Toilet room in house used for commercial building

[Mr. Inspector]

My 3rd party company just took over a new township. We found out there was a S1 addition that was finished without a permit or inspections. It's a real s**t show. Apparently, the last inspection company gave them a permit right before they went out of business. The 2,400 sq ft addition to a S1 approved building plans were just a shell, missing a lot of requirements including all the plumbing, mechanical, electrical, energy and accessibility requirements. The building is already being used to put decals on vehicles. I went there yesterday and almost everything you can think of was wrong. One of the main problems is there is no toilet room. There also is a house next to it on the same lot.

To make things worse the structure was made out of steel, it looks some kind of kit, but not like a pole building. It was sprayed with foam insulation on the inside so none of the connectors can be seen.

What i need to know now is they are asking me about putting in an accessible toilet room in the house for it. I never came across anything like this. Would the code allow a toilet room in a house serve a commercial building if it complies to the IPC and accessibility requirements?

 

[Paul Sweet]

Is the house owned by the same company as the shell and used by that company for offices or something related to what they do in the shell?

 

[steveray]

We have always allowed them within 500'

[P] 2902.3.3​

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).

 

[TheCommish]

if the permit was for a shell, it may be possible to inspect as shell, then the tenant fit out requires a new permit for the interior work.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

The code allows toilet rooms to be located up to 500 feet horizontally and up to one story vertically from the area to be served by the toilet room(s). Our state building inspector has determined that this can apply to toilet rooms in a separate building on the same site. However, this would also require that the toilet room be accessible and that the route of travel from the new space to the toilet room must also be accessible.

I don't agree with this interpretation, but in this state the authority to interpret the code is granted to the state building inspector, so that is now the law of the land (in this state).

 

[Mr. Inspector]

Is the house owned by the same company as the shell and used by that company for offices or something related to what they do in the shell?

The house is owned by the same person. The front of the house is used as an office. The office probably does not have a C. O. as is usually the case around here.
Not sure what to put on the C. O. for the toilet room in the house when done.

 

[jar546]

The house is owned by the same person. The front of the house is used as an office. The office probably does not have a C. O. as is usually the case around here.
Not sure what to put on the C. O. for the toilet room in the house when done.

If the house restroom is accessible and there is an accessible route, you can put that the restroom must remain accessible on the stipulations section of the CO.