Does the Building Code (in this case Ontario) govern outdoor spaces such as this (aside from exiting), or is it the purview of the Fire Code? I’ve come across this interpretation in many municipalities across different patios, but nothing consistent.
My question is: Does the occupant load of a restaurant patio require washrooms?
I am dealing with a system that is used to protect storage tanks at one of our industrial facilities, this system is an outdoor deluge
NBC 2015 Div B-9.8.9.5. Treads 1) Stair treads of lumber, plywood or O-2 grade OSB within dwelling units shall be not less than 25 mm
My question is: Is there ever a time that access needs to be provided around an entire building?
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One Response
I would opine that the patio creates an occupant load from a safety perspective if it either requires exiting through the restaurant or the patio itself is part of the means of egress; however, we have been told by judicial authorities that while bathroom fixture numbers may be dictated by the Building Code we cannot leverage that through Fire Code enforcement as the number of plumbing fixtures has no relation to safety and there would be no successful prosecution where the only concern is this secondary “health/plumbing” objective.
This is where the multiple non-safety “social objectives” of the Building Code (and Plumbing Code) need to be treated separately from the more pragmatic safety and protection of the Fire Code.
As such the owner can irritate his customers with insufficient washroom fixtures for total occupancy but that, in itself, is not a safety concern.
Yes you could “what if” this a dozen ways to make this a safety concern but on the face of the information presented I wouldn’t spend 5 minutes worrying about it.