# Occupant load in Restrooms & Stairs for Office/Business 1004.1.2



## Keith (Oct 24, 2018)

*
A city building official said that we need to calculate occupant load in the restrooms for an office T.I.*

CBC Table 1004.1.2 references GROSS vs. NET for occupant load based on function of space.  Other than that table and *FLOOR AREA, GROSS* definition in Section 202, are there any other codes sections that refer to gross area as it relates to occupant load calculation ? 

I am looking for clarification or argument against having to provide an occupant load for stairs and restrooms, which I always thought were considered accessory and not counted -


I found the thread below which at one point refers to accessory less than 10%.
But I'm not familiar with 'accessory less than 10%' not being counted as occupant load.

https://www.thebuildingcodeforum.co...hat-to-do-with-unused-area.21923/#post-175689

Thanks!


----------



## RLGA (Oct 24, 2018)

No. Occupant load is based on either the gross or net floor area under consideration. If the occupant loads of all the spaces on a story are based on net floor area, then the floor areas of corridors, stairways, walls, restrooms, etc. would not be included. If the story has a mix of gross and net, then my policy is to apply net to the spaces that require net calculations and apply the gross OL factors to all other areas, including the corridors, stairways, walls, restrooms, etc. If there's a mix of gross floor area factors, I apply the OL factor that is predominant or is most restrictive to the area that utilizes the common areas, such as restrooms, stairways, and corridors.

For example, I'm working on a building that has multiple stories of artist studios (Group B; Business Areas OL factor at 100 sf/occ.) and storage locker spaces (Group S-1; Accessory Storage Areas OL factor at 300 sf/occ.). I apply the accessory storage OL factor to all the locker areas and the corridors that only serve them, but use the business area OL factor to the studios, and to the corridors, restrooms, elevators, and stairways that are shared by both the studios and the storage lockers.


----------

