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I work in a university building designed in the 1930s, located in western New York State (not in NYC). To enter classrooms, offices or labs one passes through a single door. However, the restrooms ALL have two layers of door with a closet-sized compartment in between. This poses issues for people with mobility impairments. All the inner doors have transoms, with a ventilation grating above each transom. Both the men's and women's restrooms have these two-layer doors.

The two door system is awkward and wastes space. Surely there are better ways to prevent hallway users from peeping in. And the bathrooms are not noisy; I've been in classrooms that share a wall with a restroom and have never heard any water-related noise. Finally, the grating between the restroom and the compartment eliminates the argument that the reason is odor control. I suspect the reason relates to the building codes in force when the building was designed - but why would a building code require two layers of door on a restroom?

Thanks for any insights!

jbhunter
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  • They don't just occur in NY buildings of the 1930s, they occur around the world. Even in buildings constructed during the 1990s. Preventing either purposeful or accidental exposure of occupants is a good reason for having a two door system. – Fred Sep 14 '18 at 17:43
  • I see this in many office buildings in CA, as well, and always thought as @Fred did, that it is to enhance privacy for the occupants of those restrooms. – BillDOe Sep 14 '18 at 19:08

2 Answers2

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In order to limit noise from the appliances that are being used (i.e. shower) as well as to stop any steam from showers escaping and causing fire alarms to be set off. Furthermore, the use of double-layered doors limits any odour produced in the bathroom from escaping into other rooms.

Ethan
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Simply to keep a sound and smell barrier and commonly doubles as a breezeway for the gender doors. There are plenty of bathrooms with in building code with one locking door to the common area.