Are porta potties required on construction sites, even for a two-person remodel crew?

Question

I'm a residential remodeler in Chicago, and my crews are usually just two guys. We're often working on occupied houses where the homeowners let us use their bathroom. I've never rented a porta potty for these small jobs because it seemed like overkill and an extra cost. But I was talking to another GC who said OSHA requires a toilet on every construction site, no exceptions. Is that true? Does OSHA 29 CFR 1926.51 apply to a two-person crew doing a kitchen remodel where we have access to the house bathroom? Or are we exempt since we're mobile and have 'readily available' facilities? What's the rule here, and what are you all doing on your small jobs?

Tyler R. · Answer

OSHA wants sanitary toilets available to the crew, not a [standard portable toilet](https://portapotty.forum/glossary/standard-unit/) on every two-person remodel driveway.

29 CFR 1926.51 still applies on construction work, including small residential jobs. For 1 to 20 workers the table calls for at least one toilet. The catch for your Chicago remodels is whether the house bathroom counts as that facility. If the homeowner keeps it open to the crew all day, it is clean enough to use, and nobody is locking you out during work hours, most supers treat that as meeting the rule.

Mobile crews with transportation ready to nearby toilets also get an exemption under 1926.51(c). Two guys who can walk to a working bathroom inside the occupied house are in a similar spot. Where it breaks is when the owners say "use the bathroom only at lunch," the only toilet is upstairs through finished rooms they do not want dirty boots in, or you are on a vacant gut job with water shut off.

On those days we drop a unit. On occupied kitchen jobs with a clear bathroom path we usually do not. Ask your safety person how they want "readily available" documented if a site visit happens.

Are porta potties required on construction sites, even for a two-person remodel crew?

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