Aged Care | Nursing Home Flooring

Flooring for Aged Care Facilities

With millions of square metres of our floor coverings installed in aged care facilities all over the world, Forbo is at the forefront when it comes to understanding the needs and concerns of any aged care facility.

Aged care flooring solutions

AGED CARE FLOORING SOLUTIONS

Choosing floor coverings for seniors can be challenging. It's more than just function and performance; it’s about creating an ambience that helps residents feel comfortable and relaxed. Factors to consider when selecting a floor covering for nursing homes are safety, hygiene, comfort, and durability.

The best flooring for nursing homes typically is easy to clean and helps to improve infection control and create hygienic environments. At the same time, it's essential that finishes stand up to the daily demands of life, operating a care home. The key is finding the perfect balance between comfort and durability that will work best for your facility.

At Forbo, our wide range of flooring finishes helps in your decision-making. From our free sample service, in-house design support, DSDC accredited products and our dedicated sales team trained in dementia-friendly flooring design, we'll help you make the best decision. Forbo Flooring Systems has a flooring solution for every space within aged care facilities. A total flooring solution, offered by one supplier.

Flooring for aged care facilities ideas 11 Items

THE RIGHT AGED CARE FLOORING SOLUTION FOR EACH SITUATION

We pride ourselves on offering a truly comprehensive product portfolio with leading-edge products specifically designed to cater for all areas, from the entrance area, through circulation and communal zones, to each individual space that meets the aged care facilities requirements.

Marmoleum, our linoleum brand

The all natural solution. Our Marmoleum floors are proven to inhibit the growth and spread of infections such as MRSA, Norovirus and C Difficile, helping to contribute to a healthier and more hygienic environment.

✔ Naturally bacteriostatic and allergy friendly
✔ Natural flooring made from natural raw ingredients
✔ GECA and Red List Free certified
✔ Climate positive (from cradle to gate) without offsetting
✔ Endless possibilities in colour & design
✔ Stain & scratch resistant with Topshield pro surface finish
✔ Easy to clean & maintain
Discover Marmoleum floor coverings

Marmoleum, Forbo linoleum flooring for aged care facilities

Eternal general purpose vinyl sheet

Eternal are our most trust general purpose heterogeneous vinyl flooring with a proven track record of delivering a reliable and attractive solution for health and aged care facilities in Australia and around the world. Helping to create a warm and homely atmosphere without compromising on hygiene and infection control.

✔ Best protection against scuff and scratching with our advanced PUR Pearl finish
✔ Long life with low-cost floor care
✔ Green Tag certified & manufactured using 100% green electricity
✔ Very low VOC
✔ Phthalate-free flooring
Discover Eternal floor coverings

Eternal 10012 & 12412 general purpose commercial vinyl flooring for nursing home

Sarlon acoustic vinyl sheet

The acoustic solution. Sarlon floors has a long history of being an excellent all-round performer in acoustic performance and comfort, in combination with the best in class residual indentation, has made this product the leading acoustic solution.

✔ Excellent indentation performance
✔ XtremPUR™ innovative lacquering ensuring lasting performance
✔ Certified antibacterial activity
✔ Very low VOC
✔ Phthalate-free flooring
Discover Sarlon Acoustic floor coverings

Sarlon Acoustic, homely textured vinyl flooring for aged care

Step safety vinyl sheet

The sustainable slip resistant solution. In care facilities, slip resistance is of prime consideration in areas where water or spillages could affect underfoot safety. Forbo’s Step safety floors can reduce the risk of slip hazards in bathrooms, walk-in showers and wet rooms for seniors.

✔ One collection that covers all slip ratings from R10, R11, R12 and barefoot
✔ Guaranteed lifetime sustainable slip resistance
✔ Variety of designs to create a modern, yet homely aesthetic
✔ Green Tag certified & manufactured using 100% green electricity
✔ Very low VOC
✔ Phthalate-free flooring
Discover step safety floor coverings

Surestep Wood 18952 | safety slip resistant wood visual for nursing homes

Sphera homogeneous vinyl sheet

Homogeneous vinyl floors are very popular because of their durability, low maintenance and versatility. Homogeneous vinyl is made of one single layer that offers vibrancy and depth of colour. It is incredibly durable and stain-resistant, which makes it a great flooring choice for heavy traffic areas.

✔ SMART-top finish offers high resistance to chemicals, scratches, and stains
✔ Low in VOC and phthalate free
✔ Easy to clean (externally tested)
✔ Premium homogeneous vinyl with a Type 1 binder
✔ Best Practice PVC and Green Tag certified
Discover Sphera homogeneous floor coverings

Sphera Element homogeneous vinyl flooring installed in a hospital lounge area

Allura luxury vinyl tiles

The modular solution. Allura Flex LVT floors are top quality, dimensionally stable, heterogeneous planks and tiles floor coverings.

✔ Available in the most realistic wood and concrete/stone designs
✔ Special backing for improved impact sound reduction and extra comfort
✔ Low in VOC and phthalate free
✔ Green Tag certified & manufactured using 100% green electricity
Discover Allura LVT floor coverings

Flotex resilient carpet

The resilient carpet solution. Flotex is a unique textile flooring, it combines the hard-wearing & durable characteristics of a resilient floor with the quality, warmth, and comfort of a carpet. Flotex is a one of a kind floor covering with a category of its own – a resilient carpet.

✔ Built to last for extreme foot and wheeled traffic areas
✔ Impervious backing that’s fast-drying
✔ Allergy approved
✔ Green Tag certified
✔ R12/P5 slip rating when dry and when wet
✔ Sound control – up to 22 dB impact sound reduction
Discover Flotex floor coverings

Spaces

Spaces in aged care

Entrances Areas

Safe and sound

Entrances Areas

When it comes to care homes, it's not just the residents' feet you have to think about. Round the clock staff shifts and the constant flow of visitors mean entrance areas can take quite a pounding, and wet and dirty soiling can be trailed into the reception area and beyond. Not only can this damage interior floor coverings, it also creates unnecessary health and safety hazards.
Communal Areas

Social Environments

Communal Areas

Communal areas not only have to provide comforting and stimulating social areas for residents, they also need to be able to withstand the wear and tear of daily life in a busy home. Residents should be able to enjoy their social areas without worrying about the floor.
Living Areas

Feeling at home

Living Areas

The resident's room is the room that replaces the previous apartment and is often the only private retreat in a senior citizens facility. Resident's living rooms and bedrooms are the space they can call their own. The design of the rooms should be based on normal living environments and convey familiarity and calm. In addition to living in the communal areas, residents can come to themselves here, pursue their own interests and find relaxation and tranquility.
Bathrooms & Wetrooms

Safety first

Bathrooms & Wetrooms

In Aged Care facilities, slip resistance is a paramount consideration. Responsible for many accidents that lead to injury, slips and trips, floors have a lot to answer for. By choosing a slip resistance safety flooring, the number of accidents caused by slipping can be reduced significantly.

Forbo offers its particle enhanced Step safety vinyl flooring which has guaranteed life time slip resistant performance. Varying from R10 slip resistance to R11 & R12 for areas where higher slip risk is identified, like professional kitchens.
For areas where water or spillages could affect safety underfoot, like bathroom facilities, Forbo offers Step wetroom flooring and Onyx+ wall coverings.
Corridors

Go for a walk

Corridors

Corridors are primarily movement spaces that connect different areas of a facility. In everyday living and care, they also serve as a meeting and exchange between residents. If the spatial structure permits, they can "go for a walk" with one another or follow their urge to move. Recreational niches invite you to take a break, relax and linger. Seating options that are close to common areas are particularly popular, so that what is happening there can be followed and at the same time a certain distance can be maintained.

Dementia friendly floors

Designing for Dementia

At Forbo, we understand how complex the design of care facilities can be. Often these buildings will provide a range of services to support residents, which means the flooring requirements will vary from area to area.

Therefore, when it comes to choosing floor coverings the decision should be about more than just function. The aim should be to create an environment that helps residents to feel comfortable and relaxed, while ensuring that the chosen products can meet the day to day demands of footfall, cleaning and infection control.

Since 2017, we have been partnered with the Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC), to develop a portfolio of products suitable for use in dementia friendly environments. In that time more than 1,000 of our floor finishes and products have been accredited by the
leading research centre.

DSDC & Forbo collaboration

Our dementia friendly flooring selection

There is no exact science to designing for dementia. What is ‘good and acceptable’ in one country may well be considered ‘questionable or not accepted’ in another. The key is to make decisions based on the demands of the specific project, on common sense, and on the basic design principles which lie at the heart of every interior design.

In a dementia environment no single design element stands alone. The floor is an integral part of the design, together with the wall colourings, doors, furniture, sanitary fitting and lighting schemes. Contrast in lightness between various objects is important, as is providing harmony within the individual objects.

The designs in our collections are coordinated and muted, so that people do not get confused or tempted to try to 'pick up' design elements from the floor. Our designs are matt, avoiding any disturbing reflection and, by their nature, providing a homely atmosphere.

Textile, vinyl and linoleum designs generate a recollection of the past and create an environment that looks like home. Finally, choices are made in a way that, when applied correctly, ensure there are no transitions between different surfaces that are difficult to manage in old age.

Colour and colour combinations

Colour, also in designing for dementia is a matter of taste. In our selection therefore we have not made a colour choice as such. Instead we looked closely at the contrast and harmony in lightness of the colours with which designs can be created that provide a good bases for the colours of other interior elements such as walls and furniture. Contrasting floor colours in a building can be used to indicate that certain areas are off-limit, f.e. staff areas, or indicate a clearly different space, f.e. stairs, bathroom, or toilet.

Light refection values

Light reflection values (LRV) are the most important design tools for dementia environments. We have added the LRV of all products in our dementia flooring selection. In this way combinations of various colours and products can be made by using identical or contrasting LRV’s for the area that needs to be furnished. As LRV’s are a universal measurement for all materials, also the LRV of wall covering or furniture can be measured against the colours chosen for the floor. In our set-up you can see the light reflection values of all products grouped together which allows you to make a choice within a certain LRV range or decide to go beyond that. In this way the LRV guide of the dementia flooring selection provides a practical tool for designers of dementia environments.

Our dementia floor covering selection

For the applications in dementia environments we have selected the following floor coverings:

Marmoleum: Our natural Marmoleum floors are available in a wide range of tranquil allover designs. Marmoleum has a smooth surface which makes maneuvering easy even when walking has become a ‘shuffle’.
See the Marmoleum selection in our product finder

Step slip resistant vinyl: Step safety vinyl is available in natural wood and stone designs as well as various muted colors. The traditional shiny non slip particles have been replaced by mat crystals that do not light up.
See the Step safety flooring selection in our product finder

Eternal design vinyl sheet: Eternal is available in mute all over natural designs that mimic homely environments. Seamless application is ideal for corridors as well as living areas.
See the Eternal vinyl selection in our product finder

Allura luxury vinyl tiles: Allura tiles create realistic natural floors without the hazard of tripping or seams opening up. Easy to install and decorative. Out of the wide collection of designs we have chosen the most suitable and muted, tone in tone items.
See the Allura selection in our product finder

Flotex flocked flooring: this textile floor covering is created from a densely packed nylon flock surface mounted on a vinyl backing. It can be cleaned with water detergent and scrubbers and as such is the most hygienic textile in the market.
See the Flotex selection in our product finder

Health & hygiene

FLOORING SOLUTIONS FOR HEALTHY INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS

In a safe indoor environment, floors are non-toxic, low emitting and compliant to all international standards.

Marmoleum, our linoleum brand floor coverings are the desired flooring solution for aged care facilities to date. Senior care facilities and assisted living environments all benefit from using Marmoleum as a hygienic floor covering solution that is easy to clean and maintain as well as durable, safe and comfortable for both wheeled and foot traffic.

✔ Infection control
✔ Phthalates free
✔ Prevent the growth of bacteria
✔ Allergy approved
✔ Low emission

Marmoleum's ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria stems from the natural raw materials that go into its production, namely linseed oil. An inherent property of the product, the antibacterial qualities of Marmoleum won't diminish over time, giving peace of mind and constant protection from the moment it is installed.

Independent testing by the University of Glasgow has proven that Marmoleum has a unique suitability for a diverse range of environments where hygiene and control of bacteria such as MRSA or E. coli is an everyday concern. The test results for MRSA, Norovirus and C-DIFF can be downloaded below.

Marmoleum

Marmoleum has been awarded the Allergy UK Seal of Approval as, thanks to its smooth surface, it does not harbour house dust mites. With the correct, regular cleaning regime this can help to improve indoor environments.
Marmoleum Allergy UK Certificate

Flotex

Flotex has been awarded the Allergy UK Seal of Approval as, thanks to its unique nylon construction, allergens are trapped within its densely packed flocks, thereby reducing the number of allergens in the atmosphere.
Flotex Allergy UK Certificate

Floor design

FloorVisualizer

To create your floor and make up your mind what would fit best we have several tools and services. Our FloorVisualizer helps you to place any of our floors in an aged care environment or even combine them so you can see how this works.
Start playing with our FloorVisualizer

Custom flooring

Our design service can even go further. We can help you design your floor. Our team of designers is ready for you, get in contact and let them know the requirements, sent them the pictures of the current situation or the desired solution and they will come up with floorplans and product proposals.
Contact our design team

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