Minimum Lavatory clearance

[Darren Emery]

ADAAG contains the following sentence:

Provide a clearance of at least

29 in (735 mm) above the finish floor to the

bottom of the apron. Knee and toe clearance

shall comply with Fig. 31.

As far as I can find - ANSI A117 only requires 27" knee clearance at the lav, not 29.

Can't find a reference to 29" for clearance in the "new" ADAAG either.

Any idea where the 29" requirement came from, and/or why it has been removed?

Very frustrating enforcing an "old" requirement that's apparently abandoned, but still on the books!

 

[JBI]

Re: Minimum Lavatory clearance

Darren - Are you asking about ADAAG or ANSI? You jump back and forth in your OP... :roll:

 

[Gene Boecker]

Re: Minimum Lavatory clearance

That's right.

The 29" apron provisions have been removed from the design guidelines. If you check out the 2004 ADAAG (ADA/ABA) draft document, you'll see that it is teh same as the 2003 A117.1 - the 29 inch apron provision is gone.

In the interim, you need to address the more restrictive - so the 29" apron provision stands as the design limit. But, if you're enforcing the building code, the 27" limitation is all you can enforce unless the Chapter 11 provisions have been altered.

 

[Darren Emery]

Re: Minimum Lavatory clearance

Darren - Are you asking about ADAAG or ANSI? You jump back and forth in your OP... :roll:

Both actually - we're one of the few that enforce the ADAAG, but have also adopted the 2006 IBC. So - I currently enforce an old number (29" to apron), as Gene correctly summarized.

Don't like this situation - the new ADA, ANSI, and common sense tells me the number should be 27", but an old document requires 29.

The apron number has always seemed odd to me - how deep is the apron anyway? If 27 is OK immediately behind a 1/2 thick apron, why is it not OK right at the apron itself? Oh wait, apparently 27 is OK, cuz they changed the ADAAG!!!!