Tactile paving

Tactile paving for people with impaired sight

Tactile paving warns people with impaired or no sight of a hazard directly ahead of them: a crossing, the top of a staircase, a platform edge or a sudden change in level. The raised blisters are picked up underfoot and with the white cane, so that somebody stops before reaching the edge. It is a simple measure with an immediate effect on the safety of your site.

We supply tactile paving and tactile profiles to local authorities, contractors, schools, care institutions and managers of public buildings. In public buildings and on the public domain it is often mandatory for new build and redevelopment; exactly what you have to install follows from the applicable Belgian accessibility rules and from what the tender specification or the client imposes.

Where you install it

• At the top and the foot of staircases, indoors and outdoors
• At crossings and at the transition from footpath to carriageway
• At platform edges and public transport stops

Two kinds of tactile marking

Blister paving as a warning

Round blisters in a regular pattern mean: take care, something stops or changes here. This is the marking you install ahead of a staircase, a crossing or an edge.

Corduroy paving as guidance

Straight ribs running in the direction of travel indicate a route that can be followed. The two must never be used interchangeably: blisters laid as a guidance line lose their warning meaning and make the marking unreliable for the people who depend on it.

Versions and material

Concrete slabs

The classic choice for the public domain: the blisters are part of the slab itself, they wear slowly and they sit in line with the rest of the paving.

Individual studs and profiles in stainless steel or brass

Separate studs or strips that are drilled or bonded into an existing floor. Ideal for refurbishment and for interior applications in natural stone or concrete, where you do not want to break the floor open. Stainless steel is also discreet, which is often decisive in a prestige building.

Contrast and visibility

Detectability underfoot is only half the story. Many people with a visual impairment still have some sight, and they need visual contrast between the marking and the surrounding floor. A light marking in a dark floor, or the other way round, works; a grey slab in grey paving helps nobody. So choose the colour on the basis of contrast with the existing surface, not on the basis of what looks most restful.

In practice

• Install the marking across the full width of the hazard, not only in the line of travel
• Keep the required distance from the edge, so that somebody still has time to stop
• Make sure the marking sits flush with the surrounding floor; a protruding edge is a trip hazard in its own right
• Consider the slip resistance of the material, certainly in the rain and at the entrance to a hall

Common mistakes

The most common mistake is installing a marking without thinking about what comes next: blisters ahead of a staircase that then lead nowhere, or a guidance line that ends against an obstacle. A second mistake is installing it without contrast, so that the work is formally in order but in practice reaches only half the people it is meant for.

What determines the price?

The price depends on the type of marking, whether concrete slab, individual stainless steel studs, profile or self-adhesive mat, the material and the colour, the area or length to be marked, and the number of locations. The installation method weighs heavily: laying it in as part of a redevelopment is something other than drilling or bonding into an existing floor, and the nature of the surface determines the work involved. Surveying and making good the surrounding paving also play a part.

Have your situation assessed

Send us photos of the area, the existing surface and the places you want to mark. We will propose a solution that works both underfoot and visually, and provide a quotation to suit.