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ADA countetops (34") required throughout office space.

Ryan Schultz

Ryan Schultz

SAWHORSE
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
283
Location
Madison, WI
We're doing a TI build-out for a large law firm.

Question: Do all the base cabinet counter-top heights at various locations such as workrooms, breakrooms, copy areas etc. throughout the tenant space have to be 34" AFF? Or can some be 34" and others 36"?

Could not find in either ANSI 117.1 or IBC a clause that addressed whether there were a certain percentage of areas that needed to be ADA accessible, if such a clause exists.

Thanks, Ryan
 
Common use Areas- including workrooms, break rooms, copy areas, etc; shall be accessible. Some can be 36" but the 34" high area shall be sufficient to do work. Individual workspaces do not need to comply.
 
ANSI 117, 804.3 exception does not require an accessible work surface if range or cooktop not provided but the sink would still be required at 34" per 606. See a lot of this in T/I's.
 
Does the ADA portion apply to an island in a break room? All back counters are 34" high which is where our sink is located with a parallel approach. Does the island in front need to be 34"? I feel like I've seen it done both ways.
 
Kmarie039 said:
Does the ADA portion apply to an island in a break room? All back counters are 34" high which is where our sink is located with a parallel approach. Does the island in front need to be 34"? I feel like I've seen it done both ways.
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A 34" height for the island is most likely required. It's a common use space and common use spaces need to be accessible.

There are a few ways you might be able to not have the island be entirely at 34", but even then, best practice is to just make everything 34" imo.
 
Kmarie039 said:
Does the ADA portion apply to an island in a break room? All back counters are 34" high which is where our sink is located with a parallel approach. Does the island in front need to be 34"? I feel like I've seen it done both ways.
Click to expand...

You do realize that the ADA is federal anti-discrimination law, not a building code -- right?

The general approach should not be to start with everything at "normal" height and then ask "Now what do I have to change for the ADA?" The right approach is to view it as "universal design," which means all spaces, furnishings, and equipment should be designed to be accessible except where the ADA (or the building code scoping in Chapter 11) provides specific exceptions.

One such exception is individual work areas. A copy room or a break room is not an individual work area -- it's a common facility that will be shared by all employees, some of whom may have various disabilities. Individual cubicles in a cubicle farm, on the other hand, don't have to be accessible initially, but are subject to future changes based on specific modifications a particular employee might require as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.
 
Yankee Chronicler said:
You do realize that the ADA is federal anti-discrimination law, not a building code -- right?

The general approach should not be to start with everything at "normal" height and then ask "Now what do I have to change for the ADA?" The right approach is to view it as "universal design," which means all spaces, furnishings, and equipment should be designed to be accessible except where the ADA (or the building code scoping in Chapter 11) provides specific exceptions.

One such exception is individual work areas. A copy room or a break room is not an individual work area -- it's a common facility that will be shared by all employees, some of whom may have various disabilities. Individual cubicles in a cubicle farm, on the other hand, don't have to be accessible initially, but are subject to future changes based on specific modifications a particular employee might require as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.
Click to expand...
When non-industry folk like us say "ADA", what they typically mean is "The ADA Standards for Accessible Design".

The ADA standards "say what is required for a building or facility to be physically accessible to people with disabilities."
www.ada.gov

ADA Standards for Accessible Design

The ADA Standards for Accessible Designs say what is required for a building or facility to be physically accessible to people with disabilities.
www.ada.gov www.ada.gov

No need to condescend.
 
Joe.B said:
When non-industry folk like us say "ADA", what they typically mean is "The ADA Standards for Accessible Design".

The ADA standards "say what is required for a building or facility to be physically accessible to people with disabilities."
www.ada.gov

ADA Standards for Accessible Design

The ADA Standards for Accessible Designs say what is required for a building or facility to be physically accessible to people with disabilities.
www.ada.gov www.ada.gov

No need to condescend.
Click to expand...

I'm not condescending, I'm ranting. I am a licensed architect, so I have a right to criticize my profession. I spent 30+ years working as an architect and an architectural code consultant so I have seen how too many (not all, but far too many) architects approach accessibility. They ignore it. They design an inaccessible building, then they sit back and ask what the ADA is going to require them to change. And then they immediately start looking for loopholes so they won't have to provide accessible features that they feel detract from their masterpiece.

The ADA Standards (ADAS) are the technical standards, but the underlying law is the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act is anti-discrimination law.
 
Yankee Chronicler said:
I'm not condescending, I'm ranting. I am a licensed architect, so I have a right to criticize my profession. I spent 30+ years working as an architect and an architectural code consultant so I have seen how too many (not all, but far too many) architects approach accessibility. They ignore it. They design an inaccessible building, then they sit back and ask what the ADA is going to require them to change. And then they immediately start looking for loopholes so they won't have to provide accessible features that they feel detract from their masterpiece.

The ADA Standards (ADAS) are the technical standards, but the underlying law is the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act is anti-discrimination law.
Click to expand...
And it is 35 years old. For almost everyone in the industry, the ADA has literally been there for their entire career... they have never worked in a world where it wasn't federal law. Why it's still an afterthought is baffling.
 
steveray said:
Poor enforcement...
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What else would you expect from the federal government.
Remember it is a civil rights violation that only the feds can enforce after someone complains their rights have been violated.
Would it be a violation if the countertops where adaptable similar to a "B" unit apartment? Or would it be a simple reasonable request by an employee that could easily be met? Why not just design and build them that way?
Personally a 34" counter top is irritating on my back after my surgery in 1998. About 15 minutes of leaning over one my back stiffens right up.
 
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