When considering the necessary accessories and hardware for installing successful toilet partitions, it's difficult to find an item more integral to restroom functionality than the grab bar.

They may be easy to forget about due to size and nature. They may be even easier to neglect altogether when ordering bathroom stall materials. These seemingly small inclusions will ensure that your commercial bathroom is up to code and fully accommodating for all visitors.

Accessibility

Grab bars are especially important to handicap accessibility, and are a requirement in ADA compliant stalls. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal civil rights law that mandates equal access to goods and services. When designing a layout and installing hardware, prioritizing the accommodation of public restrooms under this law is paramount.

This is why we have added grab bars and grab bar reinforcements as a new offering.  It’s our goal to make ordering fast partitions and all the right hardware as easy as possible. Finding a third party distributor and ordering the parts separately is a thing of the past. We’ll take care of it for you with the help of our supplier, ASI Group.

Importance

The importance of grab bars is versatile in public restroom spaces. Placing them in both shower and bathroom stalls to meet standard ADA requirements is necessary. Realistically speaking, install grab bars and partition walls with wheelchair accessibility in mind.

Typically, people install grab bars behind and directly beside the toilet. They come in three lengths: 18 inches, 36 inches and 42 inches. Install these within the range of 33-36 inches above the floor. The exact mounting height should be based on the age of majority users (i.e., install a grab bar 33 inches above the floor in the ADA stalls of elementary school bathrooms).

Measure the heights of grab bars from the top rather than the center line of the bar. These exact measurements also apply to ADA compliant shower stalls.

Installation

Installing grab bars is simple, but you should consider the type of installation before ordering your partition walls. For stalls with previously built walls on either side of the toilet, you'll need to install grab bars via through-bolting. Standard grab bar reinforcements won't suffice. This method will ensure that the bars maintain maximum support for each bathroom patron.

When mounting grab bars onto a partition wall, advance planning becomes crucial. To ensure the partition wall can support weight pressed down on a grab bar, it requires reinforcement. This involves adding reinforcing properties to the partition’s internal structure, allowing later connection of the grab bars.

Since reinforcing the partition wall deals with its internal structure, this step will need to be done before the item is shipped. Making it integral to let one of our sales associates know you need grab bar reinforcement on a particular partition wall before the order is finalized and processed. Keeping the delivery and installation process problem-free is something our team strives for every day.

Why Fast Partitions?

To get started on your bathroom partition project, visit our website at www.fastpartitions.com to get a quick quote. Also, email our sales team directly at [email protected] to communicate specific needs. Make sure all your hard work goes anywhere but in the toilet (figuratively speaking, of course)!

June 16, 2016
Wayne Foreman