How to Apply Safety-Grip Anti-Slip Tape to Ribbed Decking
Safety-Grip
We have created a new video, showing you two methods of how to apply Safety-Grip to ribbed wooden decking. View it here.
I have eventually got around to writing a blog post about our most popular anti-slip question: how to make safe ribbed decking! Ribbed wooden decking is a very popular surface, over the past 15 years its popularity has risen exponentially. It is a common misconception that the ribbed surface will prevent slippages; in fact, the opposite is true, having a ribbed surface results in less contact surface area creating a higher chance of losing grip. The ridges create a superb surface for debris to accumulate such as leaves, moss etc, this then soon adds to the slippage factor, in wet conditions algae can form on the wood allowing for lethal conditions. Contrary to popular belief there is no magical solution to the ribbed decking slippage problem that will solve the slippage whilst retaining the natural appearance of the wood. Anti-slip paint does not work – the surface is too irregular with the ridges too steep for the paint to effectively bond. Our safety-grip does not work well, whilst many have tried to adhere onto the upmost part using a thin (around 10mm) section there is such a small amount of product that it soon fails. Two-part epoxy anti-slip products are difficult to apply onto ribbed decking, one cannot reclaim the grit needed when brushing off due to the gaps between boards. Heskins has two simple solutions for applying an effective non-slip coating onto ribbed decking.
1). Use of Our Bolt Down Safety-Grip Plates
Our bolt down plates are extremely easy to apply, they require no surface preparation and are simply screwed into place. Our most popular plate is 115mmx635mm which has 6 countersunk screw holes, we produce them in any of our colour range, on request we will provide wood screws free of charge. Each plate is manufactured from high quality 1.6mm weatherproof aluminium. We offer an L-shaped plate which is 120mmx45mmx635mm. Special sizes can be produced on request. For use in or around marine applications, we can produce using stainless steel to prevent corrosion.
2). A Marine Ply Coating
This solution is a bit of a ‘cheat’, it works well and is inexpensive! As mentioned, ribbed decking has terrible non-slip properties, it can be lethal in wet conditions, its ribbed surface makes it difficult to adhere to, one simple solution is to apply thin marine ply (it only needs to be thin as the decking will be load-bearing, not the ply) then apply any of our non-slip materials. As we are the ultimate customer-focused company we are happy to provide large sheets of anti-slip tape in any of the grades or colours to help with your fitting! For visual instruction on how to apply safety grip using these two methods, you can check out our video below!
For more information, please visit the bolt down plates product page. To place an order, please speak to our sales team by phone or live chat. Alternatively, complete the contact us form and a member of our sales team will get back to you as soon as possible.
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