Exterior tiling standards

Aesthetic, easy to maintain and durable, the tile is perfect for covering the floor of the terrace. It allows you to enjoy clean, tidy outdoor surfaces all year round. In addition, it is not porous, and it resists water infiltration, frost and wear well. It can even be a non-slip model that minimizes the risk of slipping and falling. But before tiling your exterior, you need to understand the standards.

The PEI standard for pass frequency

The European PEI standard is applied to glazed porcelain stoneware. It evaluates the resistance to wear generated by the frequency of passage while indicating the appropriate place of use. Among others, there is the PEI 1 which corresponds to rooms with very low frequency of passage, in particular to bathrooms. Then there is the PEI 2 which includes rooms with low frequency of passage such as bedrooms without direct access to the outside.
There is also the PEI 3 dedicated to medium traffic rooms such as entrances and hallways, and there is the PEI 4 intended for rooms with high traffic frequency such as the kitchen and the living room. PEI 5 is reserved for rooms with intense use of the public premises type. This therefore means that for your terrace, you should favour an outdoor tile classified as PEI 3, PEI 4 or PEI 5, depending on its use.

The UPEC standard for overall strength

The French UPEC standard assesses the overall resistance of coatings. It is mainly used for professional use, and it takes into account 4 criteria including: U for "Wear due to passage, P for "Punching", E for "Water resistance" and C for "Resistance to chemical agents". Each of these letters is associated with a number between 1 and 4. The higher these numbers, the better.

The R standard and the ABC standard for tile adhesion

Tile adhesion is indicated by two standards. First of all, there is the R standard relating to the grip of shod feet. This comes in 4 categories, including: R9 for normal grip; R10 for good adhesion; R11 for very good grip and R12 for excellent grip. In other words, the R9 is suitable for terraces undercover and the R10 is suitable for all terraces. The R11 is reserved for pool edges and humid climates, and the R12 is dedicated for pool edges.
The other tile adhesion standard is the ABC standard. This assesses the grip of wet feet by classifying them into 3 groups. The letter "A" stands for medium grip and corresponds to the pool hall. The letter "B" stands for high adhesion and is suitable for swimming pool edges. And finally, the letter “C” stands for strong grip and is suitable for sloping pool edges and underwater steps.