Restroom for Temporary Office

[RodrigoTheReveiwer]

If a church is planning to bring in a temporary office trailer and have it adjacent to the existing building, would they have to provide a restroom in the temporary office trailer? Or would the restrooms inside the existing building suffice? Texas code states that restrooms must be provided for employees even if they are inside a temporary place of employment. However, in this case, restrooms are provided, but they are inside the existing building, not the temporary office.

 

[Yikes]

Where is the project located? More specifically, this helps us to know the applicable building and plumbing codes for your project.
Your profile says you are in Texas, but we don't know where the building is, and codes can vary depending on location.

 

[RLGA]

Are the restrooms within a 500-foot path-of-travel distance? If so, then additional toilet facilities would likely not be required. However, does the temporary office space increase the occupant load enough to require additional plumbing fixtures? If so, you may be required to provide additional toilet facilities. If the temporary office is to accommodate the relocation of existing employees for some reason (e.g., renovation of the existing offices), then additional plumbing fixtures would likely not be required as long as the existing toilet facilities are within the 500-foot distance.

 

[RodrigoTheReveiwer]

Where is the project located? More specifically, this helps us to know the applicable building and plumbing codes for your project.
Your profile says you are in Texas, but we don't know where the building is, and codes can vary depending on location.

My apologies; the building codes adopted by the City are the 2015 International Codes.

 

[RodrigoTheReveiwer]

Are the restrooms within a 500-foot path-of-travel distance? If so, then additional toilet facilities would likely not be required. However, does the temporary office space increase the occupant load enough to require additional plumbing fixtures? If so, you may be required to provide additional toilet facilities. If the temporary office is to accommodate the relocation of existing employees for some reason (e.g., renovation of the existing offices), then additional plumbing fixtures would likely not be required as long as the existing toilet facilities are within the 500-foot distance.

I am waiting for a site plan that provides this information. I assume they are within the 500 foot path of travel distance.

Also, from my understanding, they are working on plans for a new church building. They are looking at a temporary office trailer as they have run out of space in the existing building.

 

[Tim Mailloux]

Are the restrooms within a 500-foot path-of-travel distance? If so, then additional toilet facilities would likely not be required. However, does the temporary office space increase the occupant load enough to require additional plumbing fixtures? If so, you may be required to provide additional toilet facilities. If the temporary office is to accommodate the relocation of existing employees for some reason (e.g., renovation of the existing offices), then additional plumbing fixtures would likely not be required as long as the existing toilet facilities are within the 500-foot distance.

wouldn't a 20% increase in occupant load be required to trigger any need to increase plumbing fixtures?

 

[Yikes]

I don't know which Texas jurisdiction still uses the 2015 codes as their current code, but for sake of keeping the discussion moving forward here's the 2015 Dallas Plumbing Code, which is based on the 2015 International Plumbing Code:

https://up.codes/viewer/dallas/ipc-2015/chapter/4/fixtures-faucets-and-fixture-fittings#403.3.3

403.3.3 Location of Toilet Facilities in Occupancies Other Than Malls​

In occupancies other than covered and open mall buildings, the required public and employee toilet facilities shall be located not more than one story above or below the space required to be provided with toilet facilities, and the path of travel to such facilities shall not exceed a distance of 500 feet (152 m).
Exception: The location and maximum distances of travel to required employee facilities in factory and industrial occupancies are permitted to exceed that required by this section, provided that the location and maximum distance of travel are approved.

 

[Yikes]

wouldn't a 20% increase in occupant load be required to trigger any need to increase plumbing fixtures?

Not sure where the 20% rule-of-thumb comes from.

IMO if the temporary offices are in provided for staff who were displaced due to remodel of their existing offices, and the restrooms that serve those existing offices are still functional and within 500' of the trailers, then there should be no need to calculate for new plumbing facilities.

If the trailers are providing additional office space, resulting in an increase in occupant onsite, then in theory you could require a plumbing analysis per IPC table 403.1.
As a practical matter, for most of the church facilities I've designed it is the weekend church assembly use, not the weekday employee office use that drives the fixture count. So if the trailers are within 500' of the restrooms used by the sanctuary, then it probably doesn't need a formal calculation to demonstrate compliance.

 

[Tim Mailloux]

Not sure where the 20% rule-of-thumb comes from.

older versions of the IEBC had this requirement, looks like it was removed in the 2021 IEBC