Now that we have the incontenance issue, I now am concerned about "accidents". Yesterday morning I ended up shampooing the carpeting in the bedroom because the "pad" only puddled the urine and then it went onto the carpet. Uh! I have been wondering for a long time if we should replace the carpet with other carpet or put in something else (not tile, it is too dangerous and very expensive and cold in the winter). We have linoleum in the kitchen/family room and it really needs replacing. Anyone have ideas on what is safe and yet worth the expense? I am concerned about my DH falling but he goes very carefully (I seem to be the clutz). Thanks.
I took every pc of carpeting out, and installed some Bruce oak floors....not only are they as beautiful as Weejun, but they are so easy to clean and maintain... Pergo laminate floors are a bit cheaper, but also very durable and nice...Tile is cold, and impersonnal, while wood is warm and has a homey athmosphere to it.. If you cannot afford it, 1 case of duct tape (24 rolls) will cover the average house....easy to clean, easy to replace when damaged, cheap to buy, and has a non skid surface to it.... the only drawback is that it is commonly only available in grey, but you can get white or black tape for a bit more money...Duct tape is also an easy do it yourself project..and you can proudly show the floors and brag that "I did it myself"
We were gifted with carpet squares of the kind put in the halls and offices at the Hospitals and Office Buildings here--left overs. No skid, easy clean, and when all is done--I'll be able to replace any damaged squares from what they left after installation.
Like phranque, we have Bruce oak floors (he's right cleaning is easy w/Pledge hardwood cleaner) except for bathrooms, kitchen, "den"(really part of kitchen w/bar between). Linoleum in baths, tile in kitchen. Wouldn't have tile in kitchen/den area again because of grout. We built this retirement house w/open space, wide doors, etc. for possibilities. So far no incontinence issues, but do track dirt in from walks in the woods. Hb sees no reason to take off shoes at the door even w/slippers there to put on.
Just a word of caution....wood flooring or pergo laminate flooring is not recommended in kitchens or baths...if you have a plumbing leak (dishwasher, icemaker from refrigerator, or leak from sink plumbing, it can seep under the floor, and cause shrinking, warping, mold, and curling...I have seen many houses with damaged flooring in the kitchen because it was not waterproof, and the moisture destroyed the floor...
Linoleum is now available in patterns that look just like laminate flooring. So you can have the look (in any room of the house) without the concern of damage from plumbing leaks (as mentioned by Phrange above). Well, maybe I should modify that a bit----a major plumbing event could result in even lino replacement. But laminate isn't recommended for kitchens or bathroom due to ongoing small splashes and splatters . . . nor for entry ways if rain is frequent (people walking in with wet shoes or boots can cause water damage).
I just put down laminate flooring in one bed room and plan on doing the living room, another bed room the hall way and the dinning room too. Only problem I had is they said you have to start in the left hand corner, which I did, but there are four left hand corners depending on which way you want the flooring to go. Do you think they were messing with me? Any way, it did go down easy and it looks great.
Frank, how did you figure out the left hand corner thing?
Jim- never heard of the left hand corner thing....I think you got some bad Home depot advice....I have heard of many things that they said that did not make any difference... The most important thing is this..Make sure that the finished side is on top... Yes I have seem someone install it upside down!!! and tap each piece until it is snug. I am assuming that you have installed the foam underlayment, and I usually start with a chalk line (straight) on the side which is most apparent. I also always remove the baseboards so that I can go directly to the drywall...then when I reinstall the baseboards, they cover minor gaps at the wall, And you can run it in any direction you want. If you did one room, and you like what you see, then you did a great job .. I have also installed the flooring diagonally, but it is much harder to do, but some people like the way that looks too...Just email me if you run into problems...
Thank you all so much. Really appreciate the good advice and always enjoy phranque's quips. Think I will bypass the duct tape (it does come in other colors, saw this on a craft show a few years back). Phranque do you live in CA? Maybe you could do our floors. Left corner must be farthest from the door. Is that a trick question?
Agree about the tile. Hate tile! because of the grout, even when it is sealed, it is a problem and never looks clean.
What's all this about putting in pergo but not good because of leaks, when what she's looking for is something that can withstand leaks (from dh!) .. It sounds like Carol's idea might be the best. Me.. I'm buying the cheapest possible carpets (not slippy area rugs) from our outlet stores, and will simply throw them out eventually. But our hardwood floors have been pretty well damaged by cats in the past (a couple were quite determinedly having a pissing contest for a few years) so there's not too much to be concerned about.. Divvi, don't you have terrazzo or something?
We live in an old 100 year old home, with original wood floors downstairs, except kitchen. I pulled up all carpet upstairs and put in laminate -love it, love it - so easy! When the linoleum needed replaced in the kitchen, I put in Flexitec - it's a cushioned covering that freefloats, no gluing - just took up the baseboard trim, laid it down and put them back up. So many beautiful patterns - and I got the one that pretty well matches the real wood floors in the rest of the downstairs. It's easy to clean and looks good too - and not very expensive either.
When we started having this problem with my dad, we just took the wall to wall carpet out and installed some durable tile that looked like wood, would stand up to the constant cleaning and then had little area rugs beside the bed. He was in a wheel chair and after a time had to have the cath which he hated...Dad did not have AD he was a double amputee. I so far have not faced this with DH thank goodness.