Installation Guide

Best Practices
Esplanade™
Sustainability
• VOC’s
Certification is not needed to satisfy LEED® specifications with hard flooring surfaces. The test methodology
specified in CA Department of Public Health Standard – Section 01350 is the same one used for the following
certifications:
 - SCS/RFI FloorScore
 - SCS Indoor Advantage, Indoor Advantage Gold
 - AQSI/GEI Greenguard, Greenguard -Children & Schoolsd
 - CRI Green Label, Green Label Plus
Due to the manufacturing process of all Emser fired floor tiles, the temperatures at which the tiles are produced
inherently eliminate the presence of any off-gassing and result in no detectable emissions of Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOCs). As such, Emser’s floor tiles perform beer than the requirements of the FloorScore
certification. Hard surface flooring products can contribute to gaining 1 POINT for low-emiing materials in
LEED® V4 rating systems. The credit definition is: “Mineral-based finish flooring products such as tile, masonry,
terrazzo, and cut stone without integral organic-based coatings and sealants and unfinished/untreated solid
wood flooring qualify for credit without any IAQ testing requirements”. For this reason, it is assumed that
ceramic and porcelain floor tiles are negligible sources of VOCs and are available for credit without any
testing requirements.
• Transparency
Emser Tile practices raw ingredient transparency which can be seen in HPD2.1 and SDS documents. Additional
information can be found in our sustainability initiative on our website.
Fire Ratings
• Flame Spread
Flame spread is measured using ASTM E84 Standard Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics
of Building Materials, compliant to CBC Chapter 8 Section 803. This test will measure flame spread, fuel
contributed, and smoke developed. It is intended for all building materials including everything from counters,
fabrics and wall surfaces to cementitious substrates. However, the test method and the building codes
do not apply to tiled surfaces. The time temperature curve at which this test is conducted will max out at
approximately 1200º Fahrenheit. Quarry tile, ceramic and porcelain products pass fuel and flame spread.
Although, under actual use circumstances, smoke may be caused on the surface of the tile due to a number of
outside factors i.e. sealers, cleaners, grease, surface debris etc., which are not a direct cause of the tile itself,
but rather due to inherent presence of foreign materials on the surface.
Because ASTM E84 is conducted in levels below 1200 degrees and our tiles are manufactured at temperatures
greater than 2000º Fahrenheit, the combustion and melting points of our tiles substantially exceed the testing
threshold. ASTM E84 is a comparative test where the performance of the test specimen is compared with
that of fiber-cement board and select grade red oak flooring, which have been established as 0 and 100,
respectively. Testing of floor tiles is not required or a recommended industry practice as they will produce a
result of Class A-0 due to their composition.