18/05/2017
Flooring

One of the key questions we are always asked in our technical department is: "What FeRFA rating is a particular product or system?".

An everyday enquiry within the resin flooring industry, but not everyone will understand what the system is and why it’s used, especially if you are used to specifying alternative flooring.

FeRFA, the Resin Flooring Association, represents a wide range of leading manufacturers – including Sika – as well as contractors and other associated companies involved in resin flooring systems. For more than 45 years it’s been the recognised voice of the resin flooring industry, taking a leading role in developing global standards. 

One of the association’s earliest accomplishments was to create a framework that put the various flooring systems on the market into some sort of context. Their classification system, which runs from one to eight and categorises floors according to durability and product type, enables contractors and specifiers to compare products on a like-for-like basis, helping to simplify the specification process.

Simon Clark - Product Manager for Flooring at Sika Limited

For instance, if a client has two manufacturers proposing a flooring type to them, all they’d need to ask is, ‘what FeRFA rating would this floor be’? If one says ‘four’ and the other says ‘three’, it then becomes clear different systems are being pitched. The chances are one of the systems put forward will be thinner than the other and have a different build-up, making it inappropriate for the materials that it will have to withstand. The FeRFA classification system answers a number of important questions, such as:

  • How do different products compare in terms of cost?
  • What’s the likely durability of the floor?
  • Is the floor appropriate for its intended environment?

Loud and Clear

Ultimately, the FeRFA guide demystifies the specification process by comparing systems like-for-like. If a contractor recommends a type of floor, you can see for yourself why it’s being specified. The whole process makes it easier for an educated contractor to guide an uneducated specifier as to what type of floor is suitable without changing the language because everyone’s essentially reading from the same page. Furthermore, the guidance document enables customers to generate an anticipated flooring life-time by comparing the flooring classifications with expected traffic loads.  This provides customers with an estimated figure - giving them the reassurance of an educated guide in terms of number of years the system should last for. This figure then allows Sika’s own flooring guarantees to be seen in context.

FeRFA members have a wealth of industry knowledge and experience and actively influence how flooring standards are devised and how the industry is regulated. Therefore, the FeRFA guide has a place, but the manufacturer’s product data will ultimately underpin specification. Manufacturers are very clear about what a floor will and won’t do. They know their products and are able to provide a full picture of strengths and suitability issues depending on the floor’s future environment. Support from manufacturers such as Sika is ongoing – it doesn’t end on purchase. Technical teams are available for site visits, and throughout the installation process advice is on hand to ensure projects are completed successfully. Pre-installation inspections are also available in order to test an existing substrate’s compatibility with a proposed flooring system, as well as guidance on a product’s cleaning and maintenance regime to ensure its long-term performance. 

A FeRFA rating allows for comparison with floors of similar type, making it easier to see where a floor sits in the grand scheme of things, but manufacturers’ expertise and experience means they remain so very crucial to the specification process.  

Key

LD - (Light duty) light foot traffic, occasional rubber tyred vehicles
MD - (Medium duty) regular foot traffic, frequent fork lift truck traffic, occasional hard plastic-wheeled trolleys
HD - (Heavy duty) constant fork lift truck traffic, hard plastic wheeled trolleys, some impact
VHD - (Wery heavy duty) severe heavily loaded traffic and impact
 
In general terms these categories of flooring are listed in ascending order of durability. However the actual life in a particular installation will depend on the product formulation used, the quality of the substrate and the degree of severity of the service conditions.

Some of these categories of flooring may be produced with special decorative effects by the incorporation of coloured particles or flakes in the surface. Slip resistant or anti-static/conductive versions of all these categories are also available.

Source: FeRFA The Resin Flooring Association