Gripsure performance warranty and strength graded decking

Gripsure have introduced a revolutionary performance warranty for their non-slip decking range. You can now be assured your decking will retain its non-slip performance for 15 years, guaranteeing you complete peace of mind. No other company offers this level of performance warranty.

Some decking products will give you an initial slip resistance i.e. what they achieve on day one, before they are even laid. But at Gripsure we think this is irrelevant. Having invested in our product, we think you should have peace of mind for the future. What you really need to know is “how long will my decking remain non slip and to what extent?”

The aim of this warranty is to ensure that our customers have a clear understanding of how well the decking will perform, and what that means in practice.

There is a British Standard (BS7976) that uses a pendulum test to measure the slip resistance of a pedestrian surface (pendulum test value – PTV).

The UK Slip Resistance Group have then taken these figures and issued a guideline as how these results are practically interpreted i.e. how safe is a decking board when it achieves a certain PTV rating. A value greater than 65 is defined as an “extremely low” potential for a slip.

Timber is a natural product and as such is inherently variable, not only in terms of appearance but also strength. Grading is used to give a basic indication of the strength of individual pieces of timber and allows for the selection of the appropriate strength grade for expected loads.

Timber can be graded mechanically or visually depending on what the material is used for, in the case of decking it is done visually. Graders look for structural issues within the timber, for example size and location of knots, twists, splits, twists and shakes. From this the decking boards will be labelled as Ungraded, C16 or C24, depending on the quality of the board.

Graded deck boards have several advantages when planning a project. Firstly higher grades are capable of handling higher uniformly distributed and point loads with minimum deflection or movement of the boards. Secondly, wider joist centres can be used for graded timbers which can aid in the design of the deck and also reduce the cost of the subframe. Alternatively, a thinner board could be used on the original centres, again reducing the cost of the project.

Graded deck boards have several advantages when planning a project. Firstly higher grades are capable of handling higher uniformly distributed and point loads with minimum deflection or movement of the boards. Secondly, wider joist centres can be used for graded timbers which can aid in the design of the deck and also reduce the cost of the subframe. Alternatively, a thinner board could be used on the original centres, again reducing the cost of the project.

Some good examples of projects benefitting from graded boards:

• Raised Walkways and Bridges: Graded boards allow for wider joist centres to be used which reduces installation time and subframe costs.
• Balconies: Thinner boards and wider joists reduce the weight of the decking when securing the balcony to the building, as well as giving you flexibility in matching up with threshold heights.
• Commercial Spaces: Wider spans can be used without fear of the boards deflecting and causing trip hazards, keeping costs lower whilst ensuring health and safety requirements are met.