It can be hard to keep up with all the standards for building products, especially as they frequently change. In this column, Barry Hunt throws some light on the standards, identifying those you need and those you don’t. This time he looks at BS 5385, wall and floor tiling.

Anyone who undertakes tiling and thinks they do not need standards take a deep breath now. You do. In fact, you really can’t do without them!

BS 5385 has been with us for many years, the first incarnation being back in 1976. Now it is turning into a monster but is still apparently ignored by many.

New products have been launched, building practices changed, existing materials developed and, well, it’s all become somewhat complicated to just stick some tiles down. It is a minefield that requires a carefully thought out plan in order to avoid the potential disasters lurking at every step.

BS 5385 has been one of the better standards, but always with a few faults and always two steps or more behind the state of the practice.

Of the five parts that will set you back just £34 shy of a grand, only Parts 1 and 5 are relevant to natural stone. Even then the advice is shared (and, I would say, confused) with that for other tiling materials.
If you only deal with stone tiling then these standards will seem very expensive and remain just that little bit out of date.

You will also find you need to purchase other related standards to fill in some of the gaps.
The set of five standards has a total of 322 pages, of which about 50 are titles and standard text. We end up with a 55% value for money rating using the arbitrary scheme I have been applying based on content versus price and general usefulness.

One major criticism I have of these standards is that they remain difficult to read. It is not easy to grasp what is actually required for a given type of construction. I mean no disrespect, but I just cannot see any tiler actually following these standards properly. It is much easier to follow the instructions on the back of a bag of adhesive or take the heating system supplier’s word for what they think should be done.

I can see little logic in the way BS 5385 was originally split up into different parts depending on the environment of use. The different materials and scenarios are rather disjointed in how they are presented. The standard would have been better if it had been split into different material types and then each type dealt with by introducing the various environments and scenarios. This is the approach that has been taken by some of the trade federations.

If you want to make your life a bit easier and keep a bit more money in your pocket, it is very easy for me to recommend the advice provided by Stone Federation for internal flooring, the third edition of which came out earlier this year. This encompasses all the advice of BS 5385 and related standards and then adds to it with many new diagrams of construction elements. It is a pity one for walls has not been compiled but similar documents for wet rooms and swimming pools are in the pipeline.

In spite of my previous comments, I do like BS 5385. It has helped to promote good practice in the industry for many years, so it is difficult to be negative about it.

Fundamentally, its problem is BSI's incomprehensible pricing policy, which will continue to cripple the wider use of the standard.

However, one thing you must not do is ignore this standard – it really does make it easier to get the job right.

References:

BS 5385: Wall and floor tiling.
Part 1:2009 – Design and installation of ceramic, natural stone and mosaic wall tiling in normal internal conditions.
Part 2:2006 – Design and installation of external ceramic and mosaic wall tiling in normal conditions.
Part 3:2007 – Design and installation of internal and external ceramic and mosaic floor tiling in normal conditions.
Part 4:2009 – Design and installation of ceramic and mosaic tiling in special conditions.
Part 5:2009 – Design and installation of terrazzo, natural stone and agglomerated stone tile and slab flooring.
Published by the British Standards Institution, London, England.

Barry Hunt is a Chartered Geologist and Chartered Surveyor who has spent 20 years investigating issues relating to natural stone and other construction materials. He now runs IBIS, an independent geomaterials consultancy undertaking commissions worldwide to provide consultancy, inspection and testing advice. Tel: 020 8518 8646