Bathing rooms: showers, tubs and transfer spaces

Chapter 6: Plumbing Elements and Facilities Bathing Rooms Can bathing room doors swing into turning space and fixture clearances? Bathroom doors can swing into the turning space. They cannot swing into the clearance required at plumbing fixtures, except at single user bathing rooms where unobstructed wheelchair space is provided in the room beyond the arc of the door swing (§603.2.3, Ex. 2). In addition, doors can swing into fixture clearances at single-occupant bathing rooms accessed only through a private office and not for common use if the swing of the door can be reversed (§603.2.3, Ex. 1). Must bathing rooms be identified by the International Symbol of Accessibility (ISA)? Labeling accessible bathing rooms with the ISA is required only where inaccessible bathing rooms are present. At least 5% of single user portable bathing units of the same type in each cluster must comply and be identified by the ISA unless all are accessible (§213.2., Ex. 3, §216.8). In alterations where existing bathing rooms do not comply, directional signs with the ISA must be provided to indicate the location of the nearest accessible bathing room which must be labeled by the ISA (§216.8). In transient lodging facilities, can roll-in showers be provided in those accessible guest rooms not required to have them? A specified portion of accessible guest rooms in transient lodging facilities with over 50 guest rooms must have a roll-in shower with a folding seat (§224.2). This shower design is required for transient lodging facilities because it affords users the option to roll in or to transfer to a seat. To provide additional bathing options, the Standards specify transfer showers and/ or bathtubs for the other guest rooms required to comply, which are referred to as “Rooms Without Roll-in Showers” (Table 224.2). Roll-in showers are not specified for these other guest rooms, but the Standards do permit alternatives to prescribed requirements that result in “substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability” under the provision for “equivalent facilitation” (§103). It is important that departures from the types of bathing fixtures specified for guest rooms (roll-in showers versus transfer showers or bathtubs) under equivalent facilitation provide people with disabilities an equal or greater level of choice. For example, like the required roll-in showers, any additional roll-in showers provided instead of a transfer shower or bathtub should be equipped with seats. Further, offering a choice of standard and alternate roll-in showers will also enhance options, as each has its own benefits; the alternate roll-in shower with a seat is similar to a transfer shower by providing a grab bar opposite the seat that is within reach, while the standard roll-in shower provides easier maneuvering into the shower because the entry is as wide as the compartment. Additionally, accessible guest rooms must be dispersed among the various classes of guest rooms and provide choices in amenities comparable to those afforded other guests (§224.5). If one type of bathing fixture is provided in a class of guest room, that same type of fixture should be provided in the accessible guest room in that class to ensure an equivalent level of choice in amenities. 38