Flooring for physical disability

robynlee · May 08, 2020 11:51 pm

Hi Everyone... I'm trying to problem solve on two issues 1) my husband has a crippling physical condition in which all bones in his body have fused and 2) due to his condition, he has to wear footwear 24/7 and that footwear quickly causes huge dirt and wear patches on our carpet. I want to replace the carpet in our loungeroom to something that wears better but it has to be soft or flexible underfoot as he has no give in joints etc.. every step is quite jolting. What is the softest best wearing options for us? Is there an underlay that could give a bit of flex to say a vinyl floor or will I have to stick with a carpet of some sort? Thanks for any assistance/suggestions you can provide, I've been thinking about it for ages.

chippy · May 09, 2020 1:19 am

Hi Robyn.
The first thing that came to mind was vinyl but if that isn't soft enough have you thought about cork flooring?
There are new engineered versions such as below.

https://www.premiumfloors.com.au/brands ... ient-vita/

robynlee · May 09, 2020 10:30 pm

chippy

Hi Robyn.
The first thing that came to mind was vinyl but if that isn't soft enough have you thought about cork flooring?
There are new engineered versions such as below.

https://www.premiumfloors.com.au/brands ... ient-vita/

thanks Chippy, I will check out the cork floor link.

alexp79 · May 10, 2020 12:28 am

Another good option is marmoleum. It should be even softer than cork.

robynlee · May 11, 2020 12:39 pm

alexp79

Another good option is marmoleum. It should be even softer than cork.

Oh havent heard of that before, will look it up. Thank you Alexp79

bitrusty · Jun 09, 2020 10:41 am

Marmoleum and cork are still hard flooring so not much cushion at all.
Best bet is concentrate more on the underlay for your softness and if it were me I would get carpet and underlay glued to the floor(dual bond installation).We do this when people shuffle their feet or use walkers and wheelchairs to prevent bubbles in the carpet long term.
You will then have more freedom with carpet choice loop piles will last longer but cut pile carpets will be softer.You just need to work out what works for you.

robynlee · Jun 10, 2020 6:09 pm

bitrusty

Marmoleum and cork are still hard flooring so not much cushion at all.
Best bet is concentrate more on the underlay for your softness and if it were me I would get carpet and underlay glued to the floor(dual bond installation).We do this when people shuffle their feet or use walkers and wheelchairs to prevent bubbles in the carpet long term.
You will then have more freedom with carpet choice loop piles will last longer but cut pile carpets will be softer.You just need to work out what works for you.

Thanks Bitrusty - I'm finding our current carpet gets very dirty and 'worn patches' quite easily as my hubby has to wear shoes (he cant walk barefoot at all) therefore all the dirt from the gravel yard (no grass) transfers from his shoes to the carpet and its hard clean. Im thinking a soft vinyl of some sort (if possible) would be easier maintenance. Im waiting for some samples of marmoleum to come in the post to see what that is like.

bitrusty · Jun 11, 2020 11:46 am

robynlee

bitrusty

Marmoleum and cork are still hard flooring so not much cushion at all.
Best bet is concentrate more on the underlay for your softness and if it were me I would get carpet and underlay glued to the floor(dual bond installation).We do this when people shuffle their feet or use walkers and wheelchairs to prevent bubbles in the carpet long term.
You will then have more freedom with carpet choice loop piles will last longer but cut pile carpets will be softer.You just need to work out what works for you.

Thanks Bitrusty - I'm finding our current carpet gets very dirty and 'worn patches' quite easily as my hubby has to wear shoes (he cant walk barefoot at all) therefore all the dirt from the gravel yard (no grass) transfers from his shoes to the carpet and its hard clean. Im thinking a soft vinyl of some sort (if possible) would be easier maintenance. Im waiting for some samples of marmoleum to come in the post to see what that is like.

There are domestic vinyls that have a pretty good cushion backing on them.These might be a better option.Marmoleum is a pretty thin and compressed product.