Doc M Regulation - making it easy

Meeting all the regulations for disabled requirements can be a difficult task when designing washrooms, especially when there is only a limited space to work with.

Here’s some tips to ensure you are maximising the space and meeting all regulations:

Regulations recommend a clear space of 1400mm to one side of the toilet – however, this can be minimised to 1000mm and still provide adequate space for a wheelchair transfer

Using this dimension means the room only needs to be 1500mm wide!

Disabled toilets would commonly be 750mm long – the minimum size for this is actually only 700mm

Consequently, the basin can be located 50mm closer to the corner

Grab rails must be located either side of the toilet – 320mm from the centre line. One of these can be a wall mounted rail to utilize the space even more

There is also the requirement of grab rails either side of the basin – these need to be a minimum of 600mm apart

Note: A clear space of 1000mm needs to be left for movement whilst using the basin

Using all recommended dimensions would suggest the room should be 2260mm deep.

The minimum for this is could actually be 1450mm however this would be in a situation where the disabled WC room has an outward opening door to it

Great! So the room only needs to be 1500mm wide x 1450mm – 2260mm deep.