ADA Hand Dryer Installation

The correct ADA hand dryer installation may not need a recessed hand dryer depending on where it is installed. Read the ADAAG (The Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines) Issued by Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board and consult with your local inspector. Local code varies greatly so interpretation and county or city codes will very. Hand dryer height for installation is also a consideration.

Always get approval of your local inspectors.

Local inspectors may allow hand dryers to protrude from the wall more than for 4" if they are not installed "into walks, halls, corridors, passageways, or aisles" where they would be undetectable by persons using canes or trained service animals walking. Installing a surface mounted hand dryer on walls that are a protrusion hazard could be allowable. Suggested areas are next to sinks or on walls not along walk paths.

4.4 Protruding Objects
https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/buildings-and-sites/about-the-ada-standards/background/adaag#4.4.1

4.4.1* General. Objects projecting from walls (for example, telephones) with their leading edges between 27 in and 80 in (685 mm and 2030 mm) above the finished floor shall protrude no more than 4 in (100 mm) into walks, halls, corridors, passageways, or aisles (see Fig. 8(a)). Objects mounted with their leading edges at or below 27 in (685 mm) above the finished floor may protrude any amount (see Fig. 8(a) and (b)). Free-standing objects mounted on posts or pylons may overhang 12 in (305 mm) maximum from 27 in to 80 in (685 mm to 2030 mm) above the ground or finished floor (see Fig. 8(c) and (d)). Protruding objects shall not reduce the clear width of an accessible route or maneuvering space (see Fig. 8(e)). Appendix Note

A4.4 Protruding Objects.

A4.4.1 General. Service animals are trained to recognize and avoid hazards. However, most people with severe impairments of vision use the long cane as an aid to mobility. The two principal cane techniques are the touch technique, where the cane arcs from side to side and touches points outside both shoulders; and the diagonal technique, where the cane is held in a stationary position diagonally across the body with the cane tip touching or just above the ground at a point outside one shoulder and the handle or grip extending to a point outside the other shoulder. The touch technique is used primarily in uncontrolled areas, while the diagonal technique is used primarily in certain limited, controlled, and familiar environments. Cane users are often trained to use both techniques.

Potential hazardous objects are noticed only if they fall within the detection range of canes (see Fig. A4). Visually impaired people walking toward an object can detect an overhang if its lowest surface is not higher than 27 in (685 mm). When walking alongside protruding objects, they cannot detect overhangs. Since proper cane and service animal techniques keep people away from the edge of a path or from walls, a slight overhang of no more than 4 in (100 mm) is not hazardous.

ADA Hand Dryer Installation diagram ADA Hand Dryer Installation diagram ADA Hand Dryer Installation diagram ADA Hand Dryer Installation diagram