Guidelines SanitaryFacilities
Guidelines SanitaryFacilities
Guidelines SanitaryFacilities
Planning & Building Unit Department of Education and Skills Tullamore, Co. Offaly. Telephone: (057) 9324300 Fax: (057) 9351119 Web: www.education.ie www.energyineducation.ie
Contents:
1 Introduction ...............................................................................................3
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Purpose............................................................................................................................ 3 Design Guidance Suite..................................................................................................... 3 Application........................................................................................................................ 3 Further Information........................................................................................................... 3 Technical Reference ........................................................................................................ 3 Diagrams.......................................................................................................................... 4 Statutory Regulations ....................................................................................................... 5 Design Team Duties......................................................................................................... 5 Building Regulations......................................................................................................... 6 Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 351 of 2009) .......................... 6 Irish and International Standards...................................................................................... 6 General Design Standards ............................................................................................... 7 Accessible Sanitary Facilities ........................................................................................... 8 Requirements for Waste and Water Services ................................................................... 8 Requirements for Lighting Services .................................................................................10 Requirements for Ventilation Services.............................................................................10 Classrooms .....................................................................................................................11 General Purpose Room...................................................................................................11 Sanitary Appliance Provision ...........................................................................................11
2 3
Compliance ...............................................................................................6
1
(a)
Introduction
1.1
Purpose
This document sets out the required standard of performance to be used in the design of Primary school sanitary facilities with an emphasis on achieving build quality; value for money; safety in design, construction and use; effective management and operation of the building; life cycle costing; and timely completion of the project. The minimum standard is set out in the current Building Regulations. This document, in conjunction with other relevant design guidance, is intended both as a design aid for the Client* & Design Team and as part of a set of reference documents for the evaluation of design submissions.
* In the case of Community and Comprehensive Schools and some Primary Schools the Minister for Education and Skills is the Client, but for the purposes of this document the term Client shall also encompass the School Authorities.
(b)
1.2
(a)
1.3
(a)
Application
This and the above mentioned suite of guidance documents outline the standards for Schools that should be applied to all Primary construction projects funded in part or in whole by the Department of Education and Skills (unless otherwise directed by the Department in writing) and where a decision to commence architectural design and planning has been confirmed in writing by the Planning and Building Unit. Where it is proposed to construct a new school these Construction Guidelines and Standards and all associated documents in the suite of Design Guidance should be consulted and appropriately applied. In the case of existing school buildings where an extension, conversion or renovation is proposed. These Construction Guidelines and Standards and all associated documents in the suite of Design Guidance should apply to all new-build work and so far as is practicable to all alterations and repairs.
(b)
(c)
1.4
(a) (b)
Further Information
Always check the Departments web-site for the most up-to-date version. For further advice on these guidelines or any other matters relating to this document, please contact: Department of Education and Skills, School Building Unit, Portlaoise Road, Tullamore, County Offaly. Telephone: (057) 9324300 Fax: (057) 9325331
1.5
(a)
Technical Reference
The provision of technical references in this document is for guidance purposes only. The list of technical references is not exhaustive and the onus shall be on all the members of the Design Team acting collectively to ensure that all the relevant standards are applied in all instances. The Design Team must ensure that the construction standards used in the design of educational facilities will achieve build
quality; value for money; energy efficiency; safety in design, construction and use; appropriate consideration of life cycle costing and timely completion of the project. The design must also facilitate the effective management and operation of the building. (b) (c) All references to Acts and Regulations shall be deemed to mean the current Acts and Regulations. The Design Team shall also apply, where necessary, any new standards or Acts (and their associated Regulations), relevant to the design and construction process, which may also come into force after the publication of this document.
1.6
(a)
Diagrams
Diagrams provided in this document are intended to clarify and complement the text within this document. They are not to scale and do not represent a fully detailed solutions. Where dimensions are stated, they refer to minimum unless otherwise stated. Allowance should be made for all necessary tolerances and finishes and onsite deviation.
2
(a)
Statutory Regulations
All Designers must ensure that all current regulations relating to safety, health and welfare at work are taken into account in the design of all building projects. In particular Designers are required to comply in full with the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Act, 2005 and the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2006.
2.2
(a)
3
(a)
Compliance
3.1
Building Regulations
Design Teams are required to comply in full with the Building Regulations (as amended), associated School Design Guidelines, Irish (i.e. TGD Part G Hygiene and Part M Access and Use) and International Standards and the standards in this document.
3.2
(a)
(b)
(c)
Note that The Regulations provide an exemption from payment of fees for Disability Access Certificates/revised Disability Access Certificates in respect of certain primary schools where the maximum number of mainstream teachers employed is or will be 4 or less.
3.3
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
General Standards
4.1
All sanitary facilities and associated works must comply with the Building Regulations and in particular the following;
Guidance on compliance with the various Parts of the Building Regulations is given in the relevant TGDs. Where works are carried out in accordance with this guidance, this will, prima facie, indicate compliance with the Regulations. However, the adoption of the approach other that outlined in the guidance is not precluded provided that the relevant requirements of the Regulations are complied with. The following represents the additional requirements of the Department of Education & Skills. (a) Water Closet (WC) with wall mounted cisterns should have a lockable lid. The WC should be dual flush delivering a 6 litres flush and a 4 litres flush. The method of activation of the dual flush should be readily discernible, e.g. separate buttons or pads of different sizes, segmented buttons (two-thirds, one third) etc. Clear and permanent operating instructions should be provided. Accessible WCs should comply with the requirements of TGD Part M 1.4.4. Design of sanitary fittings and their fixings should be robust and appropriate to the school environment. A suitable non-slip easy clean floor finish should be used in all WC areas and lobbies (refer to BS 8300:2009 Annex E). Sanitary facility ceilings should not allow easy access into any void above, where items could be hidden, etc. If suspended ceiling tiles are provided then each tile should be firmly clipped to the supporting grid. All cubicle door locks should be capable of being opened externally with a screwdriver. All sanitary facilities in the school, other than those in classrooms, should be available for use by staff and general public using the school facilities. All lockable doors should have an internal thumb-turn override. Care should be taken in the design of the door, frame, and opening mechanism to protect against injury to fingers, etc. Bowl or stall urinals should not be specified for student use. The doors should be easy to open and close (with pull-handles on the doors at low level suitable for young pupils between 800 & 900mm from floor level). Internal cubicle doors may be undercut to assist air movement. Door transfer grilles are not permitted. The provision for hand drying facilities shall be paper towel or cotton/linen towels. Electric hand dryers are not permitted. The sanitary facilities should have adequate space for disposable hand towel dispensers and a refuse bin for the disposal of paper towel. Hand towel dispensers, soap dispensers and refuse bin are loose furniture and fittings, and are not part of the construction contract, although their provision is required for full
(h) (i)
(j)
(k)
(l) (m)
compliance with the Building Regulations. Mirrors and grab-rails to Universal Access WCs are part of the contract. The provision of WCs incorporating concealed cisterns is acceptable provided future maintenance and servicing of the cisterns is not compromised. Staff/visitor sanitary facilities should be provided close to the main entrance for both able bodied and disabled persons. The sanitary facilities should have direct access from the circulation area. Where WC cubicles are provided, at least one WC should be provided for ambulant disabled people (refer to figure 2). Where four or more WC cubicles are provided in a sanitary facility, one cubicle should be an enlarged cubicle (refer to figure 3). One wash-hand basin (WHB) incorporating a single low pressure drop anti-scald percussion spray tap per WC should be provided. All WC pans (including those for Junior and Senior Infants) should be standard height pans. Where feasible, wash hand basins should be located back-to-back with the separating wall or partition between.
(n)
(o)
4.2
(a)
(e) (d)
(e)
4.3
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d) (e)
In the interest of safety, long term maintenance and aesthetics it is critical that there is no routing of water and waste services pipe work at low level in sanitary facilities. The cold water supplies in a School must be gravity based; pumped systems are not permitted as the School WCs must be capable of operation in the event of a power failure. All wash-hand basins should be fitted with a single percussion spray tap only and this tap should deliver a temperature controlled water supply via a thermostatic mixing valve. Push type percussion spray taps require the user to push down gently on the tap head to deliver flow. The tap automatically closes off after a delay period. Aerators restrict the flow of water from the tap without reducing water pressure. All automatic shut-off taps must be of a commercial quality suitable for use in schools and must be suitable for the system head pressure available. Note that it is possible to get percussion taps with different pressure drops and if taps with a particularly high pressure drop are specified then they may not work with a gravity system. The typical flow rate required from a wash hand basin tap is 0.1 litres/second; this is the same as 6 litres/minute. Thermostatic mixing valves (TMVs) shall be fitted on all hot water outlets (excluding the cleaner room sinks) and are to be located such that a maximum dead leg of 1 linear metre of pipe only is achievable on the mixed water supply. This is to minimise the potential risk of legionella. It is not acceptable to locate the TMV above the ceiling with a single pipe drop to the tap below or above; TMVs must be easily accessible from the room or adjacent room where they are located. All TMVs must be of TMV3 standard. They must be fail safe and lockable and be capable of limiting the outlet temperature to 42 / 43o Celsius. Where wash-hand basins are adjoining or back-to-back these WHBs shall be combined to one TMV unit in accordance with manufacturers instructions. All TMVs must be suitable for the system head pressure available, comply with IS EN 1287 for low pressure, be suitable for under basin installation, provide safe thermostatic shutdown, be complete with isolation valves on all inlets, check valves and easily removable strainers, and have tamper proof temperature adjustment and lockdown. TMVs serving wash hand basins should be selected to give a flow rate of 0.1 litres/second at an inlet head of 1.5m. All TMVs must be tested for shut-off in the event of loss of the cold water supply and test certificates included in the handover documentation. The thermostatic mixing valve units must never be connected to the mains water supply; they must only be connected to the hot water distribution services and the cold water distribution services. So as not to contaminate the mains water supply, a manual mixing tap (where the hot and cold water only mixes on exiting the spout outlet) must only be used with mains water. On all sinks, with the exception of the cleaners sink, the temperature controlled mixed supply should be taken from the under sink TRV outlet to the hot water inlet on the manual sink mixer, a mains water supply shall be connected to the cold water inlet side on the same manual sink mixer tap. Where rainwater harvesting is used to serve the WCs the rainwater distribution pipe work must be fitted with proprietary labeling identifying the connecting pipe as a rainwater supply pipe, in accordance with the prevailing British Standard. System designers should refer to the guidance on rainwater harvesting given in TGD Part H and BS 8515. Such systems should be designed to reduce the risk of cross contamination and should comply with the requirements of IS EN 1717 Backflow Prevention and the National Annex to this standard.
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)
4.4
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
4.5
(a)
(b) (c)
(d)
(e)
(f) (g)
(h)
5
(a)
Room Layouts
5.1
Classrooms
Two ambulant disabled accessible WCs should be provided en-suite to each classroom (refer to figure 4). These sanitary facilities should, unless unavoidable, be located on an external wall. The classroom sanitary facilities should be separated from the general classroom space by a full height wall / partition with no gaps at the top or bottom, and a selfclosing door. A similar wall / partition should separate male from female WCs. A toilet for assisted users (refer to figure 5 plan and elevation) should be provided either as part of the classroom environment or in the common areas. The travel distance to this WC should be minimized (maximum of 40m from toilet door to classroom door) where it is not included within the classroom. In multi-storey buildings at least one toilet for assisted users should be provided per floor.
(b)
(c)
(d)
5.2
(a) (b)
(c)
(d)
5.3
(a)
The ratio of male to female staff members should be taken to be 35% males to 65% females.