Tips for Adding an Outdoor Restroom to Your Park Facility
If you manage a county park, municipal park, or some other type of community park, then you know you need to provide restroom facilities for your patrons. What type of restroom do you need? What are some good restroom building options to consider? Keep reading to gain more insights about how to implement the right park restroom solution.
A Public Park Needs a Public Restroom
Without the right furnishings and amenities, no playground, athletic field, amphitheater, or other park site is truly complete. And the most essential amenity to have in any park is a convenient, fully accessible restroom facility. Why does having an outdoor restroom matter? Without it, many folks will use your park less, or will simply avoid visiting altogether. Providing a park restroom really isn’t optional, especially if you’re interested in attracting families with children – or any regular visitors, for that matter. Need a prefabricated restroom solution in NC, SC, VA, or TN? Carolina Recreation & Design has you covered!
Making a Park Restroom Plan
If you’ve decided to add an outdoor restroom building to your park facility, good call! Here are some good points to add to your planning checklist:
• Choose a location
Here’s some wisdom we’re happy to drop free of charge – your restroom should be placed wherever the people are. Give some thought to where your visitors enter, exit, and spend most of their time when visiting your park. If your park has more than one area where people tend to congregate, then your best solution may be to go with multiple smaller restrooms as opposed to one single, larger bathroom building. You’ll also want to make a note of where your available sewer and water lines are located, as well as the distance to your nearest electrical connection.
• Choose an appropriate restroom building
In making a strategic plan, you want to choose a restroom that’s large enough to meet demand during peak visitation times. Long restroom lines detract from the appeal of your park, and be a source of real frustration and discomfort for your visitors. Also, consider the needs of your particular demographic. Many folks – especially women – will avoid using a waterless outhouse, but will happily take advantage of a traditional flush restroom. So, if you’re planning an upgrade to a real, flushable restroom, be sure to anticipate an uptake in restroom usage at your park, too.
• Make a seasonal use plan
If your park is located in an area that doesn’t experience much risk of prolonged freezing temperatures over the course of winter, you don’t have to worry too much about this point. However, if your park does face extended threats of freezing weather, you’ll need to factor in the possibility that low temperatures can render your bathroom facilities inoperable. Adding appropriate heaters can keep your restroom from freezing, and your building may need to be insulated enough to meet appropriate local energy codes. On the other hand, if your park simply doesn’t receive many winter visitors, then you should make a plan for winterizing your building to avoid damage from freezing temperatures.
• Consider any particular aesthetic requirements
Some parks have a certain visual theme or motif that needs to be maintained. How does that affect your plans to add an outdoor restroom facility? The good news is that prefabricated restroom buildings can be designed in a number of colors or themes. Creating a custom restroom to match the theme of your park shouldn’t be a difficult challenge. Also, bear in mind that interior aesthetics matter, too. And the team at Carolina Recreation & Design stands ready to help you customize the look of your restroom interior any way you might need.
• Consult with your maintenance team
What does your park maintenance team have to do with your new restroom plans? In a word … everything! These are the all-important, boots-on-the-ground folks who will ensure that your restroom is well-maintained and ready to serve your park patrons. When making a viable park restroom plan, it just makes good sense to include your maintenance team in the proceedings. Listening to their input and feedback is a great way to come up with the best restroom plan that really works for everyone involved. Be sure to take some feedback from your frequent park visitors, too.
• Budget for project success
When mapping out the necessary budget for your restroom project, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind. Determining the number and size of outdoor restrooms you need will have a primary impact on building pricing. Restroom location and proximity to utilities is another factor. Unless your planned restroom site already has easy tie-ins to utilities, you’ll need to factor in the cost of running any needed water, sewer, and power lines to your restroom facilities. And while you’re making your budget, don’t forget to include other key considerations like winterization needs, vandalization resistance, and any special aesthetic you may want to create for your park restroom or restrooms.
Some Good Prefab Restroom & Combination Building Options
Looking for the best restroom facility for your park? Need a solution for concession space and utility storage, too? Carolina Recreation & Design can deliver what outdoor building solution your particular park needs require in NC, SC, VA, and TN. Here are some good standalone restroom buildings and restroom & concessions combination options:
• Single Restroom Building
Our single-user restroom comes in both cedar shake and ribbed metal roofing options, and the walls can be finished in beautiful barnwood, stucco, aggregate, or split-face block. Each prefabricated building is pre-plumbed, pre-wired, meets all necessary building codes, and comes ready to install. We also offer waterless restroom options, if you prefer.
• Double Restroom Building
Our double restrooms are constructed to the same standards as our single restrooms, and offer twice the usable restroom space. In addition to the exterior finishes listed above, these buildings offer additional finishing options, including board & bat siding, horizontal lap siding, flagstone, river rock, or Napa Valley rock.
• Unisex Restroom
Any of our restroom buildings can be made gender-specific, or we can design a good unisex solution for you. You can customize your restroom buildings any way you like.
• Multi-User Restroom Buildings
Our multi-user restrooms can accommodate anywhere from 4-6 toilets, and can include between 2-4 sinks. Got a campground facility or swimming area? We can accommodate your bathing facility needs, too. We can provide a multipurpose restroom building which includes one, two, or up to four showers.
• Concessions, Utility Storage, & Restroom/Concession Combinations
We’ve got some great single-use concession building plans which include roll-up doors and 3-compartment sinks. Need both restrooms and concession facilities? We offer several multipurpose restroom/concession building plans, too. And if you’re looking for utility storage solutions, we can build those in as well.
• Custom Restroom, Concessions, & Utility Buildings
Another benefit of partnering with Carolina Recreation & Design is that each of our CXT building plans is fully customizable. You can take any of our popular building offerings and then tailor it to meet your specific park needs and goals!
Carolina Recreation & Design Has Your Outdoor Park Facility Needs Covered
If you manage a park or other public facility in NC, SC, VA, or TN, Carolina Recreation & Design can provide for all your commercial outdoor building and site amenity needs! What sets Carolina Recreation & Design apart? We’re much more than just a product vendor; we’re providers of complete site solutions. We install everything we sell, and we can help with everything from site design, to site preparation, to permits, electrical, water, sewer, landscaping, and more.
Got questions? Ready to get your started? You can connect with us online by filling out this simple form, or you can just pick up the phone and give us a call at (704) 664-1833 ! Carolina Recreation & Design is here to help!
