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Jeannie wrote:
.  I was thinking of vinyl,  but Gordie
> sometimes goes stocking footed, so I am concerned about  slipping.  Has
> anyone ever
> solved this problem and can give me some help  deciding what to do?

We had a similar question when we were constructing our new addition.  We
already had a tile floor in our Den (we have a farm and two large dogs so
lots of dirt is tracked into the house).  Although a occupational therapist
had warned us that Jamie would fall harder on a tile floor, he sustained
most of his severe falling injuries on our vinyl floor.  We talked with my
impaired daughter-in-law and her severely impaired, wheelchair-bound friend.
Both are heavily involved in the disability community.  They both said that
there was essentially no difference between vinyl and tile (carpeting, of
course, was out of the question).

We decided to go with Italian porcelain tile (gold and rust mix) and we love
it.  It cleans easily and it doesn't make any difference what the dogs bring
in - it is always attractive.  We went with white tile for the
bedroom/bathroom.  Although I love the tile, I hate the color.  I find
myself washing that floor every day because it shows every bit of dirt.
But....that tile takes on all of the accessibility devices that we have for
Jamie quite well.  Our 8 year old vinyl flooring looks like it needs to be
replaced already because of wear and tear - and it was a very expensive
floor to begin with.  When we replace it, we will replace it with tile.
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God bless
Mary Ann (CG Jamie 65/25)

P.S.  The initial expense of tile exists in the preparation of the floor.
The tile, itself, is competitive with vinyl flooring.  If you decide on
tile, make sure that you have a very competent installer - otherwise you'll
have nothing but trouble in the future.

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