Combined disabled toilet for wheelchair and ambulant users

[Dave N.]

I'm working for a charity fitting out a pavilion. The charity intends to p rovide facilities for wheelchair and ambulant disabled users, and has two r ooms in the building allocated as toilets, both approximately 2.4 x 1.7m, w hich is a good size for a wheelchair accessible toilet.

Ideally we would like to provide a combined facility for wheelchair and amb ulant users in each toilet. To achieve this it is necessary to have two ba sins at different heights because the basin for wheelchair users is very lo w.

Building regs doc M prefers a room at least 2.0m wide with the wheelchair u ser basin on one side and the higher basin opposite. The best compromise f or our 1.7m wide room would be to have the second basin on the same wall in the corner by the door, since a basin on the opposite wall would restrict the wheelchair turning space. Does anyone have experience of doing this an d are there any potential problems with this layout?

TIA!

David.

[Nick Odell]

provide facilities for wheelchair and ambulant disabled users, and has two rooms in the building allocated as toilets, both approximately 2.4 x 1.7m, which is a good size for a wheelchair accessible toilet.

ambulant users in each toilet. To achieve this it is necessary to have two basins at different heights because the basin for wheelchair users is very low.

basin on one side and the higher basin opposite. The best compromise for our

1.7m wide room would be to have the second basin on the same wall in the corner by the door, since a basin on the opposite wall would restrict the wheelchair turning space. Does anyone have experience of doing this and are there any potential problems with this layout?

The facility in a school that I frequently visit is designed to be as versatile as possible but it has just the one wash-basin set at a suitable height for a wheelchair user. The thinking is that whilst a wheelchair user might struggle to reach a high basin, the others would have no real difficulty in stooping a little when using a low one.

School was designed and built by the local council and finished in

2005 (one of the few schools at the time not to have been built under a PFI contract) but I have no idea whether regulations have changed since then.

HTH

Nick

[SteveW]

provide facilities for wheelchair and ambulant disabled users, and has two rooms in the building allocated as toilets, both approximately 2.4 x 1.7m, which is a good size for a wheelchair accessible toilet.

ambulant users in each toilet. To achieve this it is necessary to have two basins at different heights because the basin for wheelchair users is very low.

user basin on one side and the higher basin opposite. The best compromise for our 1.7m wide room would be to have the second basin on the same wall in the corner by the door, since a basin on the opposite wall would restrict the wheelchair turning space. Does anyone have experience of doing this and are there any potential problems with this layout?

A number of banks have done the same thing with their cash machines. I have often thought that this could open them to challenge on the grounds of both sex and disability discrimination - men are generally taller than women, therefore lower machines are more of a problem for us and far more people suffer from back problems and have difficulty bending than are in wheelchairs!

SteveW

[Bill Wright]

I have been in a lot of disabled toilets in the last year and I've never seen one with two sinks. The sink is usually at a compromise height then down a tad.

Bill

[harry]

to provide facilities for wheelchair and ambulant disabled users, and has t wo rooms in the building allocated as toilets, both approximately 2.4 x 1.7 m, which is a good size for a wheelchair accessible toilet.

mbulant users in each toilet.  To achieve this it is necessary to have tw o basins at different heights because the basin for wheelchair users is ver y low.

user basin on one side and the higher basin opposite.  The best compromi se for our 1.7m wide room would be to have the second basin on the same wal l in the corner by the door, since a basin on the opposite wall would restr ict the wheelchair turning space.  Does anyone have experience of doing t his and are there any potential problems with this layout?

How about this?

[Brian Gaff]

Well the only issue is that not all wheelchairs are the sam size and the turning round aspect. I can remember a local store mucking up the latter by retrofitting something on the wall. Brian

[John Sabine]

ambulant users in each toilet.  To achieve this it is necessary to have t wo basins at different heights because the basin for wheelchair users is ve ry low.

Basin at wheelchair-user height is no real problem - slightly awkward to bend for it, but no biggie.

But for gawd's sake if you're fitting a mirror, have it big enough to be useful both to wheelchair users, and to people standing - where there is a small mirror at the right height to see it when sitting, it is a real contortion to see it when standing.

[Tim+]

Have you considered a manually adjustable sink mount?

Tim

[Man at B&Q]

You don't specify the sort of school. Might most of the other users be less than normal adult height? That could have a bearing on the design.

MBQ

[dneale123]

Many thanks to everyone for their suggestions. Originally I thought the si ngle sink near the toilet for wheelchair users would be fine, then we measu red for it and realised that it will be rather low.

The charity's main function is to provide a therapeutic garden for people w ith all kinds of disabilities, and there are certainly some older users wit h back problems who might struggle to use a low sink.

Maybe my best bet is to look at a few disabled toilets when I have the chan ce and see what they've done - I certainly haven't ever seen a second basin in the same cubicle, but maybe many facilities have a separate washroom. J ust need to be able to look discreetly (I'm imagining the CCTV footage of a dodgy looking character who seems to have a fascination with disabled toil ets appearing on Crimewatch!)

Thanks!

David.

[David]

Had a chat with the BCO, and she prefers the simple expedient of making one of the two WCs wheelchair accessible and optimising the other for ambulant users. Originally the charity's trustees had a distinct preference for ha ving two dual-purpose toilets, but with the BCO's suggestion I think they'r e coming round to the idea. Simples :)

Many thanks to everyone for their suggestions!

David.