Best flooring for manual wheelchair (and dog)

Rfmarcus1976

Hi

We are starting building work to give greater accessabilty to my 9 year old daughter with a manual wheelchair on our ground floor. Does anyone have advice regarding the type of flooring or any lessons to share.

Thanks

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community 

I'm in a wheelchair too and I have laminate all through 

I've tried carpet too hard to self propel and wheel tracks leave marks especially if coming from outside 

Vinyl not robust enough 

Tiles will curl up over time and be hazard 

With laminate it's smooth easy surface and can be easily cleaned I brush mine then mop 

Cher_Alumni

Welcome @Rfmarcus1976 How are you and your daughter doing today?  I hope all is good with you and your pooch too!

It's a big ditto to the above from me.  I have laminate in my kitchen and especially with having cats its a godsend for cleaning spillages and other debris from their antics.

Also, fab news about the building work being to make the ground floor more accessible I imagine that will make a big difference to your daughter's everyday life - please keep us posted with how you get on.  

Take care and speak again soon.

JessicaZoe12

Best flooring for manual wheelchair (and dog)

The more durable and cost-effective option for wheelchair use is hardwood flooring. It is a common misconception that carpet is more effective for wheelchair use, but it actually poses a number of problems. It can be hard to clean, slip and slide around, and trap dirt, dust, and allergens in the fibers. Hardwood flooring is more durable, less likely to harbor allergens, and requires little maintenance.

Tori_Scope

Thank you for sharing that @JessicaZoe12 Do you have experience of using a wheelchair inside your house? 

Siwheels73

My wife and I are both wheelchair users, @Rfmarcus1976. We moved into a ground floor flat 3 years ago which has ceramic kitchen-type tiles throughout. It is great to push on, and easy to clean. The downside is that it is a mug-killer, if you drop one!