Tag Archives: ADA

Everybody Poops, Everybody Toots, But We Like to Do it In Style

Imagine a group of kids ranging in age from four to ten years old. A wave of giggles starts in the back corner while you’re teaching, oblivious to the apparent two-dimensional offense. Yep. Somebody passed gas, or as one of the kids will inevitably shout, “He farted!” causing the rest of the group to erupt in laughter almost as violently as Mt. Vesuvius reigned down terror on Pompeii.

Hopefully, most of us have grown out of the giggles, but we have to do what we have to do. The thing is, we like to do it in nice places where we feel safe and clean.

Selling a restroom addition or upgrade to a home owner usually isn’t an insurmountable obstacle. The fact of the matter is that upgrading or adding facilities increases a home’s value. That’s money in the bank.

“According to RealEstate.com, a new full bathroom adds around 20 percent to a home’s value.” ~ Tony Guerra, “How Much Does a New Bathroom Increase the Value of a House?“

From pink marble bathrooms to full-spa accommodations, luxury bathrooms are not new. Not only can you buy a multi-function toilet from Toto for about $6,500, there’s even a water closet (that’s construction jargon for toilet) made out of gold that costs around $5 million. Now that’s a throne!

Homes, we get. That’s where we spend a lot of our time primping and prepping for the day or relaxing at night. But what about retail establishments and workplaces? Continue reading →

ADA Compliance Doesn’t Have to Be a Nightmare

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You wake up in the dark hours of the night in a cold sweat reeling from the nightmare. You’ve been in a car accident and now you’re assigned to a wheelchair. Will you be able to keep your job?

For thousands of Americans this isn’t just a nightmare; it’s their reality. Whether permanent or temporary, disabilities can become a challenge in the workplace. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has instituted a number a code reforms that continuously evolve to meet a variety of needs.

You may not be aware that these codes affect your building from the required path-of-travel from the city street through the parking lot to the landing at your door, from the type of doorknobs to the type and placement of switches and so on.

No way they have 60" turnaround.

A photo posted by Tom Riggins (@rigginsconst) on Apr 10, 2013 at 8:24pm PDT

Restrooms, for example, happen to be a small room that are heavily affected by these codes. Even if the tile countertops are beautiful and the floors are polished, their height might not be code-compliant or the mirror may be hung too high. You see, it’s not the beauty that counts, it’s how they measure up.

For instance, if your warehouse has a set of single-use restrooms that haven’t been upgraded since 1980, they may not be large enough to comply with ADA/HC accessibility. Generally, single-use restrooms must be a minimum of 6′-7″ x 6′-9″ if the door swings out or 6′-7″ x 7′-10″ if the door swings in.

Because we specialize in design-build, we are accustomed to presenting solutions that will both put you into compliance with code and meet your aesthetic and functional needs.

For further consultation on your individual project, please give Tom a call at (714) 953-6333.