Regulations for Disabled Toilets for your Premise

A disabled toilet door needs to be at least 900mm in width, and unlike other cubicles, the door needs to open outwards. The height of the door is irrelevant, and the same height of door can be used as on regular cubicles. The size of the cubicle needs to be a minimum of 1500mm wide and 2200m long. This is obvious when you think about how much room is needed for a wheelchair to easily enter the cubicle and for the door to close behind.

There are different options open to you when you are making the necessary adaptations to your premise for disabled use. A disabled toilet can be shared with able-bodied people, just as long as the size is the minimum that is stated above and there is room to accommodate a basin inside as well. Grab rails need to be introduced and there are certain ways in which they must be laid out.

The height of your disabled toilet also needs to be taken into consideration. The height may vary between around 440 and 500 mm above the ground to the seat level. This is the best level for someone to position themselves from their wheelchair to the toilet bowl with ease.

Grab rails need to be a contrasting colour to the walls of your cubicle so they are easy to spot for people with vision problems. This means you cannot paint your grab rails white to match your white tiles. In fact, there needs to be a minimum LRV (light reflective value) of at least 30 points. Stainless steel is a common material used for grab rails, and it should be left unpainted.

Whether you adapt your existing toilets to accommodate disabled needs or introduce a new cubicle will depend on the size of area you have to work with. Not providing disabled access toilets in your establishment can lead to heavy fines and the closing down of your premise until the work has been carried out.

All work that is carried out should be done so by professionals who work to the stringent laws and regulations that exist in the UK. If you have been told you need to make adaptations to your premise, you will have been given a timescale in which they need to be finished. Government funding may be available to you for the work you need to carry out. There is no excuse in this day and age for not providing the correct facilities, and that includes abiding by the regulations for disabled toilets that have been laid down by the law.

Disabled Toilet Access:

Obviously access to the disabled toilet also needs consideration. The disabled toilet must be approachable for wheelchair users and in this respect q suitable ramp may be needed. In a public building it is necessary to have a 1.5m wide ramp with a gradient of no more than 1 in 15 if feasible. If the width or gradient cannot be met due to building size constraints,  then a reasonable compromise could be a slightly narrower (1.2m) or steeper (1 in 12 gradient) ramp installation.