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How Many Toilets Are Required In a Building

The IBC (International Building Code) and the IPC (International Plumbing Code) provide prescriptive requirements to calculating the minimum number of plumbing facilities needed in a building, including toilets, sinks, & drinking fountains. 

Calculate Occupant Load

First you need to calculate the number of occupants for a space. The occupant load table in chapter 10 of the building code show the square feet per occupant based on the function of the space. Please see the table below:

So, let go through an example of a bar/ tasting room that is 1,000 SF.

If there is loose, non-fixed furniture, we would use the occupant load factor above of 15 net sf.

The difference between net & gross is that net sf does not include unusable areas such as wall depths, hallways, etc…whereas gross sf includes all areas of the building. If you have a fixed bar in your tasting room, that area can be discounted from the net sf. 

1,000 / 15 = 67 occupants. Simple as that! Of course, these calculations can get much more involved when you begin to have multiple functions of space, etc. Hint… the back of the bar where customers do not go can actually be counted as a business occupancy, which is a different factor of 100 sf per person!

Calculate Minimum Number of Plumbing Fixtures

Now we have determined that we have 67 people. Lets figure out how many bathrooms that equates to. 

We go to Table 2902.1 in the IBC (or Table 403.1 in the IPC) to resolve the minimum plumbing fixtures required. The table takes into consideration the occupancy, and a more descriptive use of the space for these purposes. Check out the chart below:

For a bar, we would simply go with the A-2, Bar category. The Water Closets (Toilets) are required to be 1 fixture per 40 people, of each sex. So, We have 33.5 Males, and 33.5 Females. 33.5/40 is .84, so we are required to have 1 toilet for each sex. In most cases, you are required to have separate facilities for each sex (i.e. a separate mens room and womens room), but there are a few exceptions. If there are less than 15 occupants, a shared bathroom can be used. 

The lavatories (sinks) would be 33.5/75= .45, which would also just round up to 1 sink for each sex. 

The occupant loads and bathrooms can be a critical consideration when designing or remodeling a facility. If you are on the cusp of going over 1 toilet for each sex, that could mean totally different and larger bathrooms. About 80 occupants (40 male and 40 female) would be the threshold to stay under to keep it at 1 toilet for each sex. That translates to approximately 12oo sf for a tasting room area. 

Written By:

Matthew Taylor-Rennert

Programming Your Distillery

One of the first steps in the planning and design of a Distillery is Programming. It is an important process that will help you define the space you need, or want to have to achieve your goals as a business. 

Architectural programming is a structured research and problem-solving process used to identify, examine, and elaborate upon the various needs underlying a design project. The architectural program is the foundation for a creative, meaningful, and – ultimately – useful architectural solution.

– www.iammea.org/ggingras/cad115/arch_program.htm

Think broad brush strokes. First, we list out all the components that take up space in the facility. 

For example:

Bathrooms
Tasting Room
Back Bar
Gift Shop/ Merchandise
Bar Storage
Receiving
Grain Storage
Mashing
Milling
Fermentation
Stills
Barrel Storage
Bulk Storage
Bottling
Finished Products
Lab Area
Mechanical Room

A next helpful step is to figure out what adjacencies and relationships all these components have to one another. A useful tool is an adjacency diagram, shown below:

http://haitiutk.squarespace.com/haiti_utk_public/tag/adjacency-matrix

Another important aspect of programming is applying approximate square footages to the components. This can be easier said than done, but we can often base SF off of similar built projects. 

Taking the areas, components, and adjacencies to the next level, we can create a bubble diagram, with some examples seen below. This gets us closer to a real floor plan, without yet actually laying out walls and hard spaces. 


pinterest.com/pin/508484614160417859/?lp=true

All these tools can help inform the successful start to a distillery design, and bring up any potential issues that may lie ahead, so we can prepare for them. 

A common challenge we often come across is the mechanical room. The mech room wants to be near the stills, yet also hidden. The stills want to be near the tasting room for guests to look at. It often creates a situation that can often be a design hurdle! But with proper planning, it can be done well. 

Written By:

Matthew Taylor-Rennert

Distilling Craft: Ep 021

Ch-ch-changes w/ Colleen Moore from Dalkita in Englewood, CO

Creative Commons License
Distilling Craft: Ch-ch-changes by Dalkita Architecture & Construction is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Join the new listener club on www.dalkita.com/shownotes to be notified about our ALL NEW shows coming out for Season 2. Official Season 1 wrap-up and hints about upcoming ch-ch-changes coming to the podcast. 

 

 

Our new listener club – sign up here to be the first to know when new episodes launch: www.dalkita.com/shownotes

ADI Convention: http://distilling.com/events/annual-spirits-conference/2018-adi-conference-schedule/

Check out other episodes of the Distilling Craft Podcast here.

Distilling Craft: Ep 020

PoTAto/Potato w/ Mark Kleckner from Woody Creek – Basalt, CO

Creative Commons License
Distilling Craft: Potato-Potato by Dalkita Architecture & Construction is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Potato fermentation is covered including ways that it is similar to and different from grain. What to look for in your potato crop is also covered. Mark Kleckner from Woody Creek Distillers in Basalt, Colorado is interviewed to talk about growing potatoes and making vodka. 

 

 

Mentioned in this Episode:

Woody Creek Distillery: woodycreekdistillers.com

Check out other episodes of the Distilling Craft Podcast here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Stair, Ramp, & Railing Design

The IBC (International Building Code)  prescribes minimum requirements for the design of stairs, ramps, and their railings. These are very important features to a building that are included in the code to ensure safe access and egress from buildings, under both normal and emergency situations. Here is a summary of these main requirements!

“Rise & Run” Defined

Nope! For our purposes here, this doesn’t mean waking up early for a jog! But, its almost as simple as that. 

The rise of a stair is the length of the vertical portion at each step. The run of a stair is the horizontal length at each step. For a ramp, the rise means the vertical dimension, versus the run being the horizontal dimension.

Basic Stair Code Compliance

Rise & Run Dimensions: Stairs in commercial buildings are required to have a rise between 4″ and 7″, and a run of 11″ between nosings. There are exceptions to have smaller dimensions of rise and run for certain dwelling units and certain other cases. Also, buildings under the IRC (International Residential Code) have different requirements. This is mostly regarding single family homes. 

Stair Width: The width of stairs shall be 36″ minimum ( if serving under 50 occupants). Otherwise, the minimum width is 44″.  If a stair is required to be an “accessible means of egress”, it must have a width of 48″ between handrails. 

Stair Uniformity: There must be uniformity of all the steps. Meaning you cant have 1 step be a 7″ rise, and the next step be a 5″ rise. The maximum tolerance for difference is 3/8″. 

 

Handrails & Guardrails Basic Code Compliance

Handrails are, as the name would imply, something to hold on to with your hand, for balance, stability, and guidance up and down stairs. Guard rails are for the purpose of protecting someone from falling over the edge of a stair or any raised area. 

Guardrails Required & Height: In general, guard rails shall be provided on any stair, ramp, or raised surface over 30″ in height. Guards shall usually be a min. of 42″ in height.

Guardrail Openings: Guardrails shall not have openings that allow passage of a sphere 4″ in diameter. This can be achieved in many ways, such as providing a 4″x4″ steel mesh, or horizontal wires spaces at 4″. They can be built out concrete, wood, glass, metal, etc. Please see the IBC, chapter 10 for exceptions to some of these requirements. 

Handrails required: Handrails are required at most stairs and ramps. They are generally required to be on both sides of the stair (Residential is usually only 1 side). 

Handrail height and dimensions: Height is between 34″-38″ above the stair nosings. 36″ is usually a good safe height. Circular handrails are required to be between 1.25″- 2″ in diameter. Non-circular handrails are permitted. Please see the code for those detailed requirements. 

Handrail extensions: Handrails must extend past the top and bottom of stairs. At the top, they must extend 12″ horizontally past the top riser. At the bottom riser, the handrail must continue to slope for the horizontal depth of 1 tread. Handrails must also terminate at a wall, guard, or walking surface. Basically, they don’t want to have a metal pole sticking out that someone can impale themselves on. 

Handrail Projection: Handrails can project into the stair required width (36″ or 42″) no more than 4.5″ projection. For accessible stairs, handrails are not permitted to project into the required 48″ width. So, an accessible stair overall width would typically be at least 48″ + 3″ each side  for handrails. 

Ramps

Ramps can serve to meet the accessible access of a building or area where there is a change in level. 

Slope/ AKA Rise v Run: If a ramp is provided, it must be at no greater slope than 1 vertical to 12  horizontal. So, for example, a 12″ vertical rise would require a 144″ (12′) horizontal run. 

Where the slope is less than 1:20  (5% slope) this is essentially not considered a ramp.

Width: Ramps shall be a minimum of 36″ wide, with other exceptions requiring larger widths. 

Max Rise: The maximum rise of a ramp is 30″, so for every 30″ rise, you must have a flat landing. 

Landings: Landings must be 60″ minimum.  Switchback landings must be at least 60″x 60″.

Guards & Railings: Requirements for guards and railings for ramps are similar to those mentioned above. 

Wrap Up

We hope you learned some helpful info about stairs, ramps, etc! Please keep in mind, this is not an all inclusive description of all the requirements. Please refer to the IBC (Mostly chapter 10 for this content) or IRC for further details! Thanks!