Significant changes to fixture quantity calculations for multiple user facilities in the 2021 International Plumbing Code

A modification to Section 403.1.1 (Fixture Quantity Calculations for Multiple User Facilities) states that the minimum fixture quantities for multiple-user toilet facilities designed to serve all genders must be calculated 100 percent based on total occupant load.

The new Exception 2 introduces the concept of multiple-user toilet facilities designed to serve all genders. In the context of this exception, gender does not mean sex. Such multiple-user facilities are available for any person to use, regardless of their gender identity. Along with Exception 6 of Section 403.2, additional requirements for this type of facility are few. Many arrangements are possible and other than urinal locations, additional privacy features, beyond what is already required in any multiple-user toilet room intended for use by the same sex, are not required. The design need only serve all genders.

The requirement, “the minimum fixture count shall be calculated 100 percent, based on the total occupant load,” attempts to override the requirement of the base section for dividing the total occupant load of the building in half (assuming a 50-50 male/female distribution) when applying the fixture ratios of Table 403.1. Calculations are straightforward where the male and female fixture ratios in the table are identical. Where different table ratios are indicated, calculations will require adjustments to accommodate the difference.

Where a building is designed to have single-user toilet facilities (the subject of Section 403.1.2), and the male and female fixture ratios in the table are identical, Exception 2 (proposal P15) allows the calculations to be straightforward (i.e., distribution of sexes is not required). However, where different table ratios are indicated, calculations will require adjustments to accommodate the difference.

Read the full significant change.

The 2021 Significant Changes guides are available for the International Building, Fire, Residential, Energy Conservation, Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes. This valuable series can help any code user save time by zeroing in on the most critical changes in the 2021 International Codes. The Code Council’s technical experts provide summaries, analysis and graphics for these changes making them clear and easy to understand. Each edition provides a comprehensive analysis of significant changes since the 2018 edition, offering key insights into its contents and implications. Each change analysis features the affected code sections and identifies the change with strikethroughs and underlines to show modifications to the existing language. Each change is accompanied by a quick summary, detailed illustrations, and a discussion of its significance, which brings the technical jargon of the code to life in a real-world setting.

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