Entrances and lobbies
Rain arrives on shoes, umbrellas and trolley wheels. The threshold tiles, the run-off past the matting and the first few metres inside are where wet exposure and foot traffic overlap most.
Scope your entry areas ↗COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES / WET AREAS
Slip testing for wet floors in Brisbane.
Wet floors in Brisbane commercial buildings are judged on their wettest day, not their driest. On-site pendulum testing covers bathrooms, change rooms, pool surrounds, storm-soaked entries, loading docks and food-prep areas, with a written report you can use for risk management.
Discuss a commercial site visit ↗WHO WE PLAN AROUND
Buildings that stay open when it rains.
Commercial wet areas rarely stand still. Staff, guests, residents and deliveries keep moving through them while the surface is wet, which is exactly when slip resistance matters and exactly when testing is hardest to schedule. Tell us how the property runs and the scope can be shaped around it.
Facilities & property managersHospitality & venue operatorsAquatic & leisure centresBody corporate managersRetail & commercial landlords
Kitchens and service areas
Commercial kitchens, prep benches, cool-room approaches and wash-down zones, where water, grease and cleaning chemicals all change the way a floor behaves underfoot.
Hospitality kitchen & back-of-house testing ↗Pool surrounds and outdoor circulation
Pool concourses, external ramps, loading approaches and covered walkways that stay in service right through a Brisbane storm season.
Prepare a site brief ↗PLANNING AROUND TRADE
Testing that fits
around your hours.
A commercial assessment has to work with cleaning rosters, trading hours and the parts of the building you cannot close. Sorting that out before the visit keeps the scope realistic and the quote accurate.
Tell us about the property ↗01
Map the wet areas
List the locations where water reaches the walking surface, how each one drains and which surfaces they are. Note any area with a known history of concern.
02
Agree the access windows
Confirm trading hours, cleaning times, delivery routes and who can escort the testing team. Some areas are only workable before opening or under temporary access control.
03
Review the findings
Use the report with your maintenance team, consultant or committee to decide what happens next for each area assessed.
Wet floors in Brisbane commercial sites
On a Brisbane commercial property, wet floors are not only the rooms designed to get wet. Summer storms and humidity drive water through entries; bathrooms, change rooms and pool surrounds stay in use while they are wet; loading docks take rain and wash-down; food-prep floors are mopped and rinsed while staff are still on them. Those are the surfaces people walk when the floor is at its most demanding.
That is why wet floors are tested wet with a pendulum. Wet pendulum testing assesses slip resistance under recorded wet conditions, which is the relevant state for a walking surface used while wet. AS 4663:2013 addresses measurement of existing pedestrian surfaces; it is the method for floors already in service, not a classification of a new product on a datasheet. The slip resistance testing page explains the methods and what goes into a report.
Typical wet areas on a Brisbane commercial site include:
- Bathrooms and change rooms.
- Pool surrounds and aquatic concourses.
- Entries and lobbies during summer storms and humid weather.
- Loading docks and delivery approaches.
- Food-prep, kitchen and wash-down floors.
What the business gets is a written report setting out the areas assessed, the test method, the recorded conditions and the results. Facilities managers, operators and committees can keep that document with their risk management records. Use the Brisbane wet-area checklist to describe how each floor gets wet before you enquire.
Existing floors, or new materials?
Commercial properties often raise both questions at once. A floor already in service is an existing pedestrian surface, and AS 4663:2013 addresses measurement of surfaces in that condition. Tiles specified for a refurbishment further along the corridor are new materials, and AS 4586:2013 addresses classification of new pedestrian surface materials. The two are not interchangeable: a classification quoted on a supplier’s datasheet describes the product as supplied, not the same floor after several years of trade, cleaning and wear. Say which situation applies to each area so the appropriate method goes into the scope. Builders putting a price on that work can use the builder tender slip testing page; a pendulum test of a newly laid floor before handover is covered on before-handover slip testing.
Cleaning, contamination and the wet-area reality
On a working commercial site the floor is seldom only wet. Kitchen surfaces collect grease and food residue, pool concourses pick up sunscreen and body oils, entrances take in grit from outside, and detergent left behind by the wrong dilution can sit on a surface long after it looks dry. Testing assesses the surfaces under the recorded test conditions, so describing what actually lands on your floors — and how often it is removed — gives you far more useful context for reading the result.
What a result does, and does not, settle
A result relates to the surfaces assessed and the conditions recorded on the day. It does not guarantee that a floor will never be slippery, and on its own it does not establish every aspect of a property’s compliance. Footwear, contamination, drainage, wear and cleaning practice all keep affecting how a surface performs once the testing team has left. Treat the findings as information for a decision, not a certificate about the building.
Bring the building’s paperwork
- Floor plans or a simple area list with each surface type identified.
- Previous slip testing reports, if the property has any.
- The cleaning schedule and the products used in each wet area.
- Specifications for planned works, including any requested classification.
- The written request from your insurer, consultant or project team, where one exists.
Hospitals, clinics and aged-care facilities bring a different mix of bathrooms, clinical wash areas and kitchenettes; those scopes are set out on the healthcare and aged-care slip testing page.
The Brisbane wet-area checklist sets out how to describe conditions across an exposed site, and the slip resistance testing page covers the methods and what goes into a report.
This website is operated by Premrest; it does not represent a separate local office. Reference: WorkSafe Victoria: safe design and floor slip resistance. Confirm the requirements that apply to your property with the relevant adviser.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Before you brief the site.
Still working out the scope? Call 1300 207 915 and describe the property.
Why are wet floors tested wet with a pendulum?
Because people use those floors while they are wet. Wet pendulum testing measures slip resistance under recorded wet conditions, which is the relevant state for bathrooms, change rooms, pool surrounds, wash-down floors and rain-soaked entries. A dry reading on the same surface would not describe that use. AS 4663:2013 addresses measurement of existing pedestrian surfaces in that condition.
Which wet floors on a Brisbane commercial site should we include?
Start with the areas that stay in use while they are wet: bathrooms, change rooms, pool surrounds, the main entry in a storm, loading docks and food-prep floors. List each surface and how water reaches it so the scope can be set around how the property actually runs.
Which areas do commercial sites usually test first?
Most start where water and foot traffic meet most often: the main entrance, the route in from the car park, kitchen and wash-down floors, and any pool concourse or outdoor walkway. If the number of test areas is limited, talk through which locations carry the most people while they are wet and start there.
Can testing be done outside trading hours?
Often, yes. Access before opening, after close or during a scheduled shutdown is common on hospitality, retail and aquatic sites. Include the workable access windows in your enquiry so the timing is built into the quote rather than added later.
Do you test kitchen and back-of-house floors?
Yes. Kitchens, prep areas, cool-room approaches and wash-down zones can be assessed. The surface finish, any coating or treatment and the cleaning products in use all belong in the brief, because each of them affects how the floor behaves when it is wet.
Will a report prove that our building complies?
No single test result settles that. A report sets out the areas assessed, the test method, the recorded conditions and the results. Whether a property meets an applicable requirement depends on the use and the requirement itself, which is a question for your consultant, certifier or insurer. Send us what they have asked for and the scope can be set to cover it.