Polyflor Expona Control Flooring

What is Polyflor Expona Control?

Polyflor Expona Control is a luxury vinyl tile range engineered for slip-resistant safety flooring in wet-zone and heavy commercial environments. Each Expona Control plank or tile is glue-down dryback construction with a 0.70mm commercial wear layer and Polyflor’s PUR factory-applied surface treatment. Its slip resistance comes from a patent-protected surface that delivers a sustained Pendulum Test Value of 36 or more (wet, slider 96) under EN 13845, so the safety performance holds up over the life of the floor rather than wearing smooth over time.

Expona Control pairs the LVT styling of a wood or stone floor with the slip-safety credentials commercial wet zones require. Common applications include restaurants, supermarkets, commercial kitchens, food preparation areas, care home and assisted-living wet zones, leisure changing rooms and any heavy commercial environment where the LVT design library is preferred over the more utilitarian look of safety sheet vinyl.

Specification Detail

Gauge: 2.5mm overall.

Wear layer: 0.70mm transparent PUR-treated.

Use Area (ISO 10874): Class 23 residential heavy, Class 34 commercial very heavy and Class 43 heavy industrial.

Slip resistance: R10 to DIN 51130 and EN 13845 enhanced slip resistance. Sustained wet Pendulum Test Value of 36 or more (slider 96) and surface roughness Rz greater than 20 micrometres.

Fire reaction: EN 13501-1 Class Bfl-S1.

Antistatic: EN 1815, 2.0kV or less (classified antistatic).

Underfloor heating: Compatible with wet and electric UFH subject to Polyflor’s 27 degree Celsius maximum surface temperature.

Formats: plank 152.4 x 914.4mm and tiles at 304.8 x 609.6mm and 457.2 x 457.2mm, across 14 wood and stone shades.

Sustainability: BRE Green Guide A+, FloorScore, Indoor Air Comfort Gold, Finnish M1, up to 40 per cent recycled content, 100 per cent recyclable, product-specific EPD, REACH compliant.

Warranty: Polyflor’s commercial warranty when installed using the brand’s approved system and maintained in line with the published care guidance.

How Expona Control’s Slip Resistance Works

Expona Control achieves its slip performance through a patent-protected sustainable slip-resistant surface, tested to EN 13845 with a wet Pendulum Test Value of 36 or more (slider 96) and a surface roughness of Rz greater than 20 micrometres. The important word is sustainable: the slip resistance is engineered to be maintained over the working life of the floor rather than delivered by a surface texture that wears smooth over time.

This matters in commercial wet zones where the slip specification needs to hold up over many years of use. Some slip-resistant products lose performance as the surface wears; Expona Control’s construction is designed to keep the floor within its slip classification for the life of the installation. It carries a standard ramp-test rating of R10 and the EN 13845 enhanced, sustained slip credential is the reason it is classified as safety flooring rather than standard commercial LVT.

Standard-Slip LVT vs Expona Control: When to Step Up

Standard commercial LVT such as Expona Commercial is rated R10 with standard slip resistance, which suits most everyday commercial areas including offices, retail and hospitality front-of-house. Expona Control is also R10, but adds EN 13845 enhanced, sustained slip resistance (Pendulum 36 or more, wet), which is the specification for wet zones and safety-critical areas: commercial kitchens, food preparation, care home wet zones, leisure changing areas and any environment where a slip risk assessment calls for enhanced, durable slip resistance.

For higher-risk wet or barefoot environments that need an R11, R12 or R13 ramp rating, or DIN 51097 barefoot classifications, Polyflor’s Polysafe safety sheet vinyl is the step up, in a different welded-sheet format. For LVT styling with enhanced sustained slip resistance, Expona Control is the specification. For full slip context, see our R10 vs R11 slip-resistant flooring guide.

Where Expona Control Works Best

Expona Control is the Polyflor LVT specification for commercial kitchens (restaurants, hotel kitchens, pub kitchens, cafe production kitchens), food preparation areas (commercial bakeries, food processing back-of-house), care home and assisted-living wet zones, leisure changing rooms (gym and swimming pool changing rooms), light industrial wet zones (laundry rooms, light wash-down areas), veterinary surgery wet zones, commercial laundry facilities and any heavy commercial environment where enhanced sustained slip resistance is required with the design library of an LVT floor.

Communal showers and barefoot wet areas typically also need DIN 51097 barefoot ratings, which Polyflor’s Polysafe safety sheet delivers. For standard commercial areas without a wet-zone slip requirement, Expona Commercial or Expona Design is the right specification.

What Replaced Polyflor Polysafe LVT?

Polyflor previously offered LVT-format slip-resistant products alongside its dedicated Polysafe safety sheet vinyl. The LVT-format slip-resistant products are now covered by the Expona Control range. Polysafe safety sheet vinyl continues separately for environments that need a welded-sheet format, higher R11 to R13 ramp ratings or DIN 51097 barefoot classifications. For an LVT-format floor with enhanced sustained slip resistance, Expona Control is the current product.

Pages on our site that previously covered Polyflor Polysafe sheet vinyl now redirect to the wider Polyflor category.

The Expona Control Design Library

Expona Control’s design library is narrower than the wider Expona commercial ranges because the slip-resistant surface constrains some styling options. The range covers commercial wood-effect designs (American Oak, Blond Country Plank, Nut Tree, Classic Oak, Weathered Country Plank, Light Elm and White Oak) and commercial stone and concrete-effect designs (Portland Stone, Classic Limestone, Classic Yorkstone, Smoked Limestone, Warm Grey Concrete, Roman Limestone and Cambrian Stone) suited to food-preparation, leisure and wet-zone environments.

Where the design brief is design-led (premium retail, hospitality public areas), Expona Commercial or Expona Design delivers a wider design library, though without Expona Control’s enhanced sustained slip resistance. Where a wet-zone slip specification is non-negotiable (commercial kitchen, leisure wet zone), Expona Control is the specification; its design library is narrower than the wider Expona ranges but still substantially deeper than utilitarian safety sheet vinyl.

Installation Detail for Wet-Zone Commercial

Expona Control installs as glue-down dryback to a fully prepared subfloor. Wet-zone commercial installation typically includes additional specification elements over standard commercial LVT: full perimeter sealing using approved sealant at wall-to-floor junctions to prevent water ingress at edges; coved skirting profiles where the specification calls for a fully sealed floor-to-wall envelope; and floor falls towards drainage points where the wet-zone design includes floor drainage.

For commercial kitchen installations specifically, Polyflor’s installation specification typically calls for the LVT to terminate against stainless-steel kitchen kerb sections, sealed at the LVT-to-kerb junction. The kerb provides the high-traffic wet-zone edge protection that LVT alone cannot deliver.

Polyflor Polysafe vs Expona Control

Polysafe is Polyflor’s safety sheet vinyl range, separate from LVT. Expona Control delivers EN 13845 enhanced sustained slip resistance in an LVT format with the design styling of a wood or stone floor. Polysafe delivers higher R11, R12 and R13 ramp ratings and DIN 51097 barefoot classifications in a welded sheet format. For the heaviest wet-zone commercial (heavy commercial kitchens, food processing, healthcare and industrial wet zones), Polysafe sheet is the specification. For wet-zone areas where LVT styling is preferred (mid-tier commercial kitchens, care home wet zones, leisure changing rooms), Expona Control is the LVT option.

For Polysafe specification on project work, contact our specifier team separately – we supply Polysafe for project specification but do not list it on standard online retail.

Key Takeaways

• Polyflor Expona Control is Polyflor’s slip-resistant safety LVT – a 2.5mm glue-down floor with a 0.70mm PUR wear layer, for wet-zone and heavy commercial areas.
• It is rated R10 and carries EN 13845 enhanced, sustained slip resistance (wet Pendulum 36 or more), from a patent-protected surface designed to keep its slip performance over the life of the floor.
• Classified 23/34/43, it suits restaurants, supermarkets, commercial kitchens, care homes and leisure wet zones, in the styling of a wood or stone LVT.
• For higher-risk R11 to R13 or barefoot wet areas, Polyflor’s Polysafe safety sheet is the step up.
• UK-made in Manchester, antistatic and underfloor-heating compatible, available across 14 wood and stone shades.

Buying Polyflor Expona Control from Grosvenor Flooring

As a Polyflor Approved Retailer, Grosvenor Flooring supplies the complete Expona Control range. Prices are displayed on every product page. Klarna three-instalment interest-free finance is available at checkout on larger orders. Free UK delivery applies on qualifying orders. The price match promise covers any UK competitor listing the same Polyflor Expona Control product code.

For trade and project buyers, the Grosvenor+ trade programme offers additional pricing across the complete Expona Control range. Apply via the Grosvenor+ application page. For project-scale commercial wet-zone supply or supply-and-fit work across Altrincham, Manchester and Cheshire, contact us with the project brief and specification requirements.

Related Reading

For slip-resistance specification across all environments, see our R10 vs R11 slip-resistant flooring guide. For wider commercial vinyl context, see our commercial vinyl flooring UK buyer’s guide. For the dedicated commercial range guide, see Polyflor Expona Commercial guide. For the wider Polyflor verdict, see Polyflor flooring review.