Restroom Signage
Well-placed and highly-visible restroom signs are a necessity in public or commercial buildings. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 requires that commercial and public buildings provide all people – including those with visual or mobility handicaps – with the ability to easily locate and use toilet and washroom facilities. This creates the need for prominent ADA-compliant signs for restrooms: men’s bathroom signs, women’s restroom signs and unisex or gender-neutral designs.
ADA Restroom Signs – Bathroom Signage for Washrooms
The requirements and specifications for design, content and placement of ADA-compliant architectural signs are laid out in the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). In addition to these Federal regulations, most states have issued their own guidelines for bathroom signage. Most notably California with its CA Title 24 restroom sign building code specifications. These Federal and State laws mandate the location, size, spacing and design of signs for bathrooms -- including the symbols, fonts, raised tactile and Braille lettering.
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Federal and State regulations require easy-to-find gender-appropriate restroom signs on hallways and bathroom doors. These must incorporate visual and tactile lettering, Braille and international symbols for toilet facilities, water closets or washrooms. Signs for bathrooms must also include visible, Braille and tactile sign components indicating the applicable gender (men, women, unisex or gender-neutral) and wheelchair accessibility. ADA restroom signs must be placed between 48” and 60” above the floor to enhance visibility and accessibility to people who are blind, visually impaired or in wheelchairs.
Women’s Restroom Signs
To meet government requirements, ADA women’s restroom signs in hallways and on bathroom doors must have high contrast and low glare. The ADAAG requires that visible lettering be in specific fonts and type sizes, with raised tactile letters and a separate Braille restroom sign component. Sign designs for women’s bathrooms also include the international symbols for female gender and toilet facilities.
Men’s Restroom Signs
Men’s bathroom signage is similar except for the substitution of the male pictogram indicating use by men or boys. As with female toilet plaques for hallways and doors, signs for restrooms must include contrasting raised symbols and lettering – including a Braille version -- for toilet facilities and the international symbol for the male gender.
Sign Designs for Gender-Neutral and Unisex Restrooms
Although more expensive to implement, many government and commercial buildings have been designed and equipped with gender-neutral bathroom facilities. Although this requires more elaborate construction, this forward-thinking avoids most of the difficulties inherent with adapting the conventional 2-gender system (men’s bathroom and women’s bathroom) to our current society which supports people having a broader variety of gender identification preferences. Unisex restrooms and gender-neutral bathroom signs eliminate many of the potential issues associated with designated men’s or women’s restrooms. And the flexibility afforded by unisex restrooms results in shorter waiting lines.
Recent Federal and local actions in support of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) rights have created new requirements for bathroom signs. These apply mostly to gender-specific bathrooms signage have no impact on unisex restroom sign implementations. Unfortunately, the permissible usage of gender-specific bathrooms varies widely by locale and is very controversial. But regardless of the restroom signage requirements in your area, WeBuildSigns can provide a standard or custom set of bathroom signs that meet your requirements.
Employee Hand Washing and Other Signage
Hospitals, restaurants or other buildings serving the public frequently employ special signs for restrooms to remind employees to wash their hands before returning to work. These institutions may also choose to have restroom signage instructing people how to use the facilities, and what not to flush down the toilets. Whatever your requirements, WeBuildSigns can provide a high quality and economical solution.
WeBuildSigns has a broad selection of standard ADA restroom signs and accessories in a variety of styles, colors and materials. Our attractive bathroom signs are available in wood, metal and plastic. WBS also makes slip-in signage so you can add your own card stock, paper or plastic inserts. And if you would like a custom set of restroom signs to match your organization’s color scheme and/or logo, we can design these to your specifications.
Online Restroom Sign Store
Our online store features a wide selection of ADA-compliant restroom signs and mounting options. Our high quality signs and compatible accessories are available in a wide variety of materials and colors. WBS products come in an amazing variety of styles and prices; and you will be surprised how economical top quality building signage can be.
If you are looking for a unique style of restroom signage to highlight your organization’s name, logo or brand, we can create a custom bathroom sign system to meet your needs. As with our standard sign packages available online, custom designs are high quality and surprisingly low cost. Call or email us today to talk with us about your specific requirements.
WeBuildSigns – Austin TX USA - (512) 323-9770