Commercial plumbing is often straightforward, involving components like carriers, flushometers, porcelain toilets, and chrome-plated faucets. However, there is a specialized area of commercial plumbing that presents unique challenges. This includes the use of heavy-duty stainless steel fixtures that are anti-ligature, vandal-resistant, and bariatric-ready, commonly found in prisons, behavioral health facilities, and public restrooms in parks and rest areas.
If you are involved in remodeling or maintaining plumbing systems in these facilities, it is crucial to proceed with caution. Many of these systems are custom-specified for their specific environments and cannot be easily modified or returned.
Prisons require stainless steel fixtures with limited moving parts to ensure resistance to vandalism and prevent them from being easily turned into weapons. In contrast, behavioral wards need anti-ligature fixtures and often require bariatric toilets, but they are designed to be less intimidating than prison environments. As a result, stainless steel fixtures in these settings are frequently powder-coated.
In parks, there may not even be a sewer hookup, which makes products like the Acorn Waterless Toilet Stool suitable, as it is designed to cover a pit toilet and is difficult to vandalize. Push-button mechanisms are often used in both parks and prisons since sensors and handles can be easily damaged. However, sensor actuators are more common in hospitals and behavioral wards, where minimizing touchpoints is a priority.
When retrofitting or refreshing a facility, it is crucial to follow the old adage, “Measure twice, cut once,” and it may be wise to heed this advice even more in this context. Most institutional fixtures are custom-made to fit the specific location where they will be installed, making factors such as room size, water source, electrical requirements, and door opening dimensions very important. This is particularly true in preexisting facilities, where access points are limited, and existing pipe chases may be confined. These constraints can make it challenging to open walls and relocate plumbing.
In situations where a repair or replacement is necessary, the existing fixture may have been ordered with all applicable accessories included from the manufacturer, or it may have been assembled from components provided by several manufacturers.
For example, the Acorn Combi unit might be equipped with a Sloan flushometer or could be specified with an FVBO flush valve by other manufacturers. Meanwhile, the faucet could feature an Acorn Air-Control valve. The actuator for both the faucet and toilet may be a push button or a sensor, and the toilet could have either a non-removable seat or a standard one.
In all cases, identifying the currently installed brand is essential for specifying the appropriate replacement. Once the brand is identified, repair or replacement options can be explored further.
Now that you have a solid understanding of your facility's requirements, including the room dimensions and the currently installed products, we recommend consulting with a specialist in this type of plumbing. If you are seeking assistance from The Part Works and are located in the Pacific Northwest, we suggest scheduling an appointment with one of our technical sales specialists. They can conduct a walkthrough of your facility to confirm your understanding and explore options for confidently repairing or replacing the products in your facility.
It's important to note that much of the institutional ware used in parks, rest stops, behavioral health facilities, and prisons requires specifications that need to be approved since these items are often custom-made, expensive, and typically non-returnable.
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