ADA Design Guide for Showers and Washrooms

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights division that holds businesses like yours accountable for the way restrooms are designed and how they’re accessible to individuals with disabilities. The delineations recognize inaccessible facilities as a form of discrimination and regulate specifications for all business to uphold in designing a public restroom. To remain compliant and keep your facility accessible for individuals of all abilities, you must review and become familiar with the ADA design guide for showers and washrooms. Where toilet facilities and bathing facilities are provided, they must comply with section 213 of the ADA 2010 Standards.

The first step in creating a compliant restroom regards accessible stall design. Toilet tissue, tissue dispensers, door latches, and other essential stall components must be within arm’s reach, or a maximum of 48 inches from the floor and within seven to nine inches from the front of the toilet bowl.

ADA design guide for showers and washrooms keeps commercial facilities accessible for everyone. Grab bars are another vital component in stall configuration, and the appropriate dimensions depend on the type of grab bar you install and whether it is installed with protruding or recessed dispensers of any kind.

One of the principal factors in the ADA design guide for showers and washrooms is clearance and available space in your commercial restroom. The design of your establishment’s facilities should allow for a patron to enter and maneuver to all fixtures easily from a wheelchair. The guide mandates that any fixture above 27 inches must not protrude from the wall. Remember to verify all distances and heights with local codes or ordinances, because they often supersede federal requirements.

Regardless of the type of establishment you manage, compliance with the ADA design guide for showers and washrooms can make or break the success of your business. Prepare or update your restroom by reviewing their Architectural Barriers Act and Accessibility Guidelines as well as any federal or state codes. If you have any questions about this buying guide or would like help finding compliant solutions for your restroom facility, contact a member of the PandaProducts.com team today.