travel up to and through the front door and work in to the building from there, notes Mason. “In gen- eral, it is often difficult to achieve full ADA compli- ance in an existing building retrofit unless you are gut renovating the structure,” he adds. Siwik notes that many older building have stairs
at the front entry door and need ADA accessible ramps to be installed to meet code. “Additionally, parking lots and sidewalks often have slopes and curbs that are barriers.” John N. Barbara, AIA, LEED AP, senior associ-
ate at LEO A DALY, Washington, D.C., agrees that just getting into a building is oftentimes the biggest challenge. He says it is important to make sure that there’s adequate parking and adequate access to accessible vertical circulation, typically an elevator or a lift. “Once you’re in the building, then you’re dealing with individual spaces and toilet rooms are usually high on the list.” The most common access problems, notes
Kaplan, are with improper disabled parking layout and signage, insufficient or no visual striping on stairs, im- proper signage for restrooms, the need for handrails on both sides of stairs, as well as the height location of accessories in these ADA accessible restrooms. The main things Goldfarb says he deals with
are non-complaint disabled parking spaces, curb ramps, tables, counters and restrooms. He goes on to say that with restrooms, that usually means the maneuvering space of doors, door widths, maneu- vering space and turning radius inside the restroom, along with non-compliant grab bars, toilets, sinks, dispensers and mirrors. “The two most difficult aspects of ADA com-
pliance are typically providing an elevator in a build- ing where one does not exist, and fixing floor level changes that are not in compliance,” Mason says. “Inside the facility, a common shortcoming is
access between floors,” Siwik adds. “Many older buildings only have stairs. Today’s codes require that they have an elevator installed to make the facility ADA accessible. Other common problems include toilet rooms that are not ADA-accessible, corridors that are too narrow, and doors that do not have the required clear space.” Since restrooms are an area where there are
traditionally many ADA issues, Buchanan notes that it is not uncommon to have to redo a restroom because it doesn’t meet the current accessibility codes. “This is one of the most stringent areas of ADA and has been altered in the new release, DOJ 2010. Today’s code has more requirements for clear floor space and has defined what is allowed to protrude into that required space. It is also not uncommon to find existing toilet room accessories protruding into the accessible path of travel.” Barbara notes that there are different things that need to be considered depending on the type