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Commercial-grade & scrubbable wallcoverings
A corridor wall is not cleaned, it is attacked: a trolley, a shoulder, a mop, a disinfectant, every day for years. So a fit-out schedule stops asking for a pattern and starts asking for a grade — “Type II commercial grade”, or “scrubbable to EN 259-1”. This page explains what those grades measure, where the American and European systems meet, and what actually wears a wall out — which is rarely the thing the grade measures.
They are an American classification, by weight and serviceability, from the US federal specification CCC-W-408 — and ASTM F793 is the ASTM classification that maps onto it. A heavier material is specified where the wall takes more punishment, and Type II is the middle grade that most commercial work is written to.
| Grade | Weight (per linear yard, 54 in wide) | Where it is specified |
|---|---|---|
| Type I — light duty | About 7–13 oz, roughly 170–300 g/m² | Private offices, hotel guest rooms, ceilings — walls that are seen more than touched |
| Type II — medium duty | About 13–22 oz, roughly 300–500 g/m² | Corridors, receptions, lobbies, classrooms, retail — the default for public commercial areas |
| Type III — heavy duty | Over 22 oz, roughly 500 g/m² and up | Hospital corridors, airports, back-of-house, anywhere trolleys and equipment hit the wall |
Read the grade your schedule names and supply the certificate for it. The weights above are the usual bands rather than a universal rule — a specification occasionally sets its own figure, and when it does, that figure is the one that counts.
Europe grades the same concern differently: not by weight, but by what the surface survives. EN 233 specifies finished wallcoverings, EN 12956 sets out how washability is tested, and EN 259-1 is the heavy-duty standard. A schedule written in Europe uses these words, and they are not interchangeable.
| Grade | What it survives | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Spongeable | A damp sponge, light marks only | Bedrooms and private rooms |
| Washable | Soapy water and a soft cloth | Living areas, offices |
| Super washable | Repeated washing, light household cleaner | Kitchens, hotel rooms |
| Scrubbable | A brush and detergent, repeatedly | Corridors, schools, receptions |
| Extra scrubbable | Hard, frequent scrubbing — the EN 259-1 heavy-duty end | Hospitals, airports, public buildings |
A material can be heavy and not scrubbable, or light and extremely washable. If your schedule names a grade from one system and your supplier quotes the other, ask for both — the two answer different questions and neither one translates cleanly into the other.
In our experience the grade on the schedule is rarely what fails. These are, roughly in the order they show up.
Alcohol, chlorine and quaternary ammonium compounds do more damage than the scrubbing. A surface can be rated scrubbable and still haze or soften under a daily disinfectant. Ask what the facility actually uses.
On a printed wall, the ink and any laminate are the layer being cleaned — not the material the grade was issued for. A heavy base under an unprotected print will fail at the print.
Edges lift first, in corridors and at the bottom of walls. Fewer seams, correct overlap and a properly prepared substrate decide this long before the grade does.
Trolleys, beds, luggage and chairs. No wallcovering grade protects a wall from a corner at speed — that is what a rail, a crash barrier or a rigid panel is for, and it belongs in the drawing, not the material schedule.
Lobbies and anything behind glass. Fading is a separate property from durability and is specified separately, as light and rub fastness.
Chilled façades, basements and external walls. A wall can fail from behind while the surface is untouched, and no grade on the schedule covers that.
Send these and we will come back on what can be met, what cannot, and what the alternative is. We would rather tell you no before you order than after it is printed.
We do not publish a blanket Type II or scrubbable claim for our wallcovering. A durability grade belongs to a material and its certificate, and on a printed wall the honest question is what the surface above the print survives — not what the base alone was graded at. Tell us the grade your project needs, and where the wall is, and we will confirm what is available for it in writing before you order. If it cannot be met we will say so and tell you what would meet it.
It is the medium-duty grade in an American classification by weight and serviceability, from the US federal specification CCC-W-408, with ASTM F793 as the ASTM classification that maps onto it. Type I is light duty, Type II medium and Type III heavy. Type II is the grade most commercial schedules write for corridors, receptions and public areas, because it is the point where a wall survives daily cleaning without the cost of the heaviest material.
Usually quoted as about 13 to 22 ounces per linear yard at 54 inches wide, which is roughly 300 to 500 g/m². Those are the usual bands rather than a universal rule — some specifications set their own figure, and where they do, that figure is the one that counts.
No, and conflating them is a common way to end up with the wrong material. Type II is an American weight grade; scrubbable is a European performance grade, set out under EN 233 and tested to EN 12956, with EN 259-1 covering the heavy-duty end. A material can be heavy and not especially scrubbable, or light and extremely washable. If your schedule names one and your supplier quotes the other, ask for both.
They describe what the surface survives, in rising order: spongeable takes a damp sponge, washable takes soapy water and a soft cloth, super washable takes repeated washing with a light cleaner, scrubbable takes a brush and detergent repeatedly, and extra scrubbable takes hard frequent scrubbing — the heavy-duty end covered by EN 259-1. Corridors and schools are normally scrubbable; hospitals and airports are normally extra scrubbable.
Not by itself, and this is the question worth asking on any printed wall. The grade is issued for the material as manufactured. On a printed wallcovering the ink — and any protective laminate over it — is the layer being cleaned. A heavy base under an unprotected print fails at the print, so ask what the surface above the print survives, not only what the base was graded at.
Usually not. In practice the first causes are the cleaning chemical rather than the cleaning, the print or laminate rather than the base, and the seams rather than the surface. The fourth is impact — trolleys and bed corners — which no wallcovering grade protects against; that is what a rail or a rigid panel is for, and it belongs in the drawing rather than the material schedule.
Rarely. Hotel guest rooms are usually specified Type I, because the wall is seen far more than it is touched, with Type II or Type III in the corridor outside where the trolleys run. A schedule that writes one grade for the whole floor is usually worth querying.
It is enough to start, not to finish. We would need the grade itself — Type I, II or III, or the European washability grade — which areas each code covers, how the walls will be cleaned and with what, the fire class, and whether antibacterial is specified too. Send the schedule as the consultant issued it and we will come back with the questions that are actually missing.
B1, Class A and B-s1,d0 — what each one means and which your schedule asks for
ISO 22196, hospitals and what a treatment may lawfully claim
Bathrooms, lobbies and why Gulf walls fail from behind
Blue Wool, rub fastness and what actually fades on a printed wall
Low VOC, formaldehyde, phthalate-free and what a rating system wants to see
Sizes, finishes, how a wall is printed and installed
Enter width × height and see the total for your own wall
Send the schedule and we will come back on it
Reviewed 2026-10-03
