Swimming Laps in the Middle East Got Me Thinking About Tile

Veronica Landau 6/2/2026

In Spring of 2022 I was in my last week of overseas deployment in Kuwait at Camp Arifjan. Camp Arifjan is famous throughout the Army for having a pool on post, a luxury in the 130 degree summer days in the deserts of Kuwait. In that last week, myself and my unit found ourselves at Camp Arifjan awaiting our flight back home to the United States. I’m a big lap swimmer, so I rushed to go for my first swim in 10 months.

I started the first lap and when I summersaulted in the water to turn around and push off to head back the opposite direction, I slipped. What the heck? Pool floors and pool walls are not supposed to be slippery!

The rest of my time in the pool was an adapted way to swim, but I was reminded recently that we all could use some information when it comes to selecting and specifying tile that performs.

Below, I’ll outline factors of consideration for your tile.

Where is it going?

Where your tile is being applied will determine significant factors in your selection.

• Floors

  • Is the area you’re needing to tile dry or wet? High traffic? An airport that has thousands of people walking on it every day will need to be more durability than a small 20-person restaurant. Within that restaurant, the front of house area may have different slip requirements than the back-of-house kitchen where grease and food may fall on the floor. If this restaurant is beside a pool or beach, the front-of-house may need to have very high slip-resistance to avoid falls from wet feet.

    

• Walls

  • Walls do not have as much wear as floors, so there is more choice available in what kind of tile you can choose.

    
    

• Materiality

  • Porcelain is one of the most durable tiles. It’s manufacturing process makes it dense and water resistant. Porcelain is made from fine clay and fired between 2,200 and 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit., making it a harder tile that absorbs less water.

    

  • Ceramic tiles are created differently than porcelain. They are made from semi-coarse clay and fired at a lower temperature than porcelain.

    

  • Cement Tiles are usually cured or dried instead of fired in a kiln. They are usually only used in indoor applications, for either floor or wall tiles, since they are not frost-proof. These can come in a variety of shapes and many different color patterns.

    

  • Mosaic Tiles are smaller tiles in a pattern and of various materials, typically on a mat or sheet for easier installation. It’s helpful to use mosaic tiles around curves, or in areas where there are slopes or angles, like a shower floor. The many grout lines of mosaic tile provides traction and some slip resistance.

  • Glass Tile is non-porous and makes the material great for standing up to stains, mold and mildew growth in wet environments. Customers love glass for it’s light refraction and sparkle. Grout color and installation needs to be a consideration, because some glass tile is clear, and darker grout can influence the final coloring of the glass tile. Glass is not recommended for floor applications unless specifically manufactured for the purpose.

    

    
    

• Dynamic Coefficient of Friction

• DCOF measures how much traction a tile surface provides when walked upon under wet conditions. It tells us how likely a floor surface is to be slippery. This information can be found on many manufacturer’s websites or on the back of your tile sample or board. Specifying a matte or glossy finish influences the DCOF.

  • “The industry standard for tile suitable for level interior spaces expected to be walked on when wet with water is a wet DCOF value of 0.42 or greater. A wet DCOF of less than 0.42 shall only be installed when the surface will be kept dry when walked upon and proper safety procedures will be applied when cleaning the tiles.” Crossville Solutions Wet DCOF Safety Considerations.

    
    

• Color and Price

• Neutral colors like white, beige, gray or tan are usually the most common and least expensive color options.

• Blues and greens are usually more popular colors, with red, oranges and other bright colors sometimes causing the same tile from the same collection to have a different price. Much depends on manufacturing process and final glaze selection.

  
  

Selecting tile isn't just an aesthetic decision—it's a safety, maintenance, and lifecycle cost decision. The right product can improve durability, reduce maintenance expenses, and help create a safer environment for building occupants.

Contact us for help with your finish selections!

Credits:

"Pool tiles" by mcgrayjr is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.