# 2018 IBC 2902.2 #4 allows 1 ADA bathroom for 2500 sq ft B occupancy



## Colockum Meghan (May 29, 2019)

I am new, so please pardon my post if I am not adhering to forum conventions. . . 
2018 IBC 2902.1 Table Business says "1 per 25 for the first 50. . . " but doesn't specify male & female. . . which is the same as 2015. I know that any suite less than 1500 sq ft required only 1 ADA bathroom which is still present in 2018 at 2902.2 #2: _"Separate facilities shall not be required in structures or tenant spaces with a total occupant load, including both employees and customers, of 15 or fewer." _This means the suite cannot exceed 1500 square feet for 1 bathroom serving all.
But 2018 has confused me with adding at 2902.2 #4: _"Separate facilities shall not be required in business occupancies in which the maximum occupant load is 25 or fewer."_
Doesn't that imply that since B is occupancy 1 per 100 sq ft that a 2500 square foot suite now only requires 1 unisex ADA bathroom?
Then 2902.3 reinforces my new interpretation with _"Employee toilet facilities shall be either separate or combined employee and public toilet facilities."_
So again, I'm confused: 2902.2 #2 indicates a limit of occupancy 15, and 2902.2 #4 indicates no, you can actually have a suite that is 2500 sq ft (occupancy 25 group B) and have only 1 ADA bathroom for all. 
Does anyone know which is true? 15 or 25 occupancy with 1 ADA bathroom for all or is it still only 15 occupancy for 1 ADA bath?
Glad I found this forum, no longer _The Code Ranger_ out here in WA


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## RLGA (May 29, 2019)

In the 2018 IBC, the "business areas" occupant load factor is now 150 sq. ft. per occupant; thus, a 2500 sq. ft. office area would have an occupant load of 16. Section 2902.2, Exception 2, applies to any occupancy; thus, any occupancy group other than Groups B (Exception 4), M (Exception 3), and R (Exception 1) must have separate facilities when there are 16 or more occupants. For Group B occupancies, based on 150 sq. ft. per occupant, the maximum size of a 25-occupant business occupancy would be 3,750 sq. ft.


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## Colockum Meghan (May 29, 2019)

I totally blew past Chapter 10! Thank you! Ok I get it now. . . 15 occupant load x 150 = 2250 sq ft or less in size requires only 1 ADA bath which is up from 2015 of 1500 sq ft. Thanks again!!


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## RLGA (May 29, 2019)

Colockum Meghan said:


> I totally blew past Chapter 10! Thank you! Ok I get it now. . . 15 occupant load x 150 = 2250 sq ft or less in size requires only 1 ADA bath which is up from 2015 of 1500 sq ft. Thanks again!!


Not quite...For Group B, it is 3,750 sq. ft. (25 occupants x 150 sq. ft. per occupant) or less that permits only one accessible restroom (technically, _any _public or employee restroom is required to be accessible). For Exception 2, the area will depend on the occupant load factor (i.e., for Group S-1 warehouses, it will be 4,500 sq. ft. at 15 occupants x 300 sq. ft. per occupant).

Now, with that said, the 2018 IBC also has a "concentrated business use area," which is 50 sq. ft. per occupant. So a Group B with a concentrated business use area would be limited to 1,250 sq. ft. (25 occupants x 50 sq. ft. per occupant).


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## Colockum Meghan (May 29, 2019)

Ok I see my mistake with Group B, 150 sq ft per occupant with 25 as the tipping point with 2902.2 #4. . . 3750. 

But why _'(technically, any public or employee restroom is required to be accessible)'
_
Is that from the fed law or ANSI 117.1?

I see the 'spirit' of the law in having both (employee and public) restroom fully accessible, and would agree with that view. But I'd like to know why 'technically' that's true, especially if it conflicts with 2018 IBC.
Thank you!


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## RLGA (May 29, 2019)

IBC Section 1109.2: "Each toilet room and bathing room shall be accessible."


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## Colockum Meghan (May 29, 2019)

Oh okay. . . I've been viewing Ch 29 through the lens of Ch 11 and that isn't correct. Well, that keeps it simple, they both still have to be accessible, because we'll always be designing in 2 bathrooms: one public and one employee (in the work I do anyway). Thank you again!!


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## e hilton (Jun 6, 2019)

RLGA said:


> Now, with that said, the 2018 IBC also has a "concentrated business use area," which is 50 sq. ft. per occupant.



RL ... where is the definition of "concentrated"?


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## RLGA (Jun 6, 2019)

There is no formal definition in Chapter 2, but Section1004.8 describes it as “...a higher density of occupants than would normally be expected in a typical business occupancy environment.” That section also provides some examples of a concentrated business use area.


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## e hilton (Jun 6, 2019)

I got excited reading this discussion, looked like i could avoid adding a second restroom.  But foiled again.  The area where my project is located has adopted the 2018 IPC to overlay the IBC, which has a threshold of one fixture per 15, not 25.


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## steveray (Jun 7, 2019)

e hilton said:


> I got excited reading this discussion, looked like i could avoid adding a second restroom.  But foiled again.  The area where my project is located has adopted the 2018 IPC to overlay the IBC, which has a threshold of one fixture per 15, not 25.



Icc did not coordinate them?


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## RLGA (Jun 7, 2019)

steveray said:


> Icc did not coordinate them?


The 2018 IPC shows 1:25 for the first 50 occupants of a business occupancy, so they are coordinated. Maybe there’s a local amendment that changed the IPC but not the IBC...


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