Bar Tiles

Bar and licensed venue floors are wet, contaminated and heavily trafficked, often in low light and for long service hours. Specification has to hold slip performance with spillage present while the surface still reads as part of a designed front of house space.

Specifying bar and licensed venue surfaces

• Slip resistance with contamination. Behind the bar and in the service run, the floor is wet with more than water: beer, spirits, sugar syrups and citrus all reduce grip. Specify a wet PTV of 36 or above to BS 7976-2 as a minimum, and a structured finish behind the servery.
• Chemical and stain resistance. Confirm chemical resistance to ISO 10545-13 and stain resistance to ISO 10545-14. Acidic spillage and aggressive nightly cleaning regimes attack both the tile surface and the grout.
• Grout specification. Epoxy grout behind the bar and in the service area. Cementitious grout stains and degrades quickly under sugar, alcohol and daily chemical cleaning.
• Falls and drainage behind the servery. Where the design includes a floor gully, the surrounding floor needs a designed fall, which small format tiles accommodate without cutting into large modules.
• Front of house durability. Customer-facing floors need PEI IV or V abrasion to ISO 10545-7 and a finish that holds appearance under stool and furniture movement.

Related sector collections include restaurant tiles, hotel tiles and slip resistant tiles.

Frequently asked questions

What slip rating is needed behind a bar?

A wet PTV of 36 or above to BS 7976-2 as the minimum, and a structured finish is usually justified in the service run itself. Contamination from sugar and alcohol reduces effective grip below what a water-only test suggests, so err upwards where staff are working at pace.

What grout should be used on a bar floor?

Epoxy in the service area and behind the servery. Sugar, citrus, alcohol and nightly chemical cleaning all attack cementitious grout, and joint failure is the usual first sign of trouble on a bar floor.

Can the same tile be used front and back of house?

Sometimes, but the conditions differ. Front of house prioritises appearance and abrasion; the service run and cellar prioritise slip performance with contamination and chemical resistance. Many ranges offer several finishes on the same body, which keeps the appearance consistent while varying the technical performance by zone.