Janitor Closet

The Ideal Janitor's Closet

6/11/2018

orig pub 7May13

Most of us don't give a thought to a Janitor's Closet. We put a sink in a small room of 5'x5' and move on.

Well there's a little more to it if you want the space to serve the building owner. We learned what is really needed when we designed a supply warehouse for Banana Republic / The Gap. The owner's project manager, who was in charge of supplying the whole company with stuff for operating the individual stores, was basically an executive janitor.

We received very specific requirements for the janitor's closet. I am passing on his wisdom to you.

The Janitor's Closet has four main requirements. First is shelf storage for supplies that the custodian will need in the course of doing his job. Second is space to store the cart that the custodian uses. Third is extra floor space to store equipment. And fourth is the sink.

The sketch, which is our minimum standard (now), shows a room with dimensions of 9'-4" deep by 7'-4" wide. These dimensions are masonry coursing, so this works out fine with masonry or drywall partitions. So what do you do with all the extra square footage? After all this is almost triple the 5'x5' size I have used all to often.

It turns out that you need open space that should be suitable to store a ladder, vacuum cleaner, mop bucket, and possibly a floor buffer and/or steam cleaner. You will need a deeper room if all of this is stored here. The four notes marked on the plan are explained here.

[Click the image to download the drawing.]

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A] DOOR - The door should be at least 36" wide, 40" is better. Our master should show the door swinging out 180 degrees to lay back against the outside wall. For those rare cases where you can't swing the door out, you will need an overhead stop for the door since wall and floor style stops won't work.

B] SINK - The sink should be a floor-set mop sink measuring 2'x3'. "Wall mounted mop sinks went out of style a century ago." The narrow end goes against the far wall where the water faucets should be placed using a braced spigot with an integral bucket hook. Above the long side there should be a wall-mounted mop-hanging bracket so drying mops can drip into the floor sink.

C] SHELVES - The shelves are three floor set metal units, each measuring 36" wide by 72" high by 18" deep. The shelves should be adjustable.

D] CART - The cart is often 30" wide by 48" long. Occasionally there will be two of them to support a large floor plate. Consider two rooms or one larger one.

Although floor space is precious, The Gap realized that you should give the custodians the tools they need or you may need more custodians.

Now you know how to design the Ideal Janitor's Closet - and why.

Helen

5/30/2014 03:07:03 am

What a terrific article, Rick! Everything you mention is right on. As a janitorial services manager, I often have to figure out how to work out of inadequate janitorial closets - and tenants rarely like giving up some of their space for supplies storage. Janitorial companies make a sizeable investment in commercial vacuums and other equipment that must be locked in the closet; so when the closet is too small, it's the paper supplies for which another location must be found. The only thing I would add is that many janitorial companies mount a chemical dilution/mixing station on the wall near or above the sink, which requires a plumbing connection. If the mop rack in your plan is mounted toward the near end of the sink, it would allow for the chem station to be wall-mounted near the plumbing lines. Thanks for a great article!

Rick Wolnitzek

5/30/2014 03:47:28 am

Helen,
It's good to hear that you approve. I was pretty sure we were on target because the source of the design input was a professional like yourself.
By the way, you might see improved layouts in new buildings because that post is the second most popular article month after month.
I may have to update the layout with the chemical dilution equipment you mention.

Teddy

10/13/2014 01:00:37 am

That was just what I needed. Thank you, Rick!

Rick Wolnitzek

10/13/2014 04:20:49 am

You are welcome.

Chris

1/8/2015 12:21:59 am

Good stuff Rick. As a former Owner Rep I found that designers were/are typically flippant on requirements such as this and not giving the thought on client needs and custodial requirements. Every 'closet' may not need these requirements but there should be at least one (or more) depending on the building area.
"It's just a janitor closet". No, it's a building services room.

Rick Wolnitzek

1/8/2015 03:08:29 am

Thanks, Chris. I was lucky to be instructed by an Owner who had lots of buildings to maintain.

Aaron

10/22/2015 05:44:00 am

I see there is no floor drain. While IPC does not require a floor drain in these areas, it is a good safe practice to include one in your designs. This is a frequently wet floor area and having water, or worse, soapy water on the floor creates a great liability for the owner. We can't make clients do this but if the floor drain is on your floor plan, it's hard to not include it.

Rick Wolnitzek

10/22/2015 07:55:51 am

Aaron,

You have a good point. The additional cost is minimal since you already have a floor sink.

Best,

Rick

HARSHALI

12/30/2015 12:54:16 am

IT IS VERY HELPFUL

Rick Wolnitzek

12/30/2015 08:13:27 am

Glad you like it.

Christopher link

4/7/2016 12:21:17 am

Just an FYI I would like to see the closet a little bigger because you have no place for your 2 55 gal drum trash cans one for trash and one for paper recycling. The second thing you need to fix in your drawing the closet door should open outwards and to the left now you have to close the closet door to get your supplies.

Rick Wolnitzek

4/8/2016 08:23:00 am

Christopher,
You make some good points. The detail should be updated. Do you have a plan you could share?

Cathy

2/2/2018 03:55:30 am

Great stuff. Should get into the hands of every architect! I agree with the floor drain, the door opening out when possible and room for 44 gal barrels. You have a significant amount of storage racks which would be ideal I guess but even 2 that size would be great. Ideal sink depth and material would be handy too. Back splashing material at the sink is also a must depending on your wall construction. May also want to suggest ideal flooring type...tile/VCT/epoxy, etc. Might be getting into the weeds so to speak but many lack exposure to this space. Thanks again for considering a highly significant but often overlooked room!

Jian Huang

1/7/2019 02:53:27 pm

Thank you Rick! I feel I know something about janitor finally! Previously, I had no idea about these "I think it is not important" but "must have" rooms and janitor is definitely one of them. I mean, I did not know what is its desired dimensions or how it is used by a custodian. But this article is very clear and give a good example of the layout. I appreciate it!

Rick Wolnitzek link

1/7/2019 03:10:49 pm

Glad you find it helpful.

Santosh Kumar link

10/10/2020 05:12:23 am

Thank you for publishing this awesome article.

Comments are closed.