How are commercial bars designed for ADA compliance? In this video you'll learn
that today there's no longer any such thing as grandfathering in many
communities and that everyone should adhere to the ADA standards for
accessible design. Coming up!
Hey, Rick Uzubell again from Cabaret Design Group, where I share my personal
ideas and tips on bar design, draft beer system design and product reviews.
Later in this video, I'll give you 'Today's Takeaway'.
If you're new here, please consider subscribing, and
check-out the show notes and links in the
'YouTube Description' below.
Now let's jump into the show!
For those who are unaware, the Americans with
Disabilities Act, simply referred to as ADA, is a Civil
Rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability and was passed in 1990.
In fact, all of our clients are encouraged to comply with the most current,
strictest ADA design specifications. With all the information on the internet,
it's still challenging for most people to understand the current and seemingly
endless design guidelines set-up for the bar nightclub industry. The general
dimensional criteria we use when designing ADA-complaint design for
seating at commercial bars is as follows: 60" of width, not greater than 34" in height (bar top)
and at least 19" of leg clearance. I can best illustrate
these ADA dimensional clearances by showing you the following example, which
can be downloaded below. Here you'll notice that we provide one ADA space,
which we refer to as a 'station', the same as every (other) bar design. The space shown in
this plan is 60" wide and if we look at the details of this
in elevation and section views, you'll notice that the height of the ADA
countertop is set at 34" and that the outside edge of the ADA bar top is
cantilevered 19" from the closest finish on the bar face.
What I just described is the easy part of the design!
The hard part is adapting standard bar
equipment to function within this height constraint.
In commercial bar design, we utilize every square inch of space, so we must
develop a solution for modifying the equipment. In most instances, we specify
a 3cm thick countertop and 3/4" of plywood
underlayment, which leaves us with
slightly greater than 32" of vertical space
for the respective underbar equipment,
but these are metal fabrications that can normally be
modified. No doubt, the cost will increase
for one or two pieces, but making efficient use of the entire underbar
space justifies this cost.
Much of the bar equipment you see here can often be
modified. Glastender, a premier manufacturer of bar
equipment, has been great to work with.
We normally specified that the backsplash
and legs be reduced by 3" each,
so as to minimize back strain for bartenders.
In order to trim and beautify the ADA station, we'll
normally specify tall side panels from the same material we're specifying for
the bar. To create a totally customized appearance, we specify that the end
panels be 4" taller than the adjacent bar tops, which creates a way of
trimming the upper bar, while also creating a side splash.
Whether you're remodeling your bar, or embarking on a new construction project,
you need to strongly consider adhering to the current ADA standards. It will be
well worth your effort to meet the most restrictive design standards for ADA
bar design. See you next time!