# Projections into clear floor space allowed, or not?



## ADAguy (Nov 3, 2016)

Gentlemen of the jury,

Can a wall mounted paper towel waste dispenser projecting 10" from the face of the wall between the edge of the Lav and end of the grab bar, with 7" clear beneath its bottom, project over the clear floor space (blue dotted line) for perpendicular approach if one is seated centered on the lav or would parralel approach be allowed as an option?  

Could it be mounted on the right side wall next to the lav?


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## ADAguy (Nov 3, 2016)

Must the clear floor area in the question previous be kept clear of wall projections from floor to ceiling or how close to the floor may their bottoms be?


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## Yikes (Nov 3, 2016)

"604.3.2 Overlap.  *The required clearance around the water closet shall be permitted to overlap the* 
water closet, associated grab bars, *dispensers*, sanitary napkin disposal units, coat hooks, shelves, 
accessible routes, clear floor space and clearances required at other fixtures, and the turning space.  
No other fixtures or obstructions shall be located within the required water closet clearance."

So yes, I think it could go on the back wall, as long as it didn't overlap the nearby lavatory floor clearance.

I don't think there is a similar code section for "overlap" allowances at the lavatory.  Therefore, I don't think you could have a protruding towel dispenser on the wall to the right of the lavatory, unless the dispenser was so slim that it didn't actually overlap the ground clearance for the lav.


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## Yikes (Nov 3, 2016)

But I also need to say that 609.3 requires 12" of space between a grab bar and an object protruding above it.
So if the top of the grab bar was mounted at 33" AFF, the bottom of the dispenser would need to be mounted at 45" AFF.  That would probably work with a forward approach, as long as your lavatory wasn't more than 20" deep nor your controls and towel dispenser outlet higher than 48" AFF per figure 308.2.2(a),

"609.3 Spacing.  The space between the wall and the grab bar shall be 1½  inches (38 mm).  The space 
between the grab bar and projecting objects below and at the ends shall be 1½ inches (38 mm) 
minimum.  *The space between the grab bar and projecting objects above shall be 12 inches (305 mm) 
minimum*."


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## ADAguy (Nov 4, 2016)

The object, a towel dispenser is adjacent to the end of the grab bar with 7-9" of clear space beneath it's bottom and the floor.


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## JPohling (Nov 7, 2016)

I am confused............the towel dispenser is mounted 9" off the floor?  need a sketch or something


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## steveray (Nov 7, 2016)

I think it might be one of those combo dispense/ dispose units....


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## ADAguy (Nov 8, 2016)

Opps! my bad, I meant towel disposal bin with dispenser above.


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## JBI (Nov 8, 2016)

JPohling said:


> I am confused............the towel dispenser is mounted 9" off the floor?  need a sketch or something



No, 9" above the grab bar...


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## ADAguy (Nov 9, 2016)

Jp the bottom of the trash receptacle is 9" above the floor and projects 6" from the face of the wall, thus with toe and reach ranges for perpendicular approach.


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## ryan81 (Mar 17, 2022)

A Follow up Question.

Please see attached Image depicting a single-user restroom layout.  

My question is regarding obstructions within the 30"x48" clear floor space at the sink.  Are the toilet accessories (grab bars, sanitary napkin disposal and Toilet Tissue dispenser) allowed to project into the clear space?  The ADA seems to address obstructions in terms of knee and toe space for a front approach at the sink, but not along the sides of the clear space.

My gut is that the accessories within this space are not acceptable, but I can't find (or haven't found yet) specific language in the ADA or the Access Board website preventing this.

Thoughts?

Thank you all!

[url=https://postimages.org/]
	
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## Access Specialist (Mar 18, 2022)

ryan81 said:


> A Follow up Question.
> 
> Please see attached Image depicting a single-user restroom layout.
> 
> ...


No, protruding objects are not allowed in the lavatory clear floor area. I've have seen this specific issue called out on DOJ reports.


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## mark handler (Mar 22, 2022)

IMHO, No.


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## e hilton (Mar 22, 2022)

What if they are recessed or semi-recessed and don’t extend further out than the grab bar.


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## Paul Sweet (Mar 22, 2022)

I thought the lavatory was supposed to be centered at least 15" off the wall.  (IPC 405.3.1)


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## e hilton (Mar 22, 2022)

Paul Sweet said:


> I thought the lavatory was supposed to be centered at least 15" off the wall.  (IPC 405.3.1)


If the lav is 30” wide … it’s ok.  But that’s half a bathtub wide.


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## mark handler (Mar 23, 2022)

2019 CA Code and 2010 ADASAD allows TP dispensers to encroach, it is specific to TP dispensers. I do not see where any encroachment is allowed for Lavatories or Sinks.


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## ryan81 (Mar 28, 2022)

Thank you all very much for your responses.  I didn't think it was acceptable, but when questioned on language specifically prohibiting it, I was unable to "prove it".


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## Yikes (Mar 28, 2022)

e hilton said:


> What if they are recessed or semi-recessed and don’t extend further out than the grab bar.


Typically, no - - with a couple of exceptions.

1. In California, lavs are additionally required to be at least 18" away from a side wall or partition.  In that scenario, a max 3" accessory protrusion would still keep 15" clear from the CL of the lav to the adjacent accessory.

2. The minimum overall 606.2 required height of the unobstructed "clear floor space" at a lav is not specified in ADA 305, so one must generally assume it is unobstructed to the heights required elsewhere in the code for headroom, minimum ceiling height, etc.  However, 305.4 does say that the clear floor space can include knee and toe clearance complying with 306.  That means that obstructions are allowed in the area directly above the provided knee and toe space.

This probably won’t help with the image shown in post #11.
Best solution there may be to move the lav to 18.25" from the door strike side.


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