Tactile Tiles Pave The Way For DDA Compliance

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team Sep 3, 2004

H Johnson new Tactile Range provides specifiers with tiling solutions to achieve compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), which comes into full force in October 2004.

With the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), 1995, set to come into full force in October 2004, H R Johnson Tiles, the UK's largest manufacturer of ceramic tiles, has further enhanced its Kerastar porcelain floor tile range with the addition of Tactile, to provide specifiers with tiling solutions to achieve compliance with the Act.

The Act will make it unlawful for service providers to discriminate against people with disabilities, expecting 'reasonable adjustments' to be made to public premises to ensure that they are more amenable and accessible to the disabled.

The Kerastar Tactile (400mm X 400 mm X 10 mm), a textured warning floor tile, has been developed as a form of 'foot braille', to assist the visually impaired and to provide warning and guidance to disabled people, enabling them universal access to all areas.

The Kerastar Tactile range features two specific designs for dedicated areas - the Blister profile, widely used on underground and rail platforms, acts as a warning of a lack of kerb edge, and the Corduroy profile, commonly found at level crossings, flooring zones adjacent to platforms, and at the base and top of steps and ramps, indicates that pedestrians should proceed with caution.

As well as providing hardwearing solutions, H R Johnson's fully vitrified unglazed porcelain Tactile tiles have low water absorption, are slip resistant and are also colour coded to enhance both the aesthetic and functional efficiency.

Steve Whitehurst, Marketing Executive - Contracts for H Johnson, commented: "H R Johnson aims to facilitate the provision of universal access through the introduction of this.

By appreciating and understanding how regulations and guidelines affect the objectives and decisions of architects, specifiers and facilities managers, we can provide a high quality range of approved tiles to help designers meet the stipulations of all regulations.".