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Limiting access to public toilet rooms

This might clear up some ambiguities:

Is access required?

Yes

Is restricted access allowed?

Yes, but must be accessible to all. Including the disabled.

Can you prohibit the general public from using your restrooms even though they are not patronizing the establishment?

No. once they are there, they are visitors and must be, per code, allowed access.

Can an attendant be provided?

Yes, but must be available at all times the building is occupied.

Can you use pay devices?

Yes and no

Can coin operated devices be used?

Yes, if the tokens or coins are given to the customers, visitors, and employees at no charge.
 
Help me with this one, I have a client with a dessert catering service. Clients make a scheduled appointment before arriving and only come to test the desserts. IMO, this business is not intended for public utilization like a restaurant that has open doors. Would the toilet room need to be made available to the clients wihtout passing through the kitchen and storage room?

FBC 2010 Plumbing - 403.3 Required public toilet facilities.

Customers, patrons and visitors shall be provided with public toilet facilities in structures and tenant spaces intended for public utilization.
 
Toe, Tell them to do the tasting next door at the coffee house.

Etal, If the business is concerned about shrinkage, there is no reason they could not install anti theft pylons before the entrance. Also, there is nothing in the code that would restrict the business from requiring patrons to not bring in merchandise into the restrooms.

It then becomes an architectural problem of locating the rooms in combintion with the retail plan to provide the correct amount of supervision. I mean, if you hide the toilet room in a blind spot. Duh, you are going to experience shrink.
 
Would the toilet room need to be made available to the clients wihtout passing through the kitchen and storage room?
Click to expand...
IMO, yes! How is the client not the public? They would still be considered a visitor. Also,

if the client is in, tasting the desserts, and has to go, what would be the phrasing to

direct him out of the space. "Uuuuuuuhhmmm, ...please leave your money but not your

wastes!" We do not allow clients / visitors to utilize our restrooms!" And "yes", the

restrooms should not be located in the Kitchen areas, or have to pass thru the Kitchen

areas to access them.

.
 
The big problem is the existing toilet room is the back corner of an 1,100 SF space and the only access is through the storage room. The space was previously a salon and did not have public access. Right now the owner is looking at $1,500 in work to convert the space, if the toilet room needs to be relocated she is better off moving.
 
toehead93,

In using Ch. 34 Existing structures, in the 2006 IBC, Section 3403.1: Additions or alterations

to any building or structure shall comply with the requirements of the code for new construction.

Additions or alterations shall not be made to an existing building or structure that will cause

the existing building or structure to be in violation of any provisions of this code. An existing

building plus additions shall comply with the height and area provisions of Chapter 5. Portions

of the structure not altered and not affected by the alteration are not required to comply with

the code requirements for a new structure.

IMO (not being a business owner of course), ...the existing restroom in the rear of the tenant

space would not have to be relocated upfront, if the occ. groups are the same (former salon=

"B" occ. group vs. caterering business="B" occ. group), HOWEVER, this is a business decision

by the potential tenant space leassor. Do they want to provide a nice, new ADA / Accessible

restroom upfront for their customers / visitors to use, or would they rather have them

traveling through their Kitchen areas, with employees giving them the "evil eye" and the

"I know where & what your going to do, possibly with the associated sounds" look?

Been there and done that! Also, what happens if said customers / clients simply cannot hold

it in until they reach the restroom in the rear of the space. Mucho embarrasing accidente !

If they intend to be a business owner, regardless of the location, they have to know that

some, maybe even a lot, of considerations AND accomodations will be required to establish

themselves. Relocating the restroom upfront may be one of those accomodations to their

target market.

..or seek another more favorable location!

.
 
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I'm having trouble finding this in the Florida Building Code. This is what I found:

303.1 General.

Except as provided by Section 301.2 or this section, alterations to any building or structure shall comply with the requirements of the Florida Building Code, Building for new construction. Alterations shall be such that the existing building or structure is no less conforming with the provisions of the Florida Building Code, Building than the existing building or structure was prior to the alteration.
 
toehead93,

It sounds as though the potential tenant space leassor, in your question, will not

be altering anything. Is this the case?

.
 
All they are adding is an oven for baking and movable counters and shelving estimated to be $1,500. The plan reviewer says there is no exeption in the code to not prpvide public access to the toilet and says we have 2 options. !- move the toilet to the front or 2- provide access to rear of building to toilet with less than 500 feet travel distance.
 
Then, it sounds like the potential tenant space leassor will need to make a decision.

;)

.
 
Can they put a partition in the storage room to create a corridor? If not, a code modification to allow access to an existing toilet through an existing storage room (allowing a condition that complied when originally built but was later prohibited to remain) would be appropriate.
 
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