I think you have answered your own question with regards to type of floor covering, it is your personal preference. With the wide variety of flooring products available, you can always replace the flooring in your home. For the mobility issue. I believe you can use floor coverings for land marks but you can also use furniture placement. I used furniture to create a physical landmark in a home where the hall was part of the living room to separate the two. I also used furniture to guide us to the open stairs. I know that in my current home we replaced the carpeting in our hallway with wood laminate as I was constantly getting lost because our living room has a wide doorway and I would have to walk to the entry way to find my way out. We had a tile entry way and tile kitchen but everything else was carpeted. I hate carpet in a dining room and I didn't like the carpet in my study, so we included them in our laminate. It is very easy to clean with dust mop or one of those swiffer gadgets and it is guaranteed to last for ever, smile! One draw back to the laminate versus carpeting, noise travels better and probably do the size of our rooms, sounds are magnified. We plan to replace the carpeting in the livingroom, but haven't decided whether we will use the wood laminate or just see if there is real hardwood flooring and use an area rug. I doubt there is real hardwood flooring. Our home was built in the late 60's, but around here they were using plywood for flooring even then. My thought is that you make sure that you can investigate the flooring before you buy. I also recommend that you consider the physical structural soundness. I also suggest having a home inspection and try for a home owner's warranty for the roof, furnace and air conditioning, hot water heater, wiring and plumbing. Have someone you trust help you look at ceilings, walls, foundation. You might also try to spend some time in the house by yourself to get a feel of what you think you need to make it your home. I learned a lot about things like home inspections when I bought my third house and when I went to sell it and my fourth house, I had them inspected before putting it on the market so I could deal with any issues before selling them. I also learned in selling my fourth home, at least in this part of the world, FHA requires things that other lenders don't and can add cost to the selling of the home. But you didn't ask for all that. So, good luck in your house hunting and beware of sellers who have placed large, heavy items in strategic locations, afterall, they can also be used to cover up things. ----- Original Message ----- From: Jennifer Jackson To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2007 1:57 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] flooring question
I didn't really make it clear in that last post, but I am hoping for some comments on what kind of, if any, flooring works for someone who is blind? Both in terms of mobility and maintenance. I know my preference is for hard surfaces with occasional throw rugs as landmarks. Though I do not know if this has anything to do with my blindness, as this is the kind of look that appealed to me as a sighted person too. Though then the area carpet was more for aesthetics. Jennifer ----- Original Message ----- From: Jennifer Jackson To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2007 3:06 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] flooring question Hey Guys, I have been preauthorized for a home loan and have started the hunt. So if all goes well, I will be buying a house shortly. I am sure hoping you guys will have some help for me on a flooring question. I really like hard wood floors. Not just the look, but the sound and feel of walking on them. I think these are considered raised floors. How do I know what is under the carpet? I am looking at houses that were generally built in the 60's and 70's. I had always known I liked those kind of floors, but had not really thought about why until visiting the home of someone with a blind child who had built her house with those kind of floors because she had been told they will be helpful to him. Jennifer [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
