Toilet Dividers are important components in any restroom and they must meet certain guidelines to comply with The American with Disabilities Act (ADA). In addition there are other standards and guidelines that construction managers must be aware of. Many of these guidelines and standards have been written by the following organizations: ADA-ABA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities, ANSI A117.1 – American National Standard for Buildings and Facilities, and UFAS – Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. In addition, local municipalities may have additional standards that are required for new construction or remodeling.

Toilet Dividers must have interior doors that can be opened by pushing or pulling with no more than five pounds of force. Various opening devices, such as locks, latches, and door handles should be designed with a shape that allows easy operation with one hand. The design should enable the user to open the doors without any twisting of the wrist or tight grasping. In addition, the maximum mounting height for these opening devices is forty-eight inches above the finished floor.

There are also guidelines and standards for toilets. Toilet bowls with an “undercut” design are preferred because they allow easier movement of feet and / or wheelchairs. The height of the toilet seat is the most important factor and it must be between seventeen and nineteen inches above the finished floor. It is suggested that a toilet seat height of seventeen to eighteen inches works best in a wheelchair accessible stall while a height of eighteen to nineteen inches works best in a standard walk-in stall.

Grab Bars are an important component of restroom stalls and they must be installed with Toilet Dividers in any new construction or remodeling. In general, grab bars must be mounted on walls or dividers and be able to withstand more than two hundred fifty pounds of force. All grab bars must have a diameter of 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches for easy grasping. They must be mounted between thirty three and thirty six inches from the centerline of the grab bar to the finished floor. Larger wheelchair accessible toilet stalls require one grab bar of at least forty inches in length to be mounted on a side wall or divider nearest the toilet. That grab bar may be no further than twelve inches from the back wall. A second grab bar of at least thirty six inches in length is required to be mounted on the back wall. This second grab bar must be no more than six inches from the wall or divider nearest the toilet. In addition, if the depth of the stall is less than sixty inches then there must be at least nine inches of toe clearance above the finished floor for the front divider and one side divider for all restroom stalls.

Toilet Dividers, doors, and other fixtures are required to meet certain standards for wheelchair accessible restroom stalls. These stalls must have an outswinging door that is no more than four inches from the corner that is diagonal from the toilet. As mentioned earlier, the toilet seat has height standards and there must be two horizontal grab bars. Based on “inside clear” distances, the stall width should be at least sixty inches. The stall length should be at least fifty-six inches with a wall mounted toilet and at least fifty-nine inches with a floor mounted toilet.

The standards for Toilet Dividers, doors and other fixtures are less complicated for standard walk-in restroom stalls. Generally, the stall width is a minimum of thirty six inches. The stall depth is unspecified by some organizations and suggested to be a minimum of sixty inches by other organizations. The toilet should be centered on the back wall and there should be horizontal grab bars on each divider or side wall.

Author Bio: XPB Locker. Read more about toilet dividers.

Category: Advice
Keywords: Toilet Dividers, Partitions, Bathroom Toilet Dividers, Bathroom Partitions, Toilet Divider