I am pleased to announce that the parish hall restrooms are ready to be used. I thank everyone for their patience with the noise and limited restroom availability during construction.
The restrooms have five stalls for the women, two stalls and four urinals for the men. The two areas are roughly similar in square footage. Both restrooms are equipped with baby change stations. We have run electrical in place in case HVAC proves to be necessary for temperature control, though we have held off on installation to see how the restrooms do without it. The old restrooms did not include any HVAC, nor do the classroom restrooms currently.
A mop closet with a vented door and exhaust fan lies between the two restrooms. Like the classroom side, this includes a mop basin for cleaning dirty mops.
In terms of function and style, the new restrooms mirror the remodel of their classroom counterparts, with the following distinctions:
- The mirrors are narrower, allowing for easier access to the soap dispenser.
- The faucets are longer to prevent splashback onto the counters (we have also replaced the older, shorter faucets in the classroom restrooms).
- The concrete has a copper colored dye imbued into the surface, giving greater warmth to the restrooms.
- Built-in paper towel and trash receptacles have been installed to satisfy ADA requirements and provide more space for trash.
- We had space for a water tank heater rather than an on-demand water heater.
- The thermostatic mixing valves (ADA requirement to prevent scalding) under the sinks were properly installed to allow for cold water from the sinks (this was fixed on the classroom side, as well).
- Emergency lights were sourced that are nearly a perfect match to the partition colors.
- Wood doors were used to match the parish hall (instead of the metal doors used in the classroom area). The doors have a ¾” gap at the bottom to allow fresh air to circulate into the rooms.
- The exhaust fans were connected to a single central exhaust system for both bathrooms, designed for greater air flow.
The code for the bathroom doors remains the same.
There are still a few outstanding elements that will be completed over the upcoming days:
- The concrete polishers will return on Monday to fill in gouges in the concrete that appeared afterwards and to color-match the repairs. They will also put a final clear coat over the concrete.
- The wall-mounted soap dispensers are on back-order and will be installed once they arrive.
- The emergency exit sign is on back-order; a temporary one is in place currently.
- The security camera will be re-installed. (Note that this camera is useful principally to identify if and when a man enters the female restroom; it is *not* to keep track of when people in general are using the restrooms, nor does it have vision into the restrooms themselves.)
- Restroom signs that match the rest of the campus are on order and will replace the temporary ones in place.
- The mop basin will be slightly re-configured to better protect from any moisture entering the walls.
- There are some flusher valve issues that need to be resolved.
- We are investigating some issues with the exhaust fan system that are adversely affecting the women’s restroom.
During construction, contractors addressed many, many other issues around the campus. It would be too difficult to list them all here.
I am deeply grateful to the several parishioners that were involved in this project; however, they wish to remain anonymous. Other projects are forthcoming! The track light dimmers for the church should arrive any day. The nursing room cabinets are in the process of fabrication. The restoration of the sidewalk on 44th Street will begin in a few weeks. Plans are moving forward to beautify the picnic area, to remodel the bookstore and office. Finally, plans for the church expansion are moving forward again.
