Hi I’m hoping to move to a bungalow which has no carpets etc at the moment and was wondering what the best coverings would be. I use a wheelchair and was thinking of vinyl or wood laminate. Any suggestions what might be best.I’d prefer carpets for the warm affect but keeping them clean from tyre marks and spills could be a problem.
Hiya, carpets maybe warmer but wood floors, either real flooring or laminate, are better, with carpet the wheels are slower, harder to propel, either by self or another, on wood, much easier, to propel, to move, plus a steam clean is all that’s required on wood, I’ve just moved house myself where carpets are in 3 rooms, waiting to get whole house done in laminate, no uneven surfaces at doorways etc, the lifespan of real wood = indefinite, laminate = up to 30 years, carpets = whenever fed up with colour etc, Brian
I’ve got industrial type low profile carpet in my living room and bedroom. (Also very very cheap.) We got the carpet laid with no underlay, and it’s stuck to the floor, so it doesn’t move as I use the wheelchair on it. (A small concession to my OHs delicate feet!) In the hall we have parquet - a lucky find, original unused parquet that extends into the living room, but sadly, having taken out the fireplace (an ugly 1950s horror) there was a gap else we could have had parquet throughout. We have a tough kind of laminate in the kitchen and a wet room floor in the bathroom. The carpets are brown so less likely to show marks, but I do clean the wheelchair wheels pretty much every time I leave the house (sitting on the bathroom shower chair so there’s the ‘dipped’ bit of floor which makes cleaning them easier).
So a mix & match, but it’s all reasonably easy to use a self propelling chair around.
Sue
Depends whether you use the wheelchair indoors. I don’t so have carpet in living room and bedroom. However knew the wheelchair would have to live in the hall and it would be mucky so we have a vinyl which is glued to floor. Go to a good supplier and tell him you need the toughest stuff available. My words were “it needs to be bomb proof”. You won’t regret it. Chairs bring in all kinds of crud, which need cleaning up and have sharp pointy bits that will damage anything a bit delicate.
I have carpets in the hall, bedrooms and livingroom, only the kitchen and bathroom have tiles,
this is because I have TWO wheelchairs one for indoors, one for out and about. I use my powerchair at
home, and have had no problem thus far with the carpets.
Ooh, fancy!! Once upon a time I might have been envious of a flash car, now I’m jealous of peoples wheelchairs.
Sue
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I’m saving up for another one - the Quickie Q100R compact powerchair - says it’s “perfect for hoisting”.
We shall see. Always try before you buy.
What I’m always bothered about is feet. If a chair is for outside use, then how are your feet supposed to stay on the foot rests when you go over bumps? And if it’s for inside, then having feet sticking out that far would be kind of difficult. Both navigating around and picking up one’s own feet onto the foot rests. That’s why I use a manual chair, so at home I don’t have to use foot rests, I can just about hook my good foot under the crap foot and perambulate the house. And outside, my OH pushes the ‘chair so I can just about hold my legs in place so my feet don’t go bouncing off the rests.
Sue
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On my home powerchair I have a central foot rest which can be folded up, which I do when I go around doorways
or want to get close to things in the bathroom.
And you could get ‘Wheelchair Calf Straps’, if you are bothered by a bumpy ride. I just keep experimenting with
anything new to make life easier, although I haven’t been out and about much this year. I’m having a problem
with my hands again. So not up to much.
I use my wheelchair indoors. We. Have laminate flooring in most rooms and carpets in the living room. My footrests are removable so I rarely use them indoors. The laminate does allow me to whizz about the house with ease. However if I fall, I can’t get up from the laminate on my own. I can though from the carpet, so sometimes have to crawl SAS style to the carpeted flooring. We got a puppy just before Christmas and I had a wee tumble last week. I was in the middle of my SAS crawl, when the puppy thought it was playtime as was licking my face and jumping on my head as I crawled slowly towards the carpet. Funny now, but definitely not at the time.
Derek
I’m in awe of your SAS crawl Derek! I aspire to any kind of crawl. And with a puppy joining in too!!
Sue
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Not so funnily enough , I had to do the crawl last night. My legs have gone on holiday without telling me, and last night, I slid off the wheelchair on to the floor. As my legs we’re useless,my wife had to drag me to the carpeted floor. After much huffing and puffing, managed to get on to the cushioned-less sofa, then a wee bit higher on to a cushion on the sofa. Then more cushions, and finally a transfer on to the wheelchair. By this time, I felt like I’d been battered by Mike Tyson and then sat on by Giant Haystacks.
This MS lark is such a hoot.
derek
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You need to have words with SS or OH to get a hoist or something, otherwise the wife’s gonna do her back in and then you’ll both be up the creek!