Archives: selection-guide

Standards and Regulations

BS 7953: 1999 Entrance flooring systems – selection, installation and maintenance Cross References
BS 5325 : 2001 Installation of textile floor coverings – code of practice BS 5557 : 1992
ISO 2424 : 1992 Textile floor coverings – vocabulary
BS 8203 : 2001 Code of practice for installation of resilient floor coverings
BS 8204 : 2003 Screeds, bases and insitu-floorings. Part 1: Code of practice for concrete bases and screeds to receive insitu-floorings
DD 240 (All parts) Fire safety engineering in buildings
BS is a form of guidance and recommendation. It should not be quoted as a specification and particular care should be taken to ensure that claims of compliance are not misleading.
Building Regulations 2000 – Approved Document M “Access to and use of buildings” England and Wales
Extracts from the Building Regulations

Requirement

PART M ACCESS TO AND USE OF BUILDINGS
Access and Use
M1. Reasonable provision shall be made for people to-
a) gain access to : and
b) use the building and its facilities.

Approved Document M Provisions (Entrance Lobbies)

2 – 29 (e) Floor surface materials within the lobby do not impede the movement of wheelchairs e.g. not coir matting, and changes in floor materials do not create a potential trip hazard.
2 – 29 (f) The floor surface helps to remove rainwater from shoes and wheelchairs.
2 – 29 (g) Where matwells are provided, the surface of the mat is level with the surface of the adjacent floor finish.

Scotland

Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and Section 4 (Safety) of the Non-domestic and Domestic Technical Handbooks.

Northern Ireland

Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000. Technical Booklet R. Access and facilities for disabled people (Dec 2000).
Information contained in this publication may be subject to Crown copyright.

Architects Specification Notes

Typical installation recessed in matwell

UKM Design 17mm Entrance Matting System

Typical installation flat to floor surface

UKM Classic 12mm Entrance Matting System

How to specify UKM products

N10 General Fixtures/Furnishings/Equipment
N10/300 Entrance Matting
Manufacturer: UKMat Group (01706 843589)
Entrance Matting: UKM Design O 17mm 24 AN entrance matting system
Colour: Anthracite
Size: 2400mm x 1200mm
Frame: UKM1A 25 x 25 x 5mm mitred for site assembly
Size: 2400mm x 1200mm inside dimension
Recommendations: Plug and screw frame to recess formed in existing floor and make good, screed matwell base to correct depth to leave new matting surface level with specified floor finish.

UKM product codes

Example: UKM Design entrance matting

UKM DE O 17 24 AN

UKM UKMat Manufacturer
DE Design Product name
O Open Surface construction
17 17mm Thickness of mat
24 TN24 Wiper strip material
AN Anthracite Colour choice

Airport, rail and marine specification

Specification 3 UKM entrance flooring systems are available custom made to individual design requirements exceeding the most stringent international fire safety standards for rail and marine applications including:-

BS 6853 Class 1a:
NF F16-101 Class M1,F0
DIN 4102 Class B1
NFPA 130 and IMO Res A653(16)

Whilst aesthetics are a key issue in product selection, volume of foot-fall and traffic type are the main criteria in determining product performance requirements. Ideally matting should have the ability to capture and retain a high percentage of soil and moisture on contact, and release this quickly and easily during the cleaning process, whilst retaining a pristine appearance at all times. The material must be durable and should maintain its basic wear characteristic for the duration of the installation in order to provide maximum ongoing protection. Although budget may be the prime factor in product selection, frequency of replacement will determine actual costs in the medium to long term.

Recessed or Flat to Floor Installation Option

Matting Rationale Ideally entrance matting should be fitted in a recess formed by matwell framing. Whilst the frame will provide stability for the matting and form a protective edge for adjacent floor finishes it will also help to contain moisture and debris between cleaning operations. The base of the well will be screeded to suit the thickness of the matting. In new installations a depth of 25mm to the finished floor height is required to accommodate the framing system. Existing matwells will commonly be 17mm in depth. This detail must be checked prior to specification to ensure that the replacement matting will be flush to floor and provide safe transition. Particular attention should be paid to ensure door clearance of the new matting. Where flat to floor installation is preferred, 12mm matting may be specified complete with ramping strips to form safe transition to adjacent floor finishes. For maximum protection the system should extend at least 6 metres into the building where circumstances allow.

The 90% Factor

Worldwide research agrees that unprotected, up to 90% of soilage to internal surfaces is tracked into buildings and 90% of the cost of removal of this dirt is accounted for by labour. Furthermore 90% of commercial computer system failures are attributed to dust and moisture ingress. So it follows that the effectiveness of an entrance barrier matting system will be directly proportionate in any reduction in these figures. Specifying the correct system is therefore a critical element in maintenance and refurbishment cost control. However, perhaps the most significant and overriding statistic is that over nine out of ten slip-fall accidents occur in entranceways, the true cost of which is immeasurable.