In your case I would probably consider luxury vinyl tile or plank. Tightly putting it down helps with water resistance and it should be smooth and level, withstand the wheelchair, have some cushion and resist the dogs.

Vinyl plank we are just installing it in all our wheelchair accessible units where I am on the board.

As above. If budget is a concern, you can work with tile in the entranceway, baths and kitchen. You can then work with a high-end laminate (from Europe). To add some insulation to the home, you can add in some 6mm cork underlay underneath the laminate. The thermal break is great for the price ($0.95/sf ships from BC www.cancork.com).

I know everyone is going for vinyl. I get that. The concept of 'needing' a water proof floor throughout the whole house is hyper trendy. I don't think it is needed. Vinyl is more expensive than laminate which means you would be working with the more expensive product over LARGE parts of your home...rather than working with the appropriate floor in the wet areas (tile) that are small in square footage.

A well produced European laminate will be $3/sf in Canada. Cost of install = $1.50 - $2.50/sf. The cost of underlay ($0.35-$1.00/sf). Cost to install underlay = $0.50/sf. The total cost of laminate can be $5/sf.

Now compare that to vinyl. A BETTER vinyl = $4-$7/sf in Canada. These guys do NOT get underpad. Vinyl HATES underpad. Cost of installation = $2.50 - $3.50/sf. Vinyl is tricky to install. Installers have caught on to this and are charging more to install vinyl (or so they should...if they don't they are going to rush the job and you are going to have problems...sigh).

Do you have a total budget for your flooring (all the bills are paid and you have a great floor)? How many square feet? What area of Canada?

Modin from Flooret has a 9x72" rigid vinyl plank with a 40mil wear layer. Sales are direct.

Sorry, but the weight from powered chairs and a click vinyl are incompatible. No floating floors. They come apart quickly. You need glue down. Nothing beats old fashioned VCT. Or glue down commercial carpet. Or, once and done, and never to need replaced, porcelain tile.

Could you do porcelain tile with radiant heat?

Manual chair with light person in this instance. Plus dogs.

"She will be in a manual chair (not power) and we will be pushing her."

And that may not be the future. plan for the worst. Hope for the best. Floating floods and wheelchairs are incompatible, period. A lightweight one only slows down the issues.

Providing a space to clean off the wheelchair (and dogs) located at the most used entry from the outside will help the flooring to last longer.

June you have never used a whell choir they are awful on carpet and especially ones that are not motorized which is the case for this OP

We have floating floors and an adult son in a semi power wheelchair. No problems at all going on 14 years. His chair has powered wheels only so not as heavy as a regular power chair but heavier that a typical manual chair.

Yes, you can do porcelain tile with radiant heat. Tile is one of the best for radiant floors.

DH uses power (1st floor) and manual (in elevator and 2d floor). After a lot of research — We used porcelain tile in bathrooms and mud room (stronger than ceramic) and wood with 3 layers of protective finish over the sealer in the house we are building. Schluter strips (no door sills) make for an even transition from wood to tile. We were told “NO” to floating floors with wheelchair use (might work with light chair but we didn’t want to take a chance). We haven‘t moved in yet - so I can’t comment on how well they will actually hold up. We plan to leave the “outside” wheelchair in the mud room so that we don’t track little stones etc that may get stuck in the tires onto the wood.

We are building a handicapped accessible home and downsizing as my husband is in a wheelchair. We plan to move next week! A few months ago, I put in LVP in my basement and I thought this was a good choice. Hubby has a chair lift that goes to the basement and showers there. There is matte finish and a lot of texture on the vinyl and I think this is to make it look more like wood. Husbby needs to glide his foot on this floor and is unable to do so. One night he tripped since he couldn't glide it and we had to have emergency services here. Trip to the hospital and 10 days in rehab and he still isn't back to where he was. My point in this long story is that the flooring may be very patient dependent. If I had to do it again, I'd select something with a smoother finish. New house will have hardwood. Think about how your daughter needs to maneuver on the floor . . .

Thank you everyone. There is a lot of good points here and stuff to consider.

Power chair won’t be an option for her as she doesn’t have the capacities to move her own chair. So as Rachel said a lot is patient dependent.

We plan on bringing her in from the garage most days so I think I’m going to design a little clean up station there to get her wheels ready for the house. We will be using the same chair inside and out.

im going to look at the suggested options more closely. thanks again!

18 years experience with a manual wheelchair for my son. We're in Toronto. We used the same tile on the whole main floor except the living and dining room. We added rugs where softness was needed e.g. family room. At the entrance we have an Ikea indoor-outdoor rug that goes in the washing machine. So practical. As far as tile being hard or cold, we wear comfortable slippers.

There is a lot of grit that comes in on the treaded wheels, which is more of a problem than a bit of moisture. And it's year-round, not just winter. I like your idea of the cleaning station but I still think it's virtually impossible to get the grit out of the treads. I think vinyl or laminate would wear from the grit. It's like sanding the surface. And you have enough to do without stressing about constantly cleaning your floors.

Design your mud room and adjacent laundry with an open curbless shower and sink, and a rough in for a toilet. It can be enclosed more as a full bath later, if resale needs to occur. Or sold as a dog bathing station. But an open shower like that, plus a hand washing station, can also serve as a corona decontamination spot for packages and deliveries. I’ve been seeing a lot of interest in things like that which can do double duty.

This is a wonderful thread. I wish more new builds and renos would take these ideas into consideration. My husband used to work for a company that provided handicap accessibility/mobility equipment and he said that almost all who hired his company did not necessarily expect to have a wheelchair user in the home - which means lots of modifications later!

I live in a cold climate and sometimes use a manual wheelchair. Home building tips I have found most useful while using the wheelchair: try to build a large garage on same plane/level as house to eliminate steps from attached garage to house, use a brushed finish on concrete outside and inside (vs power trowel) to prevent slipping on water or snow/ice (it's a little tougher to keep clean in the garage, but nice to have a no slip surface!), keep towels and a bench in garage so someone can sit to assist with wiping snow/slush from wheelchair before entering house, leave enough area for wheelchair and helper to maneuver in and out of home/vehicle. Install exterior doors with minimal threshold to make it easier to enter/exit the house. Try to avoid steep inclines inside and outside the home, where possible.

Someone suggested having separate inside and outside wheelchairs - great idea! If this is a possibility, try to design a "parking place" for each chair in the garage and in the entry so other family members aren't tripping over the extra chair that may be in the way while not being used.

Avoid slippery surfaces (such as smooth tile or marble), especially in wet areas like bathrooms or entryways. Such surfaces make it difficult to transfer in/out of wheelchair (due to wheelchair sliding around) or use crutches. Slippery surfaces can also make it more difficult for the assistant to maneuver or maintain a stable grip while assisting. We used pretty cheap vinyl flooring (it's somewhat padded - almost squishy?) in our bathrooms and laundry room, it's great because it has enough texture not to be slippery and it's easy to clean. When we stay at hotels with slippery floors, I take notice of how nice our home flooring is! We installed floating laminate wood flooring throughout our main level (not bathrooms/laundry), but it's glued together to be waterproof and prevent separating from wheelchair use. It has held up, but I use the wheelchair irregularly (typically only during bone fracture).

Keep researching and don't hesitate to rent, borrow, or buy (for pretty cheap on Amazon) a wheelchair in your size so you can experience day to day tasks from your daughter's perspective and maybe identify other ideas for improvement, especially as she grows and will need to use larger equipment. Best of luck in your build!

I suggest that you ask your Occupational Therapist for input. They are the experts at making homes work for people. Especially if your daughter is not yet fully grown, they may have some insights into how to make the house work for her in the future too. For example, if she is still small enough to lift now, they will advise you how to make the house more accessible when she needs a Hoyer lift or similar when she is older.