ADA compliance is a crucial aspect of any business. If your business isn’t easily accessible to people with mobility challenges, you’re not only missing out on business, you are breaking the law. In essence, ADA requirements are a set of guidelines that ensures people with disabilities can quickly, easily, and efficiently access and interact with your building. This includes accessible parking, entrances, facilities and more. Of all the ADA requirements, restrooms are often considered the most complex to navigate. In today’s blog, our concrete paving company, Black Bear Paving & Grading, talks about five common signs your restroom is not ADA compliant.
5 Signs Your Restroom Isn’t ADA Compliant
ADA compliance is a crucial aspect of any business. If your business isn’t easily accessible to people with mobility challenges, you’re not only missing out on business, you are breaking the law. In essence, ADA requirements are a set of guidelines that ensures people with disabilities can quickly, easily, and efficiently access and interact with your building. This includes accessible parking, entrances, facilities and more. Of all the ADA requirements, restrooms are often considered the most complex to navigate. In today’s blog, our concrete paving company, Black Bear Paving & Grading, talks about five common signs your restroom is not ADA compliant.
Need help creating an ADA compliant business environment? Ask our team at Black Bear Paving & Grading in San Jose about our ADA compliance services!
Toilets
One of the most common ADA compliance mistakes businesses make in their restrooms have to do with toilet placement. Business owners must ensure that the top of the seat is between 17” and 19” above the floor. It is also important that your ADA compliant toilet must be between 16” and 18” from the centerline. This is to make sure that the toilet is the correct height and distance away from the sidewall to accommodate wheelchairs. It is also required that there are grab bars on the sides of the toilet that are 42” long and 33” – 36” above the floor. This ensures that someone in a wheelchair can safely remove themselves from the chair and back to the chair using the grab bars.
Additionally, ADA compliance requires there to be enough room for a wheelchair to properly maneuver within the stall. This means that there must be at least a 60” diameter area where a chair could turn around and easily enter and exit.
Sinks
Similar to toilets, sinks also have certain placement requirements to meet ADA standards. Sinks can not be mounted any higher than 34” above the ground. They also need to have enough room for the knees of someone in a wheelchair. ADA requirements list that there needs to be a 27” tall by 30” wide space with 11” – 25” depth to accommodate proper knee clearance.
The water faucets need to be easily operated with one hand. Common water faucets used to meet ADA compliance include levers, push down, touch-sensitive, or motion sensors. Users should be able to operate the faucet with only one hand, exerting no more than five pounds of pressure, and not need to tightly grip the handle or lever in order to operate the sink.
Room Size
For smaller restrooms, there is a minimum size you must achieve in order to meet ADA guidelines. Much like the required size for a restroom stall, the smallest a restroom can be while still meeting ADA compliance is 60” of uninterrupted space. Essentially, if there is a 60” diameter circle that a wheelchair could maneuver within in your business’ restroom, then your restroom meets the size requirement. It’s worth noting that the door can not swing into this circle of space and it must be at least 56” away from the rear wall.
Need help making your building more ADA complaint? Contact our concrete paving experts at Black Bear Paving & Grading in San Jose today.
Doors
For some people with disabilities, it is tough to exert enough force to get something to work. Things like heavy doors, hard-to-twist operation knobs, and more are an inconvenience for some but nearly impossible for others. That’s why ADA compliance requires doors to be easily opened with one hand, with minimal force, open to 90 degrees, and be at least 32” wide.
Amenities
The same ease-of-use principles and themes carry onto other restroom amenities like soap dispensers, paper towel dispensers, hand dryers, and wastebaskets. All buttons and operations must be able to be used one-handed and with less than five pounds of force. Also, nothing is to be mounted any higher than 48”. This way everyone can reach the restroom amenities they need without struggling.
Black Bear Paving & Grading in San Jose
Here at Black Bear Paving & Grading in San Jose, we understand that ADA compliances can be confusing and difficult to implement. But we also know it doesn’t mean businesses can ignore ADA requirements just because they can be complex. For comprehensive and more detailed ADA compliance information, be sure to visit www.ada.gov.
Our paving company uses our concrete paving expertise paired with our extensive knowledge of ADA requirements to provide useful services to both existing structures and new builds. If you notice that your building does not meet some or all of the above requirements, it is a sign that your business is not completely ADA compliant.
When you need help with ADA requirements on projects like parking lot structures, wheelchair ramps, entrances and more, Black Bear Paving & Grading in San Jose is the team you can trust. If your business is in need of concrete paving to meet ADA guidelines, contact our concrete paving team today for an estimate!