Water fountains required in a dental office?

[Mr. Inspector]

ADA is a civil rights law and is not enforced by the local inspector. You will not need any drinking fountain if there is a occupation of less than 15 persons, but if you have one you must have a high-low or one high and one low.

 

[ADAguy]

Hold up, has anyone considered whether this a health department requirement (specific to a dental office) vs a building department requirement?

 

[Jmb]

If this is near Pittsburgh and in Allegheny County, plumbing requirements and fixture counts may fall under the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) Plumbing Division. They have the authority of jurisdiction over plumbing as per their “Article XV”.


If ACHD requires the water fountain, then it would need to be a high/low non-protruding unit as per the IBC 2015, 1109.5

 

[BayArchitect]

Late to this party. Hopefully, your architect was able to show your occupancy load was 15 or less. We just did so on a 1900sf dental buildout. There are detailed ways to demonstrate this. If your architect has ever done restaurant projects or “assembly” spaces, he should know the work arounds. IE) fixed seating (dental chair), circulation, etc. Your reception lobby will be the biggest load most likely and you can deduct certain spaces out of the calculation. Use Luttrell Architecture in Tampa next time.

 

[Msradell]

Late to this party. Hopefully, your architect was able to show your occupancy load was 15 or less. We just did so on a 1900sf dental buildout. There are detailed ways to demonstrate this. If your architect has ever done restaurant projects or “assembly” spaces, he should know the work arounds. IE) fixed seating (dental chair), circulation, etc. Your reception lobby will be the biggest load most likely and you can deduct certain spaces out of the calculation. Use Luttrell Architecture in Tampa next time.

Considering you reply to a thread that was last posted in 2017, I hope he has a problem solved by now!

 

[Mr. Inspector]

I'm in eastern PA and I always required drinking fountains including dentist offices if there is a occupation of less than 15 persons in all occupancies except U and restaurants. Of course they can always appeal my decision. The biggest complainers I had about this are for storage building which have the required plumbing facilities in a office next door.

 

[SCBO1]

We have had two dental offices go in and one tenant dental expansion in the last five years. All three have shown thier displeasure having to install a HiLow water fountain. Thier beef is that the patient after treatment will sometimes go to the fountain and wash thier mouth out and spit in the fountain. This is sometimes in front of awaiting patients depending on the location of the fountain.

They have colluded amungst themseleves to request a bottle cooler or to provide small refregerated water bottles in the waiting areas for thier patients. I recently was asked if they could install a bottle filler which I first declined thinking not everybody carries a bottle which may be considered discriminating to most of the patrons and the public refering them to ADA requirements.

 

[mtlogcabin]

As amended by the state
r. On an individual case-by-case basis the building official may approve an alternative source of potable drinking water, such as, but not limited to, a bottled water cooler, in lieu of a drinking fountain.

A lot of drinking fountains have been shut down since covid and are still not operational in medical facilities.

 

[ADAguy]

The point is, only if you provide it then it must comply. ADA is not a code.
Please tell us however that you are on the ground floor?