Author: Chuck Busch
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Drawing and detailing restrooms to comply with the building codes and ADA should be easy for most architects, however that is not always the case. My experience reviewing and drawing restrooms over the past 30 years, I have reviewed hundreds of restrooms for commercial structures including retail and restaurants and these seem to be the biggest problem for designers. Understanding the code requirements may not be as straight forward as you think. Per IBC Section 1109.2 each toilet room or bathing room shall be accessible. There are several exceptions to this code section which are utilized often. Particularly the exception No.3 which states were multiple single-user toilet rooms are clustered in a single location at least 50% but not less than one for each shall be accessible. We will come back to this exception later.
The space for a restroom is always an issue. We as architects often fight every inch of space no matter how large the space we are given. Just knowing the clearances is a good start, however we should allow for some tolerance in our designs so the contractor will have more success in getting the requirements correct.
If you think of how the building is going to be constructed, the plumbing for fixtures, specifically the water closets are installed prior to the concrete slab is poured whether this is slab on grade or on multiple floor levels. We are asking the contractor to install the water closet to a tolerance of only 2” of a side wall. Some dimensions we are told specifically, and others we are given a range. If we are given a range, say 16” to 18” then this fixture needs to be within these dimensions, not 15 ½” or 18 ½”. If we are only given a specific dimension we are allowed some construction tolerance. This issue of how much construction tolerance has been debated for years. A good guide would be to be within a 1” in any direction.
First, we need to verify the number of fixtures that are required. Usually, the number is based on the occupant load which is determined per the building code. The number of occupants is based on the use of the spaces and totaled for all the spaces in the building. However, there are still some codes where the number of plumbing fixtures required is based on the gross square footage of the building (space) and use. So always check the plumbing code and the building code as sometimes these are different.
Once we know our occupant load or more importantly how many fixtures are required, we can start the layout of the restroom. I typically start with the floor plan. I think of the layout and what makes the most sense, how you enter the restroom and placing the water closet and the lavatory. I try to keep the plumbing fixtures on the same wall to utilize plumbing and venting for these fixtures. Sometimes due to space limitations you will have to have them on opposite walls.
If you are designing single-use restrooms keep in mind the fixture clear floor spaces as well as the maneuvering space for the doors entering the restroom. Most single-use restrooms the door will swing into the room to save space outside of the restroom. So, make sure you maintain the 18” on the pull side of the door. Keep in mind the maneuvering clearances for the fixtures and the 60” or if you’re using new ANSI A117.1 67” diameter turning circle.
All the clearances can overlap; however, fixtures cannot overlap with another clear floor space. For example, you have 60” from the side wall of the water closet to where the lavatory can be located. The clearance for the laboratory can overlap this clearance but the lavatory cannot encroach the water closets clear floor space.
For multi-use restrooms you typically have all your water closets, urinals and lavatories grouped together by their use. Typically, the accessible stall is located at the end but it can be located anywhere. Keep in mind if you have more than six water closets you will need an ambulatory stall. The ambulatory stall is a minimum of 36 inches wide by 5 feet in depth and has grabbed bars on both sides. The size of the accessible stall is similar to a single use restroom with the 60 inches in width by a minimum dimension I ought typically still use 60 inches although that dimension is less if the fixture is mounted to the wall versus a floor mounted fixture. Again, for layout I will use a 60” x 60” dimension and then fine tune if necessary later. Keeping in mind the stall doors and clearances to the water closets making sure they’re all usable, if they are not required to be accessible. The ambulatory stall may be the same width as standard stalls, however the door must swing out.
Once you have the general layout, I begin to look at the accessories. The location of towel dispensers or hand dryers, locations of soap dispensers etc… Although the code does not require a baby changing station, if one is provided then the accessibility code does have requirements for the location and height for the baby changing station to be compliant. As you can see there are a lot of elements in a restroom, all the clearances maneuvering spaces need to be kept in mind as you keep laying out more fixtures or accessories within the restroom.
Diving a little deeper into the code exception I mentioned in the beginning of this article regarding multiple single user restrooms. It is stated in the code that if multiple single user restrooms are clustered than only 50% of the restrooms need to be accessible. You can always make every restroom accessible, but if space is a factor, then you can use this exception. For restrooms to be considered clustered, the doors into the restrooms should be visible from a person standing outside, so with signage it is clear which restroom is accessible and which is not. The restrooms may be back-to-back in plan and look as though they were clustered, but if their doors are not visible to each other, then these would not be considered clustered. This exception helps if a little more space is needed. There are no requirements in the accessibility code for the non-accessible restroom. Signage for this a disabled person know where the accessible restroom is located will be required. We will get into signage on another blog.
Understanding how restrooms are used by persons with disabilities is a great advantage to any designer. There are a lot of great articles and YouTube videos produced by U.S. Access Board1 and other organizations. I’ll provide a link to some of the best I have seen. The videos are short movies to demonstrate how a person enters the restroom, transfers to the water closet, transfer back to their chair, the space needed to move to use the laboratory and then exit the restroom. A lot of studies along with interviewing several disabled people have revised our codes from when they were originally written and placed into law. The biggest change I have seen is the location of the laboratory to the water closet. When the ADAAG was first introduced it was thought transferring to the water closet would be easier if the person were able to use the lavatory to help transfer to the water closet. We have found that not to be the case. Most prefer to be able to back up their chair to the water closet and slide over. Therefore, the maneuvering space for the water closet is set for that reason. I think once you understand how all the fixtures are used, it is easier to design to make them compliant for everyone.
