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Where to put the porta potty on a tight urban job site with no lot space

Ray M.asked 2 viewsConstruction & Job SitesConstruction sitePlacementTruck accessHigh rise unitCity permit

We're on a tight downtown infill site, a 12-story residential build on a half-block lot. The fence line is tight to the sidewalk, and the only open space is the sidewalk itself or a small courtyard inside that the vacuum truck can't get to. The crew is 45 people, and we're looking at a nine-month job. We need to put in a standard portable toilet, an ADA-compliant portable toilet for the rule, and maybe a couple more. But if we put them inside the fence, the driver has to drag the hose 100 feet from the street. If we put them on the sidewalk, we need a city permit for the right-of-way placement, and they'll be in the public's way. What's the better option for weekly service visits? Has anyone used a crane to lift units to an upper floor during construction?

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Tyler R.Columbus, OH

Sidewalk placement with a city right-of-way permit is the better option when the vacuum truck cannot reach the courtyard.

On tight downtown builds we keep the toilet bank at the curb so each service visit is a short hose pull from the street. A long drag through the gate and across a busy deck every week slows the driver and raises the odds of a partial pump. Inside the fence only works if the hose can still reach the tanks without climbing over materials or blocking the crane path.

For a crew of 45 you already need more than one toilet under OSHA 1926.51, plus the ADA-compliant portable toilet the accessibility rules call for. Keep that street-level bank easy to service even if you later crane a couple of standard units onto upper floors for worker travel time. Floor units are common on high-rises. Drivers service them with hose runs up the building or by crane swap, not by rolling a truck into a courtyard the vacuum cannot enter.

Pull the right-of-way permit early, stake the pad clear of hydrants, and leave the sidewalk width the city inspects.

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