Senior school toilet refurbishment with anti vandal features
Overview:
Focus was tasked with refurbishing three rooms at Sprowston Academy during term time, one of which involved converting an IT storage space.
Background:
The school had previously had one washroom converted to a unisex toilet by another company, which had raised concerns among parents and guardians. The unisex toilet refurbishment had issues: the cubicles were not entirely private, and the suspended ceiling tiles were not secured, allowing for their removal and compromising privacy between adjacent cubicles. Take a look at our advice guide on unisex toilets >>
As a result, the washrooms were retained as single sex toilets. The washrooms also required the removal of the entrance doors to allow staff to informally monitor the areas due to previous instances of extreme vandalism.
Project design:
To solve the ceiling issue, we specified a solid plasterboard suspended ceiling above the cubicles, eliminating the possibility of tiles being lifted. We also used the Trovex Privacy cubicle range, which features full-height cubicles with no gaps large enough to allow phones to be passed through. All laminate products in the washroom, such as cubicles, ducting, and the vanity unit, were made from solid-grade laminate, which is very durable. This choice was in contrast to the previously used high-pressure laminate, which can chip easily.
To reduce the chance of vandalism through the flooding of the hand wash trough, we installed anti-block taps that only allow water to flow once the push button has been released. The hand wash troughs themselves are very durable; you can see us testing the material they are made from in this video here >>
Challenges:
The project took place entirely during term time on a short time scale; however, as term-time washroom refurbishment experts, this was not a problem for our experienced team.
The Result:
Overall, the project was a success, and we had an extremely satisfied customer. We addressed the concerns of parents and guardians regarding total privacy, and of staff regarding informal monitoring and anti-vandal strategies. As a result, pupils now have fresh and clean washrooms that they want to respect.