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Everyone does it. It’s our job to make sure that everyone can. The purpose of this entry is to understand the basics of ADA restroom design.
By code, there must be at least one ADA compliant restroom per floor for the use of everyone on that floor. This means that each of the men’s and women’s rooms on a floor is fully compliant (fig. a).
Three Basic Rules for a Compliant Restroom:
1. One ADA accessible stall (fig. b below). Also, in the men’s room, at least one urinal must be compliant. A compliant urinal is mounted at 17” above the floor, has a 30” wide clearance (15” clear from the center to any adjacent obstruction) and 48” deep clearance in front of the urinal.
2. One sink and one of each available accessory must be accessible.
3. The path from the public corridor, into the restroom and to all accessible items must be accessible. This includes proper clearances at push and pull sides of the door to the restroom.
Rules of the ADA Compliant Stall (fig. b):
1. Must be 5’-0” wide x 5’-0” deep. Stall may be 4′-8″ deep if toilet is wall hung.
2. A 3’-0” wide door to the stall must be positioned in the corner of the stall opposite the toilet with the opening of the door a maximum of 4” from the closest wall and not swing into the required 5’-0” x 5’-0” stall clearance (fig. b).
3. The minimum width of path from the restroom door to the ADA stall is 3’-8”.
4. There must also be 6″ clear beyond toilet partitions (front partition of stall and side partition farthest from toilet), with a minimum of 9″ between floor and bottom of partition. If partition extends to floor, then 6″ dimension must be included within stall.
Rules of the ADA Compliant Toilet & Accessories:
1. The seat of the toilet mounted at 17”-19” off the floor and centered between 16”-18” off one of the adjacent walls or partitions.
2. If an automatic flush valve isn’t provided, then the manual flush valve must face the wall farthest from the toilet.
3. Must be a 36” horizontal grab bar behind the toilet (fig. c)
4. Must be a 42” horizontal grab bar on the side wall closest to the toilet
5. Must be an 18” vertical grab bar mounted above the 42” grab bar at 39” to 41” from the wall behind the toilet (fig. d).
6. The toilet paper dispenser must be mounted a minimum of 15” above the floor and centered within 7”-9” from the front of the toilet (fig. d).
Rules of the ADA Compliant Sink & Accessories:
1. The sink counter (fig. e) should be mounted at 34” above the floor with a clearance of 29” below the counter.
2. The pipes below the sink need to be insulated and the sink faucet controls need to either be automatic or paddles.
3. The sink cannot be more than 6” deep as measured from the top of the counter to the bottom of the sink bowl, and there must be a 30”w x 48”d area in front of the ADA compliant sink.
4. The opening/controls of any accessory (paper towel dispenser, trash receptacle, sanitary napkin dispenser and toilet seat cover dispenser) must be mounted between 34” and 48” above the floor.
Now who pays for these upgrades is a whole other question.
2011 Holiday Food Drive- Huge Success
5 Dec2011
Last year we nearly broke the shocks on the M Group food delivery car- this year it was Reston Community Center’s van that was riding low!
Between M Group staff and one amazing group of clients, contractors and reps, we might have brought in even more canned and boxed goods than last year. While we didn’t have the means to weigh our contribution this year, you can see for yourselves just how generous everyone was. (Then scroll further down to see how much was donated last year.)
Food Drive Goods
Beside the fantastic pile of edibles, we also raised almost $2,000! While M Group staffers were more than generous in their donations, we could never have raised quite so much without lots of help from our amazing friends…
Steve Bouchard of Glass Distributors, Inc.
Kim Dize of Office Movers
Kevin Dunn of Spartan Surfaces
Nicole Bolduc of Maharam
Wes Mountain & Jeff Black of L.F. Jennings
Penny McMillan of McClain Group, Inc.
Greg Brunett of Tandus
Steven Yagade of Yagade Consulting
Claire Coolidge of Atlas Carpet Mills
Brad Noble of Potomac Lighting
Susan Jeffers
Aubrey Thomas of Lighting Environments -Special thanks to Nyah!
Erin Guild Steinberg of Patcraft
Michael Claypool of Commercial Lighting
Roberta Duffy of Mohawk Group
The good folks at ABC Imaging
A special BIG THANKS to our most Charitable Benefactors- These most generous contributors went above and beyond to make this holiday season brighter for those less fortunate.
Barry Meil of National Resources
We are proud to work with such big-hearted individuals and companies. What a fantastic way to end the year, by bringing joy to so many local families. On behalf of them, a big and hearty Thank You to you all!
- In: Charity
- Tags: charity, community, Food Drive, local
Holiday Season Food Drive -2011
27 Oct2011
As November approaches, we at The M Group want to express our sincerest gratitude toward our wonderful clients for another successful year. We saw many clients into their new spaces, and then stepped to the other side of the drafting board and moved ourselves. To show our appreciation for client & community, we are turning our new office in Reston into a public drop off point for the Reston Community Center Food Drive. The Food Drive benefits Reston Interfaith, a nondenominational community support center. They provide aid to not only Reston, but Herndon and northwest Fairfax County as well.
As we did last year, this year we’ve made lending a hand easy.
Stop by our office anytime before November 24 and bring your donation of dry or canned goods, or even a check. Every little bit helps. If you don’t have time to stop by our office, there are lots of other drop off locations. All the info you need is right here…
Reston Community Centers Most Wanted Foods List
- Canned Fruit
- Canned Meats
- Condiments (Mayo, Mustard, Ketchup, etc.)
- Cooking Oil
- Juices, Sodas, etc.
- Canned beans
- Peanut Butter & Jelly
- Soups, Chili, etc.
- Diced, Stewed, Crushed, Whole Tomatoes
- Boxed Dessert Mixes (Cakes, Brownies, Muffins)
- Ramen Noodles & Cup-o-Noodles
- Soups, Chili
- Macaroni & Cheese
- Boxed Potatoes
- Bagged & boxed Rice & CousCous
- Pasta/Rice Mixes
- Cereal
- Coffee, Tea, etc.
- Dry Beans
- Flour, sugar, etc.
- Milk (Evaporated, Condensed, Dry, Soy, etc.)
- Oatmeal, pancake mixes, other breakfast items
- Season Packets (taco mixes, marinades, soup mixes, etc.)
- Boxed pasta (general)
- Snacks (Cookies, Cracker, Fruit Bars, etc.)
Non-perishables List
- Diapers
- Baby wipes
- Heavy duty clear plastic bins (approx. size of file boxes)
- Hygiene Items (toothpaste, soap, etc.)
To Make a Monetary Donation, you can write a check to “Reston Interfaith” and mail it to us or drop it off (if you do drop it off, please don’t leave it in the donation box, we’ll keep checks safe elsewhere). Please let us know if you’d like your donation made in honor or memory of someone.
Reston Community Centers mission is to create positive leisure, cultural and educational experiences which enhance the quality of life for all people living and working in Reston by:
Providing a broad range of programs in arts, aquatics, recreation, enrichment and life-long learning.
Creating and sustaining community traditions through special events, outreach activities, and facility rentals.
Building community through collaboration and celebration
Their mission is “to promote self-sufficiency 
through direct support and advocacy for our neighbors in need of food, immediate shelter, affordable housing, quality child care, and other human services.” Find out how you can help any time of year.
- In: Charity
Common Path of Travel
8 Apr2011
Robert Frost eloquently spoke of Two roads diverging in a yellow wood in his poem “The Road Not Taken”. In that poem, a traveler comes to a crossroads and regrets not being able to take each path. The good people developing the codes at the ICC are not so much concerned with which path you take, provided that you do in fact have options!
Common Path of Travel (CPoT) is a seemingly simple egress concept that can have a drastic impact on interior tenant layouts. CPoT is defined as “that portion of the exit access which the occupants are required to traverse before two separate and distinct paths of egress travel to two exits are available”. To put it simply, because the code requires a minimum of two exit paths from a building, as a person exits a space they will come to a point where they can go one direction to get to one exit or another direction to get to a different exit. The distance traveled from any point within a space to this diverging point is the CPoT. The code limits this maximum travel distance. For the typical office building in our area, that maximum allowed distance is often one hundred feet. (Please note that for occupancies other than Group B, F, or S or buildings without a sprinkler system, a shorter maximum distance is required.)
So, where do CPoT issues most often arise? The most frequently seen CPoT trouble occurs with smaller tenants on upper floors. More specifically, with smaller tenants that only require one exit from their space. Because they only have one exit, the diverging point will always occur outside of the suite. Let’s look at an example.
In the following example, let’s assume that Tenant 1 is existing to remain. Tenant 2 is looking to reduce their leased space by giving back the portion labeled Tenant 3.
Diagram A
In Diagram A, Tenant 2 has given back a portion of their suite, and in so doing they have removed their second exit from their space. While their new suite area is small enough to allow for only one exit, the Common Path of Travel is now clearly exceeded. By removing their second exit, Tenant 2 has moved their diverging point substantially. To achieve a compliant CPoT distance, a second exit is required.
Diagram B
Diagram B shows the most efficient solution. You can clearly see that the CPoT is significantly reduced by adding the second exit. This solution will reduce the usable floor area slightly by adding area to the core (note: the rentable area will stay the same). This solution also allows for flexible future interior layouts of both Tenant 2 and Tenant 3 by keeping the CPoT distance well under the defined code limits.
As stated earlier, CPoT is a design criteria that can greatly impact the interior tenant layouts. Should you ever have any questions or concerns with how best to address CPoT or any other design issues, please feel free to contact one of the designers at The M Group.
-Mike Timcheck
- In: Building Code
2010 Holiday Food Drive – Huge Success
8 Feb2011
Thanks to the donations of our incredibly generous friends and staff, we successfully managed to break the shocks on our M Group delivery car!
Click image to enlarge
OK, not really, but it was riding awfully low, delivering the almost 700 pounds of food to The Capital Area Food Bank! We raised over $2,200 as well!
The amount of boxed and canned goods we delivered could feed an entire family of five for a whole month! While M Group staffers were more than generous in their donations, we could never have reached those kinds of numbers without lots of help from our amazing friends…
Edge Construction
HBW Group
KPMG
KTA Group
Office Movers, Inc
Patcraft
Suffolk Construction
Yagade Consulting
Jim DoyleBetty Lou Hall
Susan Jeffers
David Kirtzler
Barry & Wendy Meil
Becky Wright
This was a pretty awesome showing for our very first food drive, and a fantastic way to end the year. You all helped brighten the holiday season for a lot of local families, and on behalf of them, a big and hearty Thank You!
- In: Charity
2011 Color Trends
28 Jan2011
Financial markets, influences of other cultures, and the general mood of the country are all a part of determining color trends for the coming year. For 2011, given our slow but steady upswing from last year’s rough economy, the theme for the coming twelve months is ‘hope’.
The notion of hope, (desire and expectation,) as a color is best embodied by Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2011: Honeysuckle. This vibrant hue is meant to inspire joy and encourage risk-taking. Not only is this color hugely energetic, but when it comes to fashion, reds and pinks make us all look healthier by giving our skin a healthy glow.
Forecasters, (Benjamin Moore, imm and Sherwin Williams to name a few,) identified four palettes as being the most popular in the coming year.
1. Mellow earth tones make a strong comeback -not because of the resurgence in green design- as you may suspect, those hues are fast getting over-used. These shades remind people of handmade crafts, the safety of home, and the warmth of spring. They hearken to those of an aged painting of an English garden, or a worn atlas. Think of gentler greens, tans, lavenders and yellows –the sort you might find in a baby’s room.
2. In a bolder move, counteracting the warmth and sleepiness of the first palette is the bold, more primary category. These colors are big, nestled in shades of charcoal to make the pop louder. Colors are not neon, but are attention-getting nonetheless. This group represents the bravery needed to face the tough choices ahead, and the energy required to pull through.
3. The third palette can best be summed up as frosted jewel tones. This palette represents the dream world, a short escape from the daily troubles of reality. Colors here are bolder than the first palette, but not as eye-catching as the second- and the big deal here is the finish: pearlescent glazes and anything that adds a hint of shimmer.
4. The last major color palette predicted for 2011 represents one unified globe. Whether through social media or television, we are connected to people across the world every day. This set of tints conjures visions of foreign lands – African Tribal blankets or Moroccan tiles. Colors are big – but not primary. Teal, hot cinnamon, coppery orange and saffron yellow run this show.
Predicting color is really predicting mood and understanding the psychiatry that exists between color and emotion. Trend-spotters know the coming year won’t be easy, but Americans are no strangers to enduring troubled times, and things are looking up. There are a lot of reasons to hope.
Sources:
“Pantone 2011 Color of the Year.” Pantone.com.
http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=20821&ca=4
“Interior Trends 2011.” Imm-cologne.com.
http://www.imm-cologne.com/thefair/trends.php
Mitchell, Jennifer. “Benjamin Moore’s Color Forecast for 2011.” Designholeonline.com. 7 October, 2009.
http://designholeonline.com/2009/balanced-color-benjamin-moores-color-forecast-for-2011/
“Women’s Committee Meeting” , “Men’s Committee Meeting” CAUSEffect. July 2009: 4-10. Digital.
http://www.colorassociation.com/blog/?currentPage=2
Palmer, Kim. “True Colors.” Sherwin Williams Special Issue of Stir Magazine ‘The State of Color” 2010: 14-19.
-Danielle Covati
- In: Interior Design
Last Week of Holiday Season Food Drive
30 Nov2010
As December nears, we wanted to remind you that there’s still time to help. Stop by our office or see the post below for all the easy ways you can help.
Long ago Charles Dickens said, this is a time when “Want is keenly felt and Abundance rejoices,” and that sentiment is no less true today. Won’t you lend a hand?
A huge thanks to all our wonderful partners! Just a few who have made a big difference so far…
Congressional Bank Staffers and their generous donation
And many, many more!
Don’t forget, there’s one week left!
- In: Charity
Holiday Season Food Drive
4 Nov2010
According to the 2008 US Department of Agriculture’s annual study on food security in the United States, 1 in 6 people in our country are “food insecure”, that is, they can’t reliably buy food for themselves and their children on a day-to-day basis. This is a rather shocking statistic coming from the wealthiest country in the world. That number has probably only increased since 2008 given today’s economic conditions.
Let’s do something about it.
We at The M Group are doing our part to help change those numbers, and we want you to join us. Starting now, we’re hosting a Food Drive for The Capital Area Food Bank- and lending a hand couldn’t be easier.
Stop by our office anytime during November and donate dry foods, canned goods, or hygiene products. If you don’t have time to stop by our Tysons office, you can call- and tell them The M Group sent you. All the info you need is right here…
Capital Area Food Bank’s Most Wanted List
Non-perishable Food Items:
- Canned Proteins (tuna, salmon, chicken, peanut butter)
- Canned Fruits in Own Juices or Light Syrup (Pineapples, peaches, and pears)
- 100% Fruit Juices (all sizes including juice boxes)
- Grains (pasta, whole wheat pasta, rice, brown rice, macaroni and cheese)
- Condiments (tomato based sauces, light soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, light salad dressings)
- Low Sodium/ No Salt Added Canned Vegetables (mixed, green beans, corn)
- Soups (beef stew, chili, chicken noodle, turkey rice)
- Multigrain Cereal (cheerios, cornflakes, grapenuts, raisin bran)
Hygiene Products:
- Diapers
- Deodorants for men and women
- Feminine products
- Toilet paper
- Tissues
- Soap
- Toothpaste
- Shampoo
Nutrition Education Programs
- Brown rice (1 or 2 lb bags)
- Flour (1 or 2 lb bags)
- Barley (1 lb bag / box)
- Olive and/or canola oil
- Corn starch
- Black beans (canned)
- Garbanzo beans (canned)
- Thyme (small size)
Kids Cafe (An evening meal served at after-school programs before a child goes home. Industrial sizes appreciated)
- Applesauce
- Juice (100% juice only)
- Pasta Sauce (no meat)
- Granola/Fruit bars
- Graham Crackers
- Peanut Butter and Jelly
- Pretzels/Crackers
- Assorted Nuts and Dried Fruit
- Paper/Plastic Cups & Plates
- Plastic Forks and Spoons
To Make a Monetary Donation, you can call Molly. Please mention that you’re donating for The M Group Food Drive, so we can be sure to thank you, and include your contribution in our totals.
Molly McGlinchy
Food Resources Coordinator
Capital Area Food Bank
Ph: 202-526-5344 ext. 311
The Capital Area Food Bank doesn’t only distribute food, they educate, empower and enlighten the community on the issues of hunger and nutrition. They serve the District, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland, and six counties in Northern Virginia, and each year the Capital Area Food Bank helps feed over 383,000 people.
- In: Charity
- Tags: Capital Area Food Bank, Food Drive
M Group Corporate Interior Architecture book
19 Sep2010
- In: Marketing
- Tags: book, Interior Architecture
M Group Brochure
29 Jul2009