Best flooring for bedroom...thinking ahead

[Cazzita]

Hello TP,
Waiting for results of mum's CT scan a fortnight ago and we are pretty sure she will have dementia of some sort. She sleeps loads - up to 14 hours a day - and her room needs doing up. As she is adamant that she never wants to go into a care home, we are doing the house up bit by bit to keep it in good condition for her. So, my question is that her bedroom carpet needs to go - and something more practical as she is incontinent and although she wears Tena lady pants, she does have accidents. Anyone have any idea what kind of flooring would be best? Vinyl? Wooden? Anyone tried any waterproof vinyls?
Any advice would be great.
Also, we need to convert her ensuite shower room into a wet room eventually, is this a good idea and feasible on the 1st floor?
Thank you

 

[Hazara8]

Hello TP,
Waiting for results of mum's CT scan a fortnight ago and we are pretty sure she will have dementia of some sort. She sleeps loads - up to 14 hours a day - and her room needs doing up. As she is adamant that she never wants to go into a care home, we are doing the house up bit by bit to keep it in good condition for her. So, my question is that her bedroom carpet needs to go - and something more practical as she is incontinent and although she wears Tena lady pants, she does have accidents. Anyone have any idea what kind of flooring would be best? Vinyl? Wooden? Anyone tried any waterproof vinyls?
Any advice would be great.
Also, we need to convert her ensuite shower room into a wet room eventually, is this a good idea and feasible on the 1st floor?
Thank you

The Care Home where I work use non-slip vinyl, washable flooring, with no seams. Carpets are a 'no-no'. As you most probably know, there are useful 'incontinence' products available, such as protection sheets which go over the mattress and make life easier (not easy!) when it comes to regular 'accidents'. Once you know the results of your mother's scan, then you can plan ahead.


The wet room sounds very sensible, something I contemplated for my late mother at one time (on the first floor) but I am not au fait with the practicalities and there will be folk on TP who can shed light on that area I feel sure.

 

[Jale]

Mum originally had Tena Lady pants but we found that they weren't absorbent enough for her. Our Practice Nurse/gp referred mum to the incontinence clinic where we were able to get incontinence pads for her. They are a lot better and although she sometimes leaks in the night the carpet in the bedroom has been spared. We have an incontinence pad (I think they are called Kylie Pads) on top of the bottom sheet and they do stop the liquid going through to the mattress 99% of the time, they are washable and can be tumble dried.
We have vinyl flooring in the bathroom and it is very good as accidents can be quickly cleared up.
When replacing the bathroom carpet, we were advised to have a light colour - we thought that odd but it was explained to us that PWD see dark flooring as being like a hole and they are very loath to step onto it, and I must admit that seeing mum walk into the hall way which has a dark flooring she hesitates and sort of taps the floor first with her foot. In the bathroom which has a cream colour floor then she walks straight in. Hope that helps

As for the wetroom, brilliant idea, but do be aware that very often pwd will stop showering - mum has and she will only have a full wash now.

 

[Kevinl]

The care home has a hard vinyl flooring and it takes a lot of hard wear but when it's wet it's very slippy and it can't be laid on floorboards as they're not usually level enough. A soft cushion floor suitable for bathrooms and kitchens might work but it's not that tough if she has a walking frame or a wheelchair or anything that might cut into it.
"Engineered wood" could be an option as it's tough and stands up to a lot of hard wear, I put it down in my kitchen 10 years ago and it still looks good now despite all the leaks from the washing machine and the bit where you stand at the kitchen sink.
Wetrooms are an absolute godsend I use one at the care home and wish I'd done it at home years ago, it's so much easier to shower someone than a small shower. Any competent plumber and tile fitter should be able to do the job, a lot of homes have them now and first floor isn't a problem or if money isn't a problem you could look at one of the specialist disabled "pod" systems for a bathroom they are very good but do come at a price.
When converting a bathroom it is worth bearing in mind that if you come to sell the house then a disability bathroom may need reconverting as most people don't want a bathroom/wetroom that's got grab rails and bars all over the place, sad as it is it does detract from the value of a house so I'd go for a wet room which are quite trendy now and do any modifications if you have to and the condition progresses.
K

 

[nitram]

we need to convert her ensuite shower room into a wet room eventually, is this a good idea and feasible on the 1st floor?

Yes, it's not as likely to be a solid floor as a ground floor.
Wet room floor trays are usually ~30mm deep and fit in place of removed flooring. A bit of ply to give a good surface for the floor covering makes up the difference.

 

[Cazzita]

Thanks so much for your replies, they are very much appreciated and no, I didn't know anything about Kylie pads so will enquire about them. You people are a godsend x

 

[marionq]

Thanks so much for your replies, they are very much appreciated and no, I didn't know anything about Kylie pads so will enquire about them. You people are a godsend x

If you get work done specifically because of the persons dementia then you do not pay VAT. You need a letter from her GP listing her problem and saying that the work is necessary. You give that to your builder and he does not charge tax. He gives the letter to the tax man if necessary.

We got this wet room installed upstairs after my husband had a bad fall in the shower cubicle and was trapped in there until the paramedics got him out. That was two years ago and I'm very pleased with it. We still have carpeting on the bedroom floor with a carpet protector strip on it but if incontinence became more of a problem I would have the carpet removed and some sort of waterproof flooring put down. I have Karndean flooring in the kitchen and main bathroom and I like the quality of that.

 

[LadyA]

If you buy things like washable kylie sheets, you don't need to pay VAT on those either. I bought them for my husband online, and was very pleased with them. I didn't get the kylie brand, but similar type. Quick drying bed protectors. I found they worked better if I put them lengthwise under him. And, when washing them, be careful not to use any fabric softener or conditioner in the wash, or any "2 in 1" type detergent, as that stops them being absorbant, and liquid just runs off them, down onto the bed!

 

[Shedrech]

hi @Cazzita
when I was considering getting rid of dad's bedroom carpet, I too thought vinyl flooring as there would be few seams - I had chosen rhino vinyl as it's tough, comes in a range of patterns and is designed to be warm underfoot and non-slip when wet - dad moved into his care home, though, so I can't give a tried and tested recommendation

 

[Cazzita]

Thanks again guys! Just shows that we newbies know nothing - I had no idea of the VAT! Thanks for the photos Marion, looks great.