Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Wheelchairs In Bathrooms

When you build a handicap bathroom, you must allow for enough turning space. Without the turning space, a wheelchair will not be able to maneuver around the bathroom.

One of the principles of handicap bathroom design involves allowing enough space for a wheelchair to turn around. The minimum turning space for a wheelchair is about 60 inches in diameter (1525 mm) for the average wheelchair.

When determining handicap bathroom dimensions, be sure that any wall unit, such as a hand dryer, tampon dispenser, paper towel dispenser or any other handicapped equipment that extends more than 4 inches from the wall be located between or next to other protruding fixtures such as sinks, or placed in corners or alcoves. This design strategy keeps the units from intruding on a wheelchair’s turn space and reduces the risk that visually impaired people will bump into them.

1 comment:

  1. Turning space and location of items is probably the most important thing in a bathroom built for a wheelchair. It doesn't have to be a large bathroom but it has to be able to allow you to turn around.

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