The New High-Privacy Toilet Compartments

New options in commercial bathroom enclosures eliminate sightlines and provide privacy, safety, cleanliness and sustainability – along with greatly improved aesthetics.

By Jeanette Fitzgerald Pitts

The typical specification for the standard commercial toilet compartment in the United States does not leave much to the imagination—but not in the way that one might think. Yes, it is straight forward. The common pilaster system comprised of pilasters, dividing panels, doors, and hinges has not changed much in the past few decades, but, most surprisingly, neither have the gaping sightlines that offer more than a glimpse into and out of an occupied restroom stall.

Luckily, designers now have a solution that will leave people feeling less exposed. A new toilet compartment system, called the hinge and post bathroom system, has been developed to provide more privacy in this most private space. This course will explore the semi-private nature of the typical pilaster system, introduce the new hinge and post bathroom compartment system, and detail the features that make this solution a superior privacy option. The aesthetics of the two systems will also be compared, as will their support of sustainable design tenets. Finally, best practices for specifying the new hinge and post system will be shared.

The Common Pilaster Toilet Compartment

The design of the pilaster toilet compartment commonly used in the United States is based upon flat rectangular columns, called pilasters. The pilasters are secured to the floor and/or possibly ceiling, creating the basic frame for the entire bathroom stall structure. The individual compartments are crafted by mounting the doors and dividing panels to the pilasters with exposed metal hinges.

In terms of assembly, the specification for the pilaster-based toilet compartment provides some guidance on how the various components must be cobbled together. The standard spec directs installers to “locate the bottom edge of doors and panels 14 inches above finished floor” and “provide uniform, maximum ³/₈-inch vertical clearance at doors.” While the included tips are certainly relevant to fashioning a functional and code-compliant toilet compartment, there seems to be one glaring omission. The standard toilet compartment specification does not define the size deemed acceptable for the gap that is created on either side of the stall door where the hinge or latch fastens the door to the adjacent pilaster. The gap, or how to avoid it, is not mentioned at all.

Unfortunately, the gap in a pilaster-style bathroom compartment is a function (and flaw) of the system’s design. The flat, rectangular column anchors a flat, rectangular door as it swings open and shut on a heavy-duty hinge. The problem arises because space must be provided to allow these rigid and straight-edged elements to accommodate a rotation of almost 90 degrees without causing the door to stick. Providing enough space so that the door can move freely creates gaps between the door and the pilasters on either side. The typical gap in a well-constructed, pilaster-based toilet compartment is ³/₁₆ inch, which is large enough to create a substantial sightline into and out of the bathroom stall. Installation errors and poor assembly practices can result in much larger openings at the door, leaving people extremely exposed and uncomfortable.

Only in America

While gaps in the toilet compartment may be considered business as usual in the United States, travelers from abroad are often horrified to find that the design of our bathroom stalls turns every trip to the restroom into an unsolicited peep show. In fact, there is an entire BuzzFeed thread dedicated to the topic of toilet door gaps in America.

For years, specifiers in Europe and China have rejected American-made partitions and toilet compartments because of their somewhat exhibitionist nature, opting, instead, for compartments that provide a more complete visual barrier and greater degree of privacy. In conversations with large partition dealers in China, it was explained that United States pilaster-based partitions were not an acceptable product option for their specification community due to the lack of privacy they provided.

However, even Americans are becoming wary of their potential exposure while on the pot. With smart phones now equipping every bathroom occupant with camera and video-recording capabilities, and the means to distribute those images worldwide, the demand to improve the privacy of the bathroom compartment has now reached our shores. To answer this call, specifiers need a toilet compartment solution without those unsettling sightlines and with doors and partitions that can sit closer to the floor. They need the new hinge and post toilet compartment.

Introducing the High Privacy Toilet Compartment

The high privacy toilet compartment redefines the structure of the typical restroom partition system by eliminating the use of pilasters. Instead of building the enclosure on a framework of rectangular pilaster columns, this new style of restroom partition is based upon a metal post and headrail frame. The small diameter, corrosion-resistant aluminum post removes much of the vertical visual bulk created by the pilasters, which run from the top of the stall to the bottom in the traditional system. The headrail, constructed from heavy-duty extruded aluminum, provides the lateral support for the panels and doors. While the old pilaster systems often incorporate headrails as well, the new high privacy system features a more contemporary headrail design with an anti-grip feature that more effectively deters inappropriate or unwanted behavior in the restroom environment.

The basic components of the high privacy toilet compartment are designed to function and fit together as a cohesive system, as opposed to the piecemeal, add-on approach so prominently featured in conventional pilaster-based solutions. These components include:

• Posts, as opposed to rectangular pilaster columns.

• Continuous edge-mounted hardware, such as brackets and strikes.

• Innovative shiplap or “rabbeted” edge, described in more detail later, which allows the doors and posts to meet in a flush surface.

• Doors and divider panels with increased heights to remove top and bottom sightlines, or in the highest-privacy solution, fully enclosed compartments that provide no sightlines between doors and posts and have no space between floor and ceiling.

• High-density polyethylene (HDPE) material with numerous advantages in sustainability, indoor air quality, maintenance and durability, as discussed later in this course.

This revolutionary new toilet compartment product delivers multitiered benefits to any restroom design, including a high-privacy occupant experience, a more efficient and sustainable material, and a cleaner and more contemporary aesthetic.

High-Privacy Features of the New Toilet Compartment System

This thoughtfully designed compartment structure employs many new features that now create a high-privacy occupant experience in a public restroom stall. The combination of the innovative continuous edge-mounted hinge and shiplap doors eliminates sightlines at the door completely, while multiple panel heights or fully enclosed compartments discourage gawkers from catching a glimpse from both over and under the partition system.

Continuous Edge Mounted Hardware

The continuous edge-mounted hinge is such a departure from the hinges used in the typical toilet compartment system and so critical to the improved performance of the new system that it was incorporated into the name of the new compartment. One key difference between the hinges used previously and the hinges used in this new system is placement. In the high privacy toilet compartment system, the continuous edge-mounted hinge is placed at the edge of the door. Located on the inside of the door, the continuous edge-mounted hinge is concealed from view to people standing outside the stall. Hinges used in pilaster systems jut out from one edge of the door to connect the door panel to the pilaster. They are highly visible and significantly contribute to the sightlines that exist when the restroom doors are closed.

The concealed nature of the continuous edge-mounted hinge creates two important benefits: one aesthetic and one functional. From an aesthetic perspective, the continuous hinge is not visible, in most layouts, from the outside of the stall, creating a cleaner look. Functionally, the location and construction of the continuous hinge makes it possible for the shiplap door panel to rest snugly against the adjacent fixed panels on either side, creating a sightline-free toilet enclosure.

The continuous edge-mounted hinge is available in both inswing and outswing configurations of the high privacy compartment system, to best accommodate the needs of any project.

Rabbeted Doors and Panels

While the pilaster-based systems use straight-edged, rectangular columns and straight-edged, rectangular doors, creating a void and sightline between the two straight edges, the hinge and post system features angle-cut doors that eliminate sightlines into the stall when the doors are closed. A 60-degree angle is cut on two opposite edges of the door, allowing it to overlap with the adjacent fixed panels on either side of the door. This overlap eliminates sightlines and prevents inadvertent or roving eyes from seeing inside the occupied enclosure.

Shiplap Edges

While conventional pilaster-based systems use straight-edged, rectangular columns and straight-edged, rectangular doors, creating a void and sightline between the two straight edges, today’s innovative designs feature shiplap doors that eliminate sightlines into the stall when the doors are closed. The term shiplap refers to a groove cut into a surface to allow pieces to fit together snugly, forming a tight seal. In this case, the shiplap doors allow the panels to fit together in a flush surface that eliminates sightlines and prevents inadvertent or roving eyes from seeing inside the occupied enclosure.

Multiple Panel Height Options

Traditional partition compartments are available today in three panel heights. The standard panel is 55 inches high and is mounted 14 inches above the finished floor. The privacy panel is 62 inches tall and is mounted 8 to 14 inches above the finished floor. For additional privacy, a panel is available with a height measuring 72 inches, mounted 4 to 10 inches above the finished floor.

For the highest privacy and largest range of aesthetic options, new fully enclosed compartments are available. Overall heights can be customized between 86 inches minimum and 112 inches maximum, including floor to ceiling options.

Fully enclosed compartments offer the most private, comfortable and efficient solution available for commercial toilets and related enclosures such as dressing rooms. The cost and construction time for multi-stall, fully closed toilet compartments is significantly less than for individual toilet rooms now offered in many comparable commercial applications.

The hinge and post toilet compartments are available in three panel heights. The standard panel is 55 inches high and is mounted 14 inches above the finished floor. The privacy panel is 62 inches tall and is mounted 8 to 14 inches above the finished floor. For a high-privacy application, choose the high-privacy panel with a height measuring 72 inches. These high-privacy panels are mounted 4 to 10 inches above the finished floor.

Today’s innovative compartment design not only improves the functionality of the toilet compartment but also offers many distinct aesthetic advantages over the traditional pilaster system. The new system creates a cleaner, sleeker, and more modern restroom solution. These advantages are offered in multiple panel heights and door heights, but are most evident in the fully enclosed compartments. Extensive color and texture options provide designers with a broad palette for creating commercial restrooms that will realize their unique vision for the project.

Aesthetic Advantages

Today’s innovative compartment design not only improves the functionality of the toilet compartment but also offers many distinct aesthetic advantages over the traditional pilaster system. The new system creates a cleaner, sleeker, and more modern restroom solution. These advantages are offered in multiple panel heights and door heights, but are most evident in the fully enclosed compartments. Extensive color and texture options provide designers with a broad palette for creating commercial restrooms that will realize their unique vision for the project.

Sleeker, More Modern Look

Redefining the structure of the toilet compartment from pilasters to posts creates two important aesthetic benefits. Using a small-diameter, corrosion-resistant aluminum post instead of a bulky, rectangular column creates a bathroom partition with a sleeker and more modern aesthetic. The move away from the pilaster column structure also creates a solution that provides better balance, keeping the visual bulk of the panel where it is needed and streamlining the appearance of the support structure altogether.

Concealed Hardware

One of the greatest aesthetic advantages of selecting a HDPE restroom compartment is the clean look of the hardware. The old pilaster-based systems rely heavily upon exposed and clunky hinges and brackets to make the toilet compartment operational. Depending on the layout selected, the hardware in the high privacy compartment is not visible on the outside of the stalls. The hinges are less visible for both aesthetic and maintenance benefits. The clean look hardware in the new systems removes the clunky metal hardware, that is not only unattractive but also difficult to keep physically clean and operationally functional. The new systems also feature a sleek, unobtrusive occupancy indicator.

Extensive Color and Texture Options

There are more than 30 colors and textures to choose from, ensuring that there is a high privacy restroom partition system available to complement any interior decor. Available colors include a wide collection of classic neutrals, bolder tones, and sleek metallic finishes. Toilet compartment panels and doors can also be specified in several textures, including orange peel, hammered, rotary brushed, and more.

The Material Advantage

The material used to construct these solid HDPE toilet partitions systems is also unique and delivers a myriad of benefits, from impressive durability to features that support the tenets of sustainable design and green building.

Introducing HDPE

Today’s innovative toilet compartment doors and partitions are made from HDPE, which is one of the most commonly used plastics in the United States.

Technically speaking, when polymer resins are compounded under high pressure and form a single thickness panel, the result is referred to as solid HDPE. The solid HDPE used to fabricate these innovative restroom doors and partitions is also used to create lockers, shower stalls, and playground equipment.

Using HDPE in a Restroom Setting

Commercial restrooms can be harsh and high-traffic environments that are often damp, making the materials used in these environments susceptible to mold, mildew, and rust. Vandalism and graffiti are also common occurrences in these public yet private spaces. HDPE is naturally resistant to all of these potential threats, making it a material that is uniquely suited to overcome the typical challenges faced in the restroom application.

HDPE restroom compartments can be specified in colors and textures that resemble popular building materials, such as stainless steel, without the risk of rust or incurring the sizable maintenance costs often associated with these finishes.

Combat Mold, Mildew, and Bacteria

HDPE panels are waterproof and nonabsorbent. The solid plastic’s nonporous and impermeable surface does not support the growth of mold, mildew, or rust. In addition, these plastic partitions are naturally resistant to common bacteria, including methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an infection caused by a type of staph bacteria that’s become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections, and a.baumannii, which can cause Pneumonia. Testing has shown that after 24 hours, 98.4 percent of MRSA bacteria placed on the surface of an HDPE panel died without the use of cleaning solutions or antimicrobial additives.

HDPE partitions showed a significant decrease in Influenza, Human rhinovirus, and Human Coronavirus viral activity within 24 hours of exposure, under ISO 21702 Testing. .

Combat Graffiti

These solid plastic partitions are resistant to marks by pens, pencils, markers, and other writing instruments. Graffiti can be easily wiped away from the surface of an HDPE panel with a common, nonabrasive cleaner.

Resist Impact

HDPE panels have a greater resistance to impacts and dents than traditional metal materials.

Never Need to be Repainted

Solid HDPE material is a solid piece of plastic that is uniformly colored throughout with a pigment that is blended during the extrusion process. The color is physically integrated into the material, not added on top of it at a later stage as a coating or laminate. This means that an HDPE hinge and post restroom panel will never delaminate or require painting to maintain the appearance of the system.

The Sustainable Design Features of HDPE

HDPE toilet compartments also support the goals of sustainable design in many ways. These systems are designed to reduce the environmental impact of a project and offer initial and long-term improvements to the indoor air quality of the commercial restroom space. HDPE toilet compartments are recognized as low-emitting products that protect the quality of the interior environment throughout the life of the restroom system, both in terms of reducing harmful emissions and also in eliminating hazards such as bacteria, an increasingly important health issue, particularly in a restroom setting. HDPE partitions are also fully recyclable, can contain a significant amount of recycled content.

Reduces Air Pollutants

A major aspect of HDPE material that supports sustainable design objectives is its zero-VOC emissions rating. HDPE materials are not a source for off-gassing of hazardous VOCs such as those identified under the LEED IV IEQ credits. This low emission quality is due, in large part, to the fact that the HDPE partitions are manufactured from a solid plastic material that physically integrates the desired pigment throughout the material during the fabrication process. These HDPE toilet compartment panels do not employ paints, coatings, adhesives, or sealants of any kind. The solid HDPE partitions do not emit or off-gas any VOCs over the course of their usable life. In addition, HDPE does not require harmful chemical cleaners. A simple damp cloth and mild detergent replaces years and gallons of chemical cleaners.

Resists Biological Pollutants

As noted above, the plastic partitions in high-privacy toilet compartments are naturally resistant to common bacteria, including methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). But another often overlooked and potentially harmful threat to health and to air quality is exposure to mold, mildew and fungus. Veneer exterior, particle board and honeycomb cardboard cores are at high risk for moisture penetration. This risk increases dramatically when these materials are placed in damp and wet environments such as shower rooms and restrooms. Laminated or hollow core materials cannot be installed without penetrating the veneer exterior, exposing the interior to moisture and potentially water. This can create a harmful condition whereby the core of the partition becomes exposed to moisture while the thin veneer remains seemingly intact. As the core begins to mold and deteriorate, the integrity of both the air quality and partition structure are compromised. This could result in an unforeseen hazardous and costly mold problem. This is particularly true in rooms with increased humidity such as showers, restrooms and locker rooms. The solid, non-porous properties of solid surfacing materials such as HDPE resist the growth of mold and mildew.

GreenGuard Certification

The GREENGUARD Certification program was developed to cut through the clutter of environmental claims and self-declarations by credibly communicating commitment to healthy buildings, customer well-being and sustainability UL Environment's GREENGUARD Certification program helps manufacturers create – and helps buyers identify and trust – interior products and materials that have low chemical emissions, improving the quality of the air in which the products are used. All certified products must meet stringent emissions standards based on established chemical exposure criteria.

UL Environment, a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories), acquired GREENGUARD in 2011, further advancing its mission of promoting global sustainability, environmental health, and safety. GREENGUARD Certification is broadly recognized and accepted by sustainable building programs and building codes around the world. Additionally, the GREENGUARD Product Guide serves as a free online tool for finding certified low-emitting products for offices, hospitals, schools, homes, and more.

Fully Recyclable

A recyclable product can be remanufactured back into the original product or something else rather than heading for a landfill after its first useful life has ended. HDPE is easily recyclable and can be used again and again. Moreover, recycled HDPE creates no harmful emissions during its production or throughout the duration of its subsequent useful lives.

Recycled-Content Product

Beyond being fully recyclable, an HDPE enclosed high privacy toilet compartment can contain material from products that were recycled. This means that the HDPE restroom enclosure contains items that have been diverted from the traditional waste stream, allowing used items to be reused as part of an HDPE restroom solution instead of taking up space in a landfill. The amount of recycled material in a product is typically stated as a percentage. A higher percentage indicates that more of the total product was created from recycled content.

New trends in green building and sustainable design programs are placing a growing emphasis on identifying the stage of use at which the product was sent to become recycled content. Most commonly, recycled content is categorized as either post-consumer recycled content or post-industrial recycled content.

Post-Consumer Recycled Content is defined as waste material that has been used by a consumer, disposed of, and diverted from landfills. It does not include waste generated during the manufacture and fabrication of a product.

Restroom partitions made from HDPE can be specified and manufactured to contain up to 100 percent post-consumer recycled material. This is significantly higher than the average recycled content found in traditional restroom partition products. Post-Industrial/Pre-Consumer Recycled Content: These two terms, often used interchangeably, refer to material that is being recycled from waste produced during the manufacturing process. In either case, it refers to a material that essentially became waste during the manufacturing process of another product and, as such, was never used in an end-user capacity.

Post-Industrial/Pre-Consumer Recycled Content: These two terms, often used interchangeably, refer to material that is being recycled from waste produced during the manufacturing process. In either case, it refers to a material that essentially became waste during the manufacturing process of another product and, as such, was never used in an end-user capacity.

HDPE restroom doors and divider panels typically contain between 25 percent and 75 percent of post-industrial recycled content. This is, again, significantly higher than the post-industrial recycled content found in the metal partitions often used in the pilaster-based restroom systems.

Performance Comparison: Pilaster System vs. High Privacy Enclosure System

This course has so far examined and described the differences between the typical pilaster toilet compartment and the new high-privacy toilet compartments now available. Among the three compartment systems available today – pilaster-based, high privacy enclosure, and fully closed toilet compartments, multiple degrees of privacy are available in each, depending on specifications selected by the design professional. While high privacy and fully enclosed toilet compartments standardize a higher level of privacy, pilaster-based designs can be optioned to provide greater privacy. The bigger question is how the performance of each solution compares. An assessment of the performance of pilaster-based and high privacy restroom enclosures is summarized here, in terms of their ability to create a private occupant experience with reduced sightlines, aesthetic appeal, durability in the commercial restroom space, and sustainability.

Delivering a High-Privacy Experience

The truth is that this is not the first time that customers have begun to clamor for better privacy in the restroom. It’s just the first time that the design and specification community has had access to a tool to provide the improved privacy, without a lot of hardware. Before the introduction of the high-privacy toilet partition options, sightlines in the basic pilaster-based system were combatted by adding brackets to the door to obscure the existing gaps. Now, with high-privacy hardware, shiplap edges, and height options, there is no need to cover gaps with obtrusive hardware. The continuous edge-mounted hardware and shiplap closures eliminate the gap between the door and adjacent fixed panels, providing a smooth, sightline-free, and highly-private experience, without requiring that any bandage bracket fixes be incorporated into the design.

Achieving high-privacy design without a lot of additional parts and pieces makes the traditional partition system the better performing of the two in this category.

Aesthetic Appeal

The swap of the bulky, rectangular columns in the pilaster system for the sleeker metal and headrail frame is an aesthetic upgrade for many reasons. Not only does it update this traditional toilet enclosure form with a more contemporary look, but improving the overall visual balance of the system and eliminating the view of hardware from the outside of the stall all contribute toward an enclosure system that is much more aesthetically appealing. In all three restroom compartment designs available today, hardware can secure different degrees of privacy. Each system has privacy hardware and height options to improve overall aesthetic appeal.

Durability

When comparing the durability of different restroom partition systems, the focus is less on the structure of the frame and more on the material and panel construction, and how it fares in the face of the common challenges of the restroom environment. HDPE is a solid plastic material that has the color integrated consistently throughout the plastic panel. This is dramatically different construction from many of the other types of panels, such as stainless steel, which often feature a metal exterior with a honeycomb core made of cardboard. The HDPE material and its solid panel construction offer a more durable solution to each potential threat of the restroom space. Fewer clunky metal pieces of hardware also offer less opportunity for breakdown and the necessity of replacement.

The HDPE restroom partitions provide superior resistance to dents, graffiti, corrosion, mildew, moisture, and delamination. These HDPE panels and doors are also very easy to clean and naturally resistant to bacteria. Because HDPE is a solid material, rather than a material using layered production or laminates, it is less open to the material degradation common in the challenging restroom environment. The unparalleled durability of the HDPE solid plastic surface makes it a perfect fit for the harsh and high-traffic commercial restroom interior.

Sustainability

HDPE toilet partitions are made from HDPE solid plastic offers a unique solution that blends high privacy and durability in a building material that is designed to be environmentally friendly and support many important sustainable design criteria. The zero-VOC emissions rating indicates that the restroom enclosure contributes toward a healthy indoor environment throughout the life of the system and then can be substantially repurposed for additional useful lives, without requiring a resting space in the nearest local landfill. Fully recyclable and capable of containing recycled content, the toilet partition system constructed from HDPE provides a sustainably savvy solution for commercial restrooms throughout the United States.

Traditional metal pilaster systems fare much worse in terms of their support of sustainable design criteria. Rust or corrosion caused by the moisture in the restroom environment can require that the doors, pilasters, and dividers be repainted to repair the damage. New paints or coatings can negatively impact the quality of the indoor environment, and most metal and alternative material systems are not designed to include a fraction of the recycled content found in the HDPE solution. In addition, the metal restroom systems are not fully recyclable and will end up taking up a sizable amount of space in the local landfill at the end of their useful life.

The HDPE material offers an overwhelming benefit to the commercial restroom space and provides all-around superior performance when compared with the popular metal or stainless steel finishes commonly used in this area. Combining various degrees of privacy with the unparalleled performance of the HDPE material offers the commercial specification market everything it wants in one package —improved privacy experience for occupants, great looks, and the support of important sustainable design criteria.

Tips on Specifying High-Privacy in Toilet Compartments

While outfitting the restroom space was once a “copy and paste” affair, today’s restrooms offer a high degree of customizable options, better securing privacy and occupant experience. Until now, designers experienced in the specification of a commercial restrooms might quickly select the color and size of the standard pilaster-style partition and then turn to the choice of accessories or the requirements for code compliance. Specifying new, high-privacy toilet systems, including the new fully enclosed compartment systems, is not complex; it’s just new. The information needed to create private, safe, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing commercial restrooms is readily available. The following are four key tips for specifying toilet compartments that will make an important difference to the well-being of everyone who uses them, throughout their service life.

Specify Concealed Continuous Hardware, with Inswing, or Outswing Doors

The most critical aspect of creating a high-privacy bathroom is eliminating the gaps at the door that cause the sightlines that allow people to see into and out of an occupied restroom stall. One of the best tools for creating a stall door with no open space for roving eyes or inadvertent flashing is the concealed pivot hinge. The hidden pivot hinge is located 6 to 8 inches inside the edge of the door instead of at the edge of the door where the hinges are placed in typical pilaster-based systems. This change in placement easily eliminates the gap that is created to accommodate the bulk of the edge-placed hinge.

The continuous hardware also offers an auto-close feature with an indicator latch. This occupancy indicator makes it easier for people in the restroom to identify which stalls are unoccupied and makes it less likely that someone would forget to secure the door before getting started.

The continuous hardware is available in both inswing and outswing configurations to ensure that the hinge selection matches the intent of the design.

For fully enclosed compartments, hardware features include a shoeless pilaster design which creates a cleaner aesthetic while eliminating a spot notorious for dirt collection. A side mounted hinge design eliminates the hinge sitting on the outside of outswing doors, which is typical in the commercial restroom stall industry.

To aid a designer in specifying a high-privacy toilet compartment, the actual spec language used to craft requirements for the inclusion of continuous hinges, shiplap doors, doors, a 72-inch panel height, and a system constructed from HDPE, are all included here:

Hinges

For enhanced privacy partition system hinge hardware:

1. Edge-mounted continuous hinge
   1. Closing degree: 5 degrees
   2. Comes to a full close on its own weight

For HDPE full privacy enclosed system hinge hardware:

2. Hinges: Helix style 78 inches (1981 mm) edge mounted continuous hinge.
   1. Stainless steel: 0.09 inch (1.88 mm) thick 304-2B stainless steel using a stainless-steel pin in 0.25 inch (5.94 mm) diameter.
   2. Closing degree is minus 5 degrees. Hinge is designed to come to a full close on its own weight.

Specify Shiplap Edges

When more traditional partition systems are desired, with the latest innovations in toilet partition compartment design, it is now possible to create a smooth, flush fit between the swinging stall door and the fixed panels on either side. Specifying a shiplap edge successfully eliminates any existing sightlines that would provide visual access to the occupied enclosure. Specify that the door of the HDPE toilet compartment feature panels with shiplap edges, to overlap and provide sightline protection equally on both sides of the door.

For enhanced privacy partition system doors:

A. Doors and Panels: High density polyethylene (HDPE), fabricated from SEQ CHAPTER 1extruded polymer resins, forming single thickness panel.

1. Waterproof and nonabsorbent, with self-lubricating surface, resistant to marks by pens, pencils, markers, and other writing instruments.
2. Thickness: 1 inch (25 mm).
3. Edges: Shiplap.

For HDPE full privacy enclosed system doors:

4. Dividing Panels: Two panels stacked and secured with 3 dowels ensuring proper alignment totaling the system specified height
   • Trim: Application to hide seam gap between dividing panels.
5. Pilasters: System specified height, shoeless system secured with 3/4 inch (19 mm) long stainless steel tamper resistant helix style head screws and angled wall brackets.
6. Transom Panel: Height required to accommodate specified system height with ship lap on one edge. Mounted with four mending plates using 3/4 inch (19 mm) long stainless steel tamper resistant helix style head screws.
7. Wall Brackets: (41 inches) (54 inches) (82 inches) long, heavy-duty aluminum. Mounts to pilasters, panels and walls with 3/4 inch (19 mm) long stainless steel tamper resistant helix style head screws.

Specify an Increased Privacy Panel Height

When specifying compartments that are not fully enclosed, door and dividing panels for enclosure systems are often available in multiple heights. For partition systems, specify a high-privacy door and divider panels onto a project by selecting the total height of 72 inches or greater. These taller panels can be mounted within a range of 4 to 10 inches above the finished floor, reducing the amount of open space between the floor and the bottom of the panel and creating a more formidable barrier between the person in the stall and those on the other side. For fully enclosed compartments, heights of 112” are offered to ensure floor to ceiling coverage.

For enhanced privacy partition system door measurements:

Doors and Dividing Panels:

• Standard Privacy:
  • Height: 55 inches (1397 mm) high and mounted at 14 inches (356 mm) above the finished floor.
• High Privacy:
  • Height: 62 inches (1575 mm) high and mounted at 8 to 14 inches (203 to 356 mm) above the finished floor.
• Extra Privacy:
  • Height: 71-1/2 inches (1816 mm) high and mounted at 4 inches (102 mm) above the finished floor.

For HDPE full privacy enclosed system measurements:

System Construction:

• System Specified Height (inches / mm): 86” min to 100” max.
• System Specified Height: As determined by the Architect.
• Doors: 79 inches (2007 mm) high. Mounted 1 inch (25 mm) above finished floor.
• Doors: 71 inches (1803 mm) high. Mounted 9 inches (229 mm) above finished floor.
• Doors: 68 inches (1727 mm) high. Mounted 12 inches (305 mm) above finished floor.
• Dividing Panels: Two panels stacked and secured with 3 dowels ensuring proper alignment totaling the system specified height
• Trim: Application to hide seam gap between dividing panels.
• Pilasters: System specified height, shoeless system secured with 3/4 inch (19 mm) long stainless steel tamper resistant helix style head screws and angled wall brackets.
• Transom Panel: Height required to accommodate specified system height with ship lap on one edge. Mounted with four mending plates using 3/4 inch (19 mm) long stainless steel tamper resistant helix style head screws.
• Wall Brackets: (41 inches) (54 inches) (82 inches) long, heavy-duty aluminum. Mounts to pilasters, panels and walls with 3/4 inch (19 mm) long stainless steel tamper resistant helix style head screws.

Specify a Compartment Made of HDPE

Specify HDPE toilet compartment equipped to withstand exposure to moisture, mold and mildew, and to resist graffiti and dents. These doors and divider panels never need to be repainted or refinished to improve their color or vibrancy. The key is to select HDPE as the material of the toilet compartment instead of metal or alternative materials often found in the commercial restroom space. HDPE can be specified to contain up to 100 percent of recycled content, offering a minimum of 25 percent recycled content, and meets the fire hazard classifications most commonly required in the commercial restroom space. HDPE has been tested to pass both ASTM E84 and NFPA 286.

For enhanced privacy partition materials:

Plastic Panels: High density polyethylene (HDPE) suitable for exposed applications, waterproof, non-absorbent, and graffiti-resistant textured surface;

• Fire Rating: Not required.
• Fire-resistance Rating: Class A.
• Fire-resistance Rating: Class B.
• Fire-resistance Rating: NFPA 266.

For HDPE full privacy enclosed systems:

Doors, Panels and Pilasters:

• High density polyethylene (HDPE), fabricated from polymer resins compounded under high pressure, forming single thickness panel.
• Waterproof and nonabsorbent, with self-lubricating surface, resistant to marks by pens, pencils, markers, and other writing instruments.
• Thickness: 1 inch (25 mm) with 1/4 inch (6 mm) radiused edges. One edge of pilaster and transom panels to be ship lapped.
• Fire Rating: Not required.
• Fire Rating: Tested per ASTM E 84: Class A flame spread/smoke developed rating.
• Fire Rating: Tested per ASTM E 84: Class B flame spread/smoke developed rating.
• Fire Rating: Tested per NFPA 286: Pass.

The design and specification community finally has a solution to eliminate those sizeable sightlines from the American-made restroom stall and create toilet enclosures that offer the level of privacy that people have been enjoying in Europe and China for quite some time, without requiring the addition of extra hardware and brackets to camouflage the gap. The new designs and construction available for toilet compartments, including fully enclosed compartments, revamps the structure and style of the traditional pilaster system, swapping the bulky, rectangular-column frame for a sleeker, better balanced, and more contemporary design, and eliminating the sightlines by revolutionizing the hinge and creating clean flush closure of doors. Privacy can be customized to fit the demands of each project. Updated partition options bring innovative designs with overlapping edges, continuous edge mounted hinges and floor mounted side panels. Enhanced aesthetics allow for more design options and ease of maintenance. Constructed from the solid plastic material HDPE, toilet partitions are extremely durable and equipped to withstand the typical challenges of the commercial restroom environment, while supporting many important sustainable design and green building criteria.

Specify a toilet compartment made of HDPE to create private, beautiful, and environmentally friendly places for people to go about their business, free from privacy concerns, and then get on with the rest of their day. Now, people will be able to use a commercial restroom with no downside in sight.

Jeanette Fitzgerald Pitts has written dozens of continuing education articles for Architectural Record covering a wide range of building products and practices.

Scranton Products brands of plastic toilet compartments and lockers have dominated the market for more than a quarter of a century, setting new benchmarks for the industry in quality and innovation. Our well-known brands feature the most durable, low-maintenance, and best products in the industry. www.scrantonproducts.com.