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Pluming count for A-2 occupancy within R-2

T

tuzi

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Jun 14, 2016
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45
Location
Colorado
I have a floor level R-2, 28 units and an A-2, 1876 sf. amenity space. The A-2 area generates 126 occupant loads. Per the Plumbing code in NJ for A-2, I'll need 1.26 water closets for each of the sexes, which round up to 2. It seems like I need to provide 2 stalls for each sex. It seems a bit overkilled since everyone using this level has at least a bathroom within their units. I can't find any exception to reduce the water closet counts, though. Any thoughts? Thanks!

View attachment 13091
 
Unless New Jersey has amended it, you can substitute a urinal for one of the male water closets, if that's any help. On the other hand, you arrived at the 126 person occupant load by using the factor of one person per 15 square feet of floor area, but that's based on tables and chairs. Is this a general purpose assembly room in something like a retirement home? What's to say there won't ever be a function for which the setup is just rows of chairs, in which case the occupant load would be 1876 / 7 = 268.

Also, you are supposing that the people using this room will all be residents. What's the nature of the building? I know of retirement homes in my area that rent out their meeting rooms to outside groups, which negates the argument that the people using the room all have their own facilities in their apartments.

Again unless New Jersey amended it, the code allows for variations from the calculated occupant load if the applicant provides acceptable justification to the code official. Have you discussed this with the AHJ?
 
You do not state how many stories there are or on which story the Group A-2 occupancy is located. Assuming the building is more than two stories in height, travel to a restroom cannot be located more than one story above or below the story that requires toilet facilities. Also, the travel distance to a toilet facility cannot exceed 500 feet. If any of the residential units are beyond these limitations, then you must provide toilet facilities.

Is the Group A-2 occupancy open to the public or usable by residents' guests? If open to the public, there is no gray area—provide the required toilet facilities. If only usable by residents and their guests, then you may get a code modification for reducing the number of fixtures, but definitely not eliminating the toilet facilities.

Consider this: if you were a resident or a guest of a resident and needed to use the restroom, would you appreciate a restroom nearby, or would you be perturbed having to return to your or your friend's unit to use the toilet?
 
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