receive a final flooring and a wearing screed where it forms the finished surface. Other changes it records: bases carrying rigid insulation boards under a floating screed must be levelled by filling depressions so the boards cannot rock on high spots; material specifications were updated to the European cement types and standard strength classes; cements with slag content above 35 per cent and equivalent combinations are excluded from levelling screeds for lack of experience; cement bags were halved to 25 kg so mix calculations were restated; slurry bonding of the edges of day work joints is recommended before laying fresh screed to reduce curling at butt joints; and the items to be checked during progress and on the finished screed are listed. Curing where cement is below strength class 42.5 N follows BS 8204-1 and BS 8204-2.
- strong RN-OQLJWC
BSI
BS 8201:2011, published 31 October 2011, committee B/543, current; it supersedes BS 8201:1987. Clause 1 gives recommendations for laying board, pre-assembled board, strip, mosaic, overlay, parquet, block, end grain, multi-layer and wood-based panel flooring. It expressly does not cover the protection given to a floor by floor coverings or surface finishes, nor floors for temporary structures or floors intended for limited use. This is the standard to cite for acclimatisation, subfloor moisture, expansion gaps and fixing method when comparing solid to engineered wood, and for laying chipboard, OSB and plywood floor decks.
- strong RN-OUKOVE
BSI
The code for a polished or power-floated concrete floor left as the finish rather than covered, published 22 December 2003 with amendment A2 in 2011 and current. BS 8204-2 gives recommendations for constituent materials, design, work on site, inspection and testing of in situ concrete direct finished base slabs, and covers concrete used as the wearing surface plus wearing screeds, formerly called high strength concrete toppings and granolithic toppings. It applies to both ground-supported and suspended floors and expressly leaves structural design to BS 8110-1, so it is the surface quality reference, not the structural one.
- strong RN-0856R7
BSI
The standard behind polymer modified levelling compounds, published 20 September 2004 with amendment A2 in 2011 and current. BS 8204-3 gives recommendations for the design and installation of trowel finished polymer modified cementitious levelling screeds and wearing screeds, and applies where the polymer solids are at least 4 per cent of the mass of dry cement, laid as bonded screeds on direct finished concrete slabs, fine concrete screeds or existing concrete floors. It expressly excludes unbonded screeds, floating screeds, pumpable self-smoothing screeds, which fall under BS 8204-7, and monolithically laid screeds, which matters when a note describes levelling a floor before tiling or laying LVT.
- strong RN-6A6ZEH
BSI
The code for in situ terrazzo, the poured aggregate-in-cement floor that a note about decorative or period-style poured floors should reference. Published 30 September 2004 with amendment A1 in 2011 and current, BS 8204-4 gives recommendations for materials, design, work on site, inspection and testing, and cleaning and maintenance of in situ cementitious terrazzo applied as a wearing surface on a concrete base or screed, and it is written for terrazzo contractors, specifiers, builders and designers. It covers floors, stairs and skirtings and is intended to be read alongside BS 8204-1. Committee CB/300, ICS 91.060.30 and 91.100.15.
- strong RN-CSZQP4
BSI
The missing fifth part of the BS 8204 screed series, and the one that governs mastic asphalt where it is used as a flooring underlay or wearing surface, which is how many older solid floors and damp-proofing sandwiches were built. Published 20 September 2004, amended A1 in 2011, current, ISBN 978 0 580 74252 1, committee CB/300, ICS 91.060.30 Ceilings, Floors, Stairs. Its scope makes recommendations for the types and grades of materials, design, work on site, protection, inspection and testing, maintenance and repair for in situ mastic asphalt applied as a wearing surface or underlay, incorporating waterproof membranes where required. It applies to mastic asphalt applied hot to concrete bases, screeds and concrete suspended floors, and is written to be read together with BS 8204-1 which covers the concrete base and cementitious levelling screed beneath. Descriptors include floor beds, membranes, underlays, suspended floors, grades, repair and drainage.
- strong RN-WJ3Z6A
BSI
The code of practice for poured resin floors, published 31 January 2008 with amendment A1 in 2010. BS 8204-6 gives recommendations for the design and installation of in situ synthetic resin flooring based on liquid resin binders cured by chemical reaction, used internally and bonded to direct finished concrete slabs, polymer-modified cementitious or fine concrete screeds, or existing concrete floors. Annex A covers resin terrazzo. It expressly does not cover resin floorings applied to timber or metal, which matters for a suspended timber floor.
- strong RN-ATZB5V
BSI
The standard behind internal noise level targets quoted for bedrooms and living rooms, published 28 February 2014 and current. BS 8233 gives guidance on the control of noise in and around buildings and applies to the design of new buildings and to refurbished buildings undergoing a change of use. It expressly does not cover assessing the effect of changes in external noise on occupants of an existing building, specialist applications such as auditoria and cinemas, which fall to BS ISO 9568, vibration control except where it appears as radiated sound, or noise breaking out of a building to external receptors. A note about soundproofing an existing room should therefore treat it as a design reference, not as a compliance test.
- strong RN-ZE4TM2
BSI
The product standard for a natural stone floor tile, published 31 March 2015 and current. It specifies requirements for flat modular tiles of natural stone made for internal use, including enclosed public transport premises, and external use as floorings, stairs and wall and ceiling finishes, covering the characteristics that must be declared: dimensions and tolerances, flatness, water absorption, flexural strength, abrasion resistance, slip resistance, frost resistance and petrographic description. Two exclusions matter for a renovation: it does not cover mineral aggregates or artificial agglomerated stone material, which fall under the agglomerated stone standards, and it does not cover installation, which is BS 5385-3's job. Cite it when a stone floor is being specified or a delivery is being checked, because the declared values under this standard are what a supplier is contractually bound to, and it is the only fair basis for comparing a limestone against a granite or a porcelain.
- strong RN-2I7BYA
BSI
The classification scheme behind the domestic and contract use classes and the wear ratings printed on a carpet sample, covering pile carpets and carpet tiles. This edition was published 31 July 2008 and withdrawn on 30 September 2014, so cite it as the origin of the classification rather than as current, and check the current edition before quoting a class. Its scope covers durability and wear resistance grading, pile density and thickness, mass, dimensional changes and tolerances, colour fastness, electrostatic and electrical resistance properties, fungus proofing and the distinction between wool and synthetic fibres. Committee PRI/60, ICS 97.150.
- strong RN-3WS83X
BSI
BS EN 13329:2023, published 31 January 2024, committee PRI/60, current, identical to EN 13329. It is the product specification standard for laminate floor coverings, giving the requirements and test methods; it supersedes BS EN 13329:2016+A2:2021, which is withdrawn, and earlier 2006 and 2000 editions that carried the longer title referring to elements with a surface layer based on aminoplastic thermosetting resins. BSI publishes no scope preview on this page, so the abrasion class definitions must be read from the standard itself; pair it with BS EN ISO 10874 for the use-class system that puts a laminate in a domestic or commercial category.
- strong RN-CK33GK
BSI
The product standard behind the calcium sulfate, anhydrite or so-called liquid screeds that now dominate underfloor heating installations, and the one to name when a tiler or floorlayer refuses to bond to one. Published 1 December 2004, current, and a designated standard. It applies to calcium sulfate binders and composite binders made of calcium sulfate used to manufacture floor screeds for interior use in buildings, and includes requirements for factory made mixtures of calcium sulfate used for floor screeds, which are themselves specified in EN 13813. It expressly does not cover the application of floor screeds, which is why BS 8204-1, BS 8000-9 and the tile trade's own guidance carry the laying rules. It notes that screeds made from products in its scope may contribute to thermal insulation, sound insulation and fire protection of the floor. Interior use only is the key limitation, and the reason these screeds are unsuitable where they can get wet: the binder is calcium sulfate, not cement.
- strong RN-JLG4QL
BSI
The product standard for the terrazzo tile, a finish that has returned to domestic bathrooms and kitchens and that behaves nothing like porcelain. Published in its current listing on 31 October 2018 as BS EN 13748-1:2004+A1:2005, current and a designated standard. It specifies the materials, properties and methods of testing for unreinforced cement-bound terrazzo tiles which are factory made and sold ready to be placed, and it applies only to tiles intended for internal use; external terrazzo is covered by Part 2. Because the tiles are cement-bound rather than fired, the declared properties that matter are different from a ceramic: breaking load and bending strength, abrasion resistance, water absorption, dimensional and flatness tolerances, and slip resistance. Installation is not covered here; that is BS 5385-3:2024, which since 2024 absorbs the terrazzo and natural stone flooring content formerly in BS 5385-5. ICS 91.100.30 Concrete and concrete products, committee B/524.
- strong RN-08SF9D
BSI
The test that produces the C and F numbers in a screed specification, so a reader can tell what C25-F4 on a delivery ticket actually means. Published 28 November 2002, current but under review. It is the second part of the BS EN 13892 series of test methods for screed materials and specifies a method for determining the flexural and compressive strength of moulded specimens made from cementitious screed material, calcium sulfate screed material, magnesite screed material and synthetic resin screed material. It gives the apparatus requirements and step-by-step procedures for the flexural test and the compressive test, and the values it produces are the ones declared under BS EN 13813, where C denotes compressive strength in newtons per square millimetre and F denotes flexural strength. Because the same method covers cement and calcium sulfate screeds alike, it is the only fair basis for comparing a traditional sand cement screed with an anhydrite pumped screed.
- strong RN-OB2G4L
BSI
The umbrella construction standard that decides which board may be used where, published 21 April 2005, current, under review and designated. BS EN 13986 covers solid wood panels, LVL, plywood, OSB, resin-bonded and cement-bonded particleboard, wet process fibreboards including hardboard, medium board and softboard, and dry process fibreboard, that is MDF. It classifies each by end use: internal structural in dry conditions, internal or protected external structural in humid conditions, external structural, the three equivalent non-structural cases, and specifically structural floor decking on joists, structural roof decking on joists and structural wall sheathing on studs, each in dry, humid or external conditions. That end-use table is the precise answer to whether a given OSB or chipboard grade is fit to deck a floor.
- strong RN-X6WGEO
BSI
The harmonised product standard that decides what a floorcovering's label may legally claim, and therefore what a specifier can rely on. Published 31 May 2018, current, it cancels and replaces BS EN 14041:2004. It specifies the essential characteristics for resilient floor coverings (excluding loose-laid mats), textile floor coverings (excluding loose-laid barrier mats, runners and rugs), laminate floor coverings and modular multilayer floor coverings, together with the assessment methods, the way performance is expressed, the systems for assessment and verification of constancy of performance (AVCP) and the marking. Essential characteristics under Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 include reaction to fire, content of dangerous substances, slip resistance, electrical behaviour and thermal conductivity. The 2018 revision followed mandate M/119 rev on dangerous substances, folding the old clause 4.2 on pentachlorophenol into a broader dangerous substances clause, and extended slip resistance so it now applies to every covering type in scope. It deliberately does not cover installation or maintenance, which sit in BS 8203, BS 8201 and BS 5325.
- strong RN-SCJGF6
BSI
The umbrella product standard a wood floor is marked against, published 31 July 2013, current and designated for construction products regulation. BS EN 14342 defines the characteristics, requirements and test methods for flat surface wood flooring and parquet for internal use, and names the product standards it sits over: EN 13226 solid tongue and groove parquet elements, EN 13227 solid lam parquet, EN 13228 solid wood overlay elements and interlocking blocks, EN 13488 mosaic parquet, EN 13489 multi-layer parquet, which is engineered wood flooring, EN 13629 solid pre-assembled hardwood board, EN 13990 solid softwood floorboards, EN 14354 wood veneer floor coverings, and EN 14761 vertical finger, wide finger and module brick parquet. That list is the precise answer to what separates solid, engineered and veneer wood flooring.
- strong RN-2CTV78
BSI
The only British Standard that says what a laminate underlay has to do, and the reference a reader needs when comparing underlays that all claim the same things. Published 30 November 2018, current but under review, superseding PD CEN/TS 16354:2013. It specifies test methods for determining the technical characteristics of underlays used beneath laminate floor coverings, sets minimum performance requirements for the underlay and flooring system as a whole rather than for the underlay alone, and specifies requirements for marking and packaging so a consumer can compare like with like. Laminate floor coverings are treated as floating installations for domestic and commercial use including domestic kitchens. Two exclusions matter: underlays pre-attached to the laminate covering are outside its scope, and so are underlays for use in electrostatically sensitive areas such as computer rooms. The 2018 revision changed the definitions of both laminate floor covering and underlay, required that the mean of the measured single test results be calculated, and added a note on water vapour resistance warning that some installation conditions call for an underlay with a higher sd value and visible air gaps underneath.
- strong RN-6MV3YZ
BSI
The first part of the ceramic tile test series, published 31 October 2014, which sets how tiles are sampled from a delivery and the basis on which a batch is accepted or rejected against the declared characteristics. It is the standard to cite when a note explains that shade variation, calibre and warpage complaints are judged on a sampled batch rather than on a single tile, and it underpins the rest of the BS EN ISO 10545 series including part 3 for water absorption, which is the figure that separates porcelain from other ceramic tiles.
- strong RN-HWSJKN
BSI
The test method behind the water absorption figure that separates porcelain from ceramic tile and decides whether a tile is suitable for a wet room or an outdoor threshold. Published 30 April 2018, current and under review, identical to ISO 10545-3:2018 and EN ISO 10545-3:2018, it specifies the method for determining water absorption, apparent porosity, apparent relative density and bulk density of ceramic tiles, and states that the method is applicable to the classification of tiles and to product specifications. Committee B/539, ICS 91.100.23, ISBN 978 0 580 89883 9.
- strong RN-DBJD74
BSI
The test behind the breaking strength figure a floor tile must declare, and the number that decides whether a tile is fit for a floor at all rather than only a wall. Published 30 April 2019 and current, it is part 4 of the BS EN ISO 10545 series of test methods for ceramic tiles and specifies the method for determining the modulus of rupture and the breaking strength of all ceramic tiles, loading the tile across a span on two supporting rods until it fails. Breaking strength is reported in newtons and modulus of rupture in newtons per square millimetre, and BS EN 14411 sets the minimum values a tile must reach for its group, which is why a thin large-format wall tile can be entirely compliant yet unsuitable underfoot, and why bed coverage and a flat, rigid base matter so much for large tiles. The wider series covers dimensions and surface quality in part 2, water absorption and density in part 3, deep abrasion in part 6, surface abrasion in part 7, thermal expansion in part 8, thermal shock in part 9, frost resistance in part 12 and chemical resistance in part 13.
- strong RN-GBS0QC
BSI
BS EN ISO 10874:2012+A1:2020, published 30 November 2020, committee PRI/60, under review. It establishes the classification system used across resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings, based on practical requirements for area of use and intensity of use, and linked to the requirements in the relevant standard for each covering type. This is the source of the use-class numbers a homeowner sees on a pack: class 21, 22 and 23 for domestic moderate, general and heavy use, and class 31 upward for commercial. The standard notes that wear and appearance also depend on installation quality, maintenance, subfloor condition and the kind of use, such as footwear and concentrated traffic, and says these are to be taken into account when applying the classification.