How many accessible compartments does an office restroom need?

Section 213.3.1 requires at least one compartment built to Section 604.8.1. Once the room has six or more toilet compartments, or the urinals and water closets together total six or more fixtures, it also owes an ambulatory accessible compartment, which takes a side wall grab bar on both sides. The count comes from the fixtures in that room, so it is the same on a small floor as on a large one with the same fixture count.

Is touchless worth it in a Class A office restroom?

For soap and faucets, usually yes: tenants read sensors as current, and a sensor removes the operating force question in Section 309.4, which requires operable parts to work with one hand, without tight grasping, pinching, or twisting, at 5 pounds maximum. The cost is service. Sensor units need either power at the deck or a battery change on a schedule, so decide who owns that before it becomes a work order queue.

What mounting heights should go on the building standard sheet?

Start with the ones the Standards fix. Section 308.2.1 puts an unobstructed high forward reach at 48 in. maximum and a low forward reach at 15 in. minimum above the floor. Section 603.3 caps a mirror over a lavatory at 40 in. to the bottom edge of the reflecting surface, and a mirror that is not over a lavatory at 35 in. Section 609.4 puts the top of a grab bar gripping surface 33 to 36 in. above the finish floor. Publish those with the model numbers so every floor is set the same way.

How do we keep one finish across floors when the work is phased?

Freeze the model number and the finish code, not just the brand, and keep them on the standard sheet with the heights. Matte black and satin both look right in a modern office, but they are different orders and different service parts, so pick one and hold it. When a phase lands a year later, ask us to confirm the model is still current and to name the replacement in the same family and finish if it is not.

Can you quote from a tenant improvement accessory schedule?

Yes. Send the accessory schedule, the compartment layout, and the finish you are matching, and we will price it line by line, flag anything discontinued, and provide cut sheets for the submittal. Request a quote and tell us the phasing dates, because a restroom that has to open with the floor is a different order than one that can wait for a lead time.

Office Restroom Package: Core and TI Takeoff

An office restroom gets bought twice: once as the base building standard, then again on every tenant improvement that opens a ceiling. This page lists the Division 10 lines a core restroom or a TI needs, what sets each count, and which choices have to match the floors above and below. The abuse a school restroom takes is not the problem here, so finish, mounting depth, and coordination are where the money and the punch list go.

Written for Architects and interior designers on a tenant improvement, GCs buying out a core and shell restroom, and property managers holding one building standard across floors. 18 of 27 categories can ship from the catalog today; the rest we quote. What we supply, by CSI section

Toilet compartments and screens

Finish carries the room. The accessible compartment count comes from the fixture count, so it does not change when the floor plate does.

Toilet compartments and screens: line items, what drives each count, and how to buy
Line item	What drives it	Supply
Stainless steel compartments	The Class A line: satin hides fingerprints, polished is for an accent bank of compartments, and neither finish rusts.	Quoted
Phenolic compartments	Where the design wants a solid color, a woodgrain, or a full height door, with hardware mounting strength HDPE cannot match.	Quoted
Powder coated steel compartments	The base building default on a dry office floor, and the easiest material to touch up after a tenant moves furniture through.	Quoted
Wheelchair accessible compartment, one per toilet room minimum	Section 213.3.1 requires at least one, and Section 604.8.1.1 sets the clear width plus the deeper dimension a floor mounted water closet needs.	Quoted
Ambulatory accessible compartment	Added once the room has six or more compartments, or six or more urinals and water closets combined, and it carries a side wall grab bar on both sides.	Quoted
Urinal screens	One between urinals, in the same material and finish as the compartments so the room does not read as two orders.	Quoted

Accessories at the lavatory deck

One finish, one manufacturer where the schedule allows it, and the same model number on every floor. Mixed finishes are the most common punch item in a TI restroom.

Accessories at the lavatory deck: line items, what drives each count, and how to buy
Line item	What drives it	Supply
Mirror per lavatory	Section 603.3 caps the bottom edge of the reflecting surface at 40 in. above the floor over a lavatory, so the frame height is the part you get to choose.	Order online
Touchless soap dispenser, deck or wall mounted	One per lavatory. A sensor unit takes the activating force question off the table, and a manual valve has to stay at or under the 5 pound limit in Section 309.4.	Order online
Sensor faucet to match the dispenser	Ordered with the dispenser so spout height, body shape, and finish match on the deck rather than nearly matching.	Order online
Recessed towel dispenser and waste receptacle unit	One opening does both jobs, and recessing it is how the cabinet stays inside the 4 in. projection limit in Section 307.2.	Order online
Hand dryer	Pick the quietest unit the design will accept, mount it within the forward reach range in Section 308.2.1, and use the same model building wide.	Order online
Shelf at the lavatory	Gives a phone and a coffee cup somewhere dry to sit, which is the difference between a shelf and a wet counter.	Order online

Inside the compartment

Inside the compartment: line items, what drives each count, and how to buy
Line item	What drives it	Supply
Toilet tissue dispenser	One per compartment, and Section 604.7 fixes how far in front of the water closet it sits and keeps the outlet clear of the grab bar.	Order online
Grab bars, side wall and rear wall	Two per accessible compartment, with the top of the gripping surface 33 to 36 in. above the finish floor under Section 609.4.	Order online
Sanitary napkin disposal	One per compartment in a women's or all gender restroom, and a partition mounted dual access unit serves two compartments from one cutout.	Order online
Combination tissue, seat cover, and disposal unit	Where the building standard wants one recessed cabinet instead of three surface items on a finished partition.	Order online
Coat hook	One per compartment door, and inside the reach ranges in the accessible compartment.	Order online
Napkin and tampon vendor	Free vend is now a normal tenant amenity, and it keeps a coin mechanism off the service route.	Order online

Making it a building standard

Every line here is a decision made once and repeated floor by floor. Write it down, because the installer on the last floor is not the installer from the first.

Making it a building standard: line items, what drives each count, and how to buy
Line item	What drives it	Supply
One finish across every accessory	Satin stainless on dispensers, grab bars, hooks, and mirror frames, so a unit replaced years later does not read as a patch.	Quoted
Recessed or surface decision, wall by wall	Recessed needs wall depth the demolition may not give you, and a surface unit has to stay inside the 4 in. projection limit in Section 307.2.	Order online
Mounting height schedule for the whole building	Set the heights once against Sections 308.2.1, 603.3, and 604.7, then hand the same sheet to every floor's installer.	Quoted
Baby changing station in the family or single user restroom	One per family or single user restroom, mounted so the release stays inside the reach range and the open table does not block the clear floor space.	Order online
Free standing waste receptacle by the door	Catches what the deck unit misses, and it is the easiest line to standardize across floors because it needs no wall work.	Order online

Life safety and the corridor

Life safety and the corridor: line items, what drives each count, and how to buy
Line item	What drives it	Supply
Fire extinguishers	Count comes from travel distance and hazard class under NFPA 10, so a long floor plate can need more than one per core.	Quoted
Recessed extinguisher cabinets	A cabinet in a finished corridor is recessed, because a surface box has to stay inside the 4 in. projection limit in Section 307.2.	Quoted
Grade 1 door closers	One per restroom and corridor door, adjusted so the door still meets the opening force limit in Section 404.2.9 once the vestibule is finished.	Quoted
Panic exit devices	Only where occupant load or a stair door requires them, which on an office floor is usually the stairwell and not the suite entry.	Quoted

Conference rooms and shared spaces

The same TI buyout usually carries the boards, and they are ordered from the same submittal package.

Conference rooms and shared spaces: line items, what drives each count, and how to buy
Line item	What drives it	Supply
Glass dry erase boards	The finish most Class A conference rooms specify, on standoffs, with a magnetic backer only if the room will actually hold paper.	Order online
Porcelain steel whiteboards	For training rooms and any board used daily, where ghosting is the failure mode that gets a board replaced.	Order online
Tackboards for break rooms and corridors	Where required notices have to be posted, counted per posting location rather than per room.	Order online

Janitor closet and consumables

Janitor closet and consumables: line items, what drives each count, and how to buy
Line item	What drives it	Supply
Mop and broom holder with utility shelf	One per closet, and it is the line a tenant improvement schedule forgets most often.	Order online
Paper to match the dispensers	Lock the paper to the dispenser models before the tenant's janitorial vendor arrives with a different roll.	Quoted
Disinfectants and floor care	Sized to the nightly route for the occupied floors, not to the building's gross area.	Quoted

What the code requires

How many accessible compartments a restroom owes
Section 213.3.1
Where toilet compartments are provided, at least one toilet compartment shall comply with 604.8.1 . In addition to the compartment required to comply with 604.8.1 , at least one compartment shall comply with 604.8.2 where six or more toilet compartments are provided, or where the combination of urinals and water closets totals six or more fixtures.
Source
Protrusion limit in a corridor or circulation path
Section 307.2
Objects with leading edges more than 27 inches (685 mm) and not more than 80 inches (2030 mm) above the finish floor or ground shall protrude 4 inches (100 mm) maximum horizontally into the circulation path.
Source
Force to operate a manual dispenser or faucet
Section 309.4
Operable parts shall be operable with one hand and shall not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist. The force required to activate operable parts shall be 5 pounds (22.2 N) maximum.
Source
Unobstructed forward reach
Section 308.2.1
Where a forward reach is unobstructed, the high forward reach shall be 48 inches (1220 mm) maximum and the low forward reach shall be 15 inches (380 mm) minimum above the finish floor or ground.
Source
Mirror height above and away from a lavatory
Section 603.3
Mirrors located above lavatories or countertops shall be installed with the bottom edge of the reflecting surface 40 inches (1015 mm) maximum above the finish floor or ground. Mirrors not located above lavatories or countertops shall be installed with the bottom edge of the reflecting surface 35 inches (890 mm) maximum above the finish floor or ground.
Source
Grab bar height
Section 609.4
Grab bars shall be installed in a horizontal position, 33 inches (840 mm) minimum and 36 inches (915 mm) maximum above the finish floor measured to the top of the gripping surface, except that at water closets for children’s use complying with 604.9 , grab bars shall be installed in a horizontal position 18 inches (455 mm) minimum and 27 inches (685 mm) maximum above the finish floor measured to the top of the gripping surface. The height of the lower grab bar on the back wall of a bathtub shall comply with 607.4.1.1 or 607.4.2.1 .
Source

Office Restroom Package: common questions

The base building package sets the standard: compartment material and finish, accessory manufacturer and finish, mounting heights, and recessed or surface for each wall. A tenant improvement package repeats that standard inside whatever the demolition leaves behind, which usually means substituting a semi recessed or surface unit where the wall is too shallow to recess, in the same finish and the same family.

Office restroom package: the Division 10 buyout for a core restroom or a tenant improvement