Solid hardwood, engineered wood, and laminate flooring are increasingly specified in UK retail, hospitality, and residential-grade commercial environments. Each has distinct slip behaviour — especially when wet, when PTV can drop far below commercial compliance thresholds.
Wooden flooring, especially with a polyurethane or lacquer finish, typically has excellent dry PTV and poor wet PTV. The gap between dry and wet values is often larger than for any other common flooring type.
The same wooden substrate with different surface finishes can produce PTV values differing by 20 points or more. Matte finishes tend to outperform gloss; brushed or wire-aged finishes often outperform flat surfaces.
Laminate flooring is a laminate-on-fibreboard construction — its slip resistance is determined entirely by the top laminate layer. Engineered wood (veneer on plywood) behaves more like solid wood. Both can be tested to BS 7976 / BS EN 16165 without special preparation.
It depends entirely on the specific product and finish. Wet PTV on laminate can be very low (under 20) despite good dry PTV. We test before commercial specification where possible.
Significantly. The same timber with different surface finishes can produce PTV values differing by 20+ points.
Some can — particularly brushed or wire-aged finishes. Others cannot, even when marketed as commercial-grade. Testing is essential before specification.
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