# ADA guidelines question..



## jmorton (Dec 11, 2008)

Anyone know what the angle of an ADA mirror should be? I've visited an ADA compliance site, which spec'd the mirror height and and mounted height requirements, but was unable to locate the angle it was supposed to be set at.

Thanks in advance.


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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne (Mar 5, 2011)

I truly do not know the answer to that question, but here are two links that may help you.

http://www.allpartitions.com/fiantimi.html

http://www.ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.htm


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## JohnFRWhipple (Oct 20, 2009)

Email Wally. If any one knows of the top of his head he will.

Wally Dutcher <[email protected]>


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## ohiohomedoctor (Dec 26, 2010)

There is no requirement for angle. All hospitals and nursing homes have mirrors fixed to the wall at 90 degrees. At least thats the way it is in Ohio, where the cows are cows and we used to build nice trucks.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

603.3 Mirrors. Mirrors located above lavatories or countertops shall be installed with the bottom edge of the reflecting surface 40 inches (1015 mm) maximum above the finish floor or ground. Mirrors not located above lavatories or countertops shall be installed with the bottom edge of the reflecting surface 35 inches (890 mm) maximum above the finish floor or ground. 

Advisory 603.3 Mirrors. A single full-length mirror can accommodate a greater number of people, including children. In order for mirrors to be usable by people who are ambulatory and people who use wheelchairs, the top edge of mirrors should be 74 inches (1880 mm) minimum from the floor or ground. 

No reference to angles.
I have not seen any angled mirrors for several years.


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## JohnFRWhipple (Oct 20, 2009)

If there is no reference then I would think the client's wheel chair height and persons height would be measured.

Wally knows this stuff backwards and forwards and I'm sure have a strong opinion one way or another.

I sent him a link to this thread I would think by days end we will have an answer.

JW


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## sevonty (Nov 21, 2011)

was at the doctor's office today and measured his from the wall to the bottom of the mirror was inch and five eights, and from the wall to the top of the mirror was four and five eights, the mirror height was thirty six inches. it does not take much to get a lot of vision on a angled mirror if I touch my shaving mirror I can see so far up my nose it is dark lol


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## jmorton (Dec 11, 2008)

Hey everyone, thanks alot for the info. The mirror is for a restroom in an office building on a military base, they can be a little picky every once in awhile. We had a pre-construction meeting the other day and the general is supposed to provide me with the angle. I was just trying to answer some of my own questions prior to the meeting.

Thanks again. Ya'll are awesome.:thumbsup:


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## The Golden Rule (Dec 13, 2011)

jmorton said:


> Hey everyone, thanks alot for the info. The mirror is for a restroom in an office building on a military base, they can be a little picky every once in awhile. We had a pre-construction meeting the other day and the general is supposed to provide me with the angle. I was just trying to answer some of my own questions prior to the meeting.
> 
> Thanks again. Ya'll are awesome.:thumbsup:



We haven't done any commercial or government projects but I designed an addition a few years ago that included an ADA compliant bathroom. Instead of using a fixed mirror as spec'd, the builder installed a wall mounted mirror that could be tilted downward or upward and installed it with the bottom of the mirror being within 40 inches of the floor. The client was mobile with a walker but the mirror's ability to be pivoted downward allowed for a better field of view should she become wheelchair bound (and it was more decorative).

There are several sites that offer mirrors that can be tilted downward and mirrors that are fixed at a downward angle. Couldn't find anything that specified the actual angle of the products but I did a calc based on mirrors that are offered......
Fixed tilt mirror with a 4" offset from the wall at the top, 1" offset from wall at bottom = 3.37 degrees. 
The other mirror found which may be tilted downward but is not fixed, is offset from the wall by 3" which means the resulting tilt angle would be the same as the fixed tilt model.

Would love to know the outcome from your follow up meeting. 

Good Luck!


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## tbz (Dec 27, 2011)

jmorton said:


> Hey everyone, thanks alot for the info. The mirror is for a restroom in an office building on a military base, they can be a little picky every once in awhile. We had a pre-construction meeting the other day and the general is supposed to provide me with the angle. I was just trying to answer some of my own questions prior to the meeting.
> 
> Thanks again. Ya'll are awesome.:thumbsup:


jmorton,

Just a quick note, Military bases follow ABA guidelines not ADA guidelines visit http://www.access-board.gov/aba/index.htm

The spec's are the same for the most part, but when the DOJ adopted the guidelines they did change some things thus the 1992 & 2010 ADA are difference than the DOD's federal mandate of the ABA guidelines.


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