Tiles provide the best value whole of life solution, to commercial swimming pool finishes.  The durability and minimal maintenance of tiles provides the greatest advantages for indoor swimming centres  which essentially never close and can not afford the lost amenity and patronage from a shutdown.

Other finishes that require regular repairs, maintenance or replacement, may be suitable for lower patronage outdoor pools that close during winter months,  however even these will likely find long term benefit from a tiled pool.

To best achieve these benefits, only purpose made swimming pool tiles should be used.

There are a number of different test methods recognised by the Australian Standard for slip resistance 4586:2013.  The most recognised is probably the ramp test with its R ratings  results  –  R9, R10 etc.

Metz recommend the Wet Pendulum Test as broadly being the most effective method, due mainly to the high likelihood of this test method being used to evaluate the suitability of a design selection after installation. The pendulum test is portable and therefore the test of choice for any forensic testing on site, which can be critical if there has been a slip incident.

Metz offer a set-out drawing service for projects that include a range of Metz tiles in their swimming pools.  These drawings provide guidance to clients  and contractors about what tiles go where in terms of colour, profile/shape, format and surface finish etc.  Simply provide the pool drawings in AutoCAD “.dwg” format together with your tile selections and Metz will return drawings with mark-ups of tile selections in the required locations.

Metz manufacture specialty swimming pool tile fixing materials in our Melbourne factory including:-

• Metz 27 – C2TES2  2 part super high strength flexible adhesive in 20kg bags and 20kg pails.
• Metz 27M – 2 part premium flexible waterproofing membrane
• Metz 11C – cementitous grout suitable for fully immersed situations
• Metz 11E – premium epoxy grout for impermeability and enhanced stain resistance
• Metz 8X2 – used to improve the performance of sand & cement mixes for pool renders and mortars

Metz can offer a unique package supply of fixing materials and tiles for any swimming pool project.

For a fully detailed compliant swimming pool specification for your project contact Metz.

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Metz offer a broad range of concourse and pool surround tiles, as well as tiles for walls,  amenities areas, entry lobbies, external terraces and cladding.

Metz have a huge range of styles from simple commercial products in profiled surfaces through to elegant products in stone replicas to create a visually stunning precinct.  All recommended  floor products  achieve a Barefoot C rating the maximum under the wet barefoot classification.

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Metz can supply  made to order signage tiles including safety warning symbols, depth markings and cautionary text.  These are created  by heavy duty glazes applied to the tile and re-fired. Some items may be possible to produce via water jet cutting.

A range of standard artwork  is available and custom sizes and formats can be produced.  Consideration of the location of signage within any facility including the frequency, size and actual text or images to be used is a matter for expert design.

More than most other tiling applications , swimming pools benefit from a range of special production shapes and profiles. Metz offer long and short rounded edge nosings in smooth or antiskid, with flat or ribbed profiles.  Also stocked are handhold / finger grip tiles, external radius pieces and internal cove pieces.

Metz stock a selection of colour combinations in these special ribbed edge nosings including possibilites for Ivory, White and Light Blue with either Dark Blue or Black edge strips.

Slip resistance is achieved by surface profile or surface texture, or a combination of both.  Barefoot slip resistance benefits from both factors in combination, as the soles of feet can vary significantly in their thickness and rigidity from one individual to the next.

For the most critical applications such as pool edges, stairs, steps, raised starting platforms and hob surrounds Metz provide our unique combination of ribbed profile and texture to maximize slip resistance.

Metz can supply around 50 standard colours and carry stocks of white, dark blue, ivory and black  in both smooth and slip resistant surfaces. A further dozen or so colours are stocked in smooth glazes and when combined with Metz broad range of Stone, Modern, Timber and traditional styles offer the opportunity to create a distinctive facility for your clients.

Swimming pool tiles must have low water absorption and low growth characteristics.  They can be produced by two different production methods, each with their own advantages.  Metz carry stock of  pressed production swimming pool floor and wall tiles which offer excellent dimensional accuracy and high finish quality.  (more…)