Why are all the stalls in a public bathroom, except the handicapped stall, the same size? Considering that few restrooms other than those in movie theaters and statiums are ever utilized to capacity, why not build stalls of varying sizes? That way, when the restroom isn't crowded people can use the larger stalls and leave the small ones empty; when more people come in, they late-comers have to use the smaller stalls. Such an arrangement would reduce the maximum throughput of the restroom, but under average usage conditions less of the space in the restroom would be wasted by empty stalls.
The restroom at my work is particularly annoying. There are 10 stalls, and I've never seen more than two in use at the same time. Each stall is so narrow that it's impossible to close the door without standing on the toilet (I'm not exaggerating). Why not remove six of the 10 tiny stalls and replace them with three double-wide stalls? We'd still have seven stalls -- more than sufficient -- and under normal conditions every user would get to occupy a luxury stall. Replacing the 10 tiny stalls with seven equal-width stalls would be another option, but to optimally use the space you want to dedicate an amount of area to each stall in proportion to how frequently it is in use.
It goes without saying that the small stalls should be placed between the large stalls, so as to encourage the maximum amount of insulation between users.
Stand on the toilet? That's ridiculous. It must be a bathroom for midgets.
Believe it or not, there are laws (I think they're federal laws, although there may be local ones too) mandating how many toilets you need to have in a building, based on expected occupancy. My guess in the "What were they thinking?" department for these teeny stalls is that they had to fit a certain number of stalls in a finite space in order to meet the demands of the law. Also, there are issues with parity with women's bathrooms. Women take longer in the bathroom than men and the lines are usually longer there even if there are the same number of stalls as in the men's room. But I think I remember hearing somewhere that for equal rights reasons, they have to have the same number of stalls in the men's room as in the women's. Anyway, my point is not the specifics; my point is that there are laws governing the number of stalls in a bathroom, and they are usually not motivated by practical concerns like not having to stand on the toilet to close the door. Maybe they could replace the swing doors with folding doors so you wouldn't have to stand on the toilet.
As for utilizing some stalls more than others, this would increase the wear on the toilets more in use. If you could keep the wear more uniform, you might be able to get away with not replacing any of the toilets until the next time they change the law.
WH: I should have figured that the root of something so stupid was a law! I bet you're right.
As for gender equality, how do urinals get counted?
As for stalls, why not just have the doors open outwards? Not that there's much room for that, either.
You're right about the wear on toilets, but they're porceline, so they'll last a long time, and I doubt they get worn equally anyway.
Michael, what you describe already happens. Where I work, everybody uses the handicapped stall when it's available, which is almost always.
BB: Yes, I always use it also, but why just have one large stall?
I don't understand why only the handicap stall doors are allowed to swing outwards (at least that's the case in my building). If there's enough room the handicap stall doors to open outward, why not all of them? Are they afraid that the cleaning people might see all the mucus on the backside of the door and actually clean it off?
I wish the bathroom entrance door swung outward instead of inward as well. Even though I wash my hands, I know there are people who don't. I don't want to have to touch the same handle they did.
BTW Michael, what's a statium? j/k :)
i like using the handicap stalls. more room (would rather not do my business 12" from someone else) and the handrails come in handy if you have a really stuborn one that you have for force out.... just kidding, you should never strain to relieve yourself. next thing you know its harp lessons!!!
Guys, stop complaining. At the library where I work, the stalls in the Mens / Boys restrooms are short, and have NO doors on any of the stalls, when the room is filled to capacity it can be embarrasing to be on display to all the other gents depending on your level of bowel evacuation (explosive diahreah) The Women / Girls restrooms have deeper stalls with locking doors on EVERY stall. How do I know about the females restrooms? relax, I'm not a pervert, I'm a custodian :-)
I find it incredible to read of open stalls with no doors in the US. I am unaware of such a thing anywhere in Europe. Such stalls did exist in England in factores and similar premises built in the 19th century, but all must by now have been swept away. Public stalls in schools, factories, offices, and those provided by local authorities invariably have doors, although sometimes the locks are broken. A Contnental phenomenen is the "Turkish" toilet, where you squat down on a porcelain rectangle with a hole in the middle and mouded places to put your feet (to ensure a good aim, presumably). They are common in France and Italy and i have even seen one in Switzerland, on Brig Station, just before the Simplon Tunnel into Italy. Needlesss to say they are used on the station at Domodosala, the first town in Italy from the tunnel. It is said that squatting is better than sitting from a physiological viewpoint, but I have never had evaculation problems and I have been sitting for more than sixty years.
Normally, public toilets in England have stalls of equal size, but in a central London hotel a handcapped toilet was made by merely taking down the partition between two stalls, leaving a sigle large stall with two seats. I am not sure they were ever used simultaneously. Such two and three seater bogs were quite common in cottages in the 19th century. My great grandmother's cottage in Boxgrove in Sussex had a three seater earth closet and each morning she, her husband and one of the children would go together for their daily evacuation. This daily family event is very different to sitting in an open stall in school, university or other public place for strangers to come by and be treated to the undignified sight of someone straining to evacuate a stubborn turd. Most people wipe frm a sittingpositon, but about one third wipe standing up. Do they want passers by to see their, manhoods hanging or erect, as they wipe? My reading suggests thatopen stalls are a commonplace in the southern States of America, but not in the northern States.
john,
most r commodes be in the stall wit a doo. just kidding. i have lived in the south (united states) for most of my 44 years and cannot recall the last time i saw a stall without a door. i am concerned about rick's workplace not having doors on the men's stall. makes me wonder about the person in charge of that decision. i was thinking about going to italy and other parts to europe but now it looks like i have more to worry about than terrorist. :)
Michael,
Indeed there are Federal, State, Local building laws that determine how many stalls are in each bathroom. around here each stall cannot be narrower than 30 inches. but since i am fat i hate those too LOL. but as for can the doors swing out... if they dont pose any hazard to foot traffic outside the stall, then they can swing out. typically, stall doors can be changed to out-swing with a simple flip of a keeper and adding a handle. We happen to have parts available for most brands that will let you fix your problem.