Case Study: Colden Common School Toilet Refurbishment

Looking for a more open plan, inclusive unisex washroom offering, Colden Common School in Hampshire tasked us with transforming four washroom blocks within the centre of the school. The existing washrooms consisted of separate boys and girls washrooms that housed two toilets and two basins each. In a dynamic move, plans were drawn up to completely remove the front access wall, making the washrooms become an integral part of the open-plan corridor. 

With the wall removed, communal wash troughs were easily seen and accessed from the corridor, while the toilet cubicles on either side of the hallway became unisex.

After a full specification and CAD drawings were presented to and signed off by the client, work was carried out during the school summer holidays of 2021. After removing the existing sanitaryware, the front walls that separate the washrooms from the corridor were knocked through.

Full height cubicle doors were installed, to deliver increased privacy to users, while Altro Walkway anti-slip vinyl safety flooring was laid throughout the toilets and communal hand wash areas. Walls and ceilings were then clad in Altro Whiterock, a cladding that boasts powerful hygiene and fire ratings, while also enabling easy clean functionality. 

Within the toilets, full-height DUCT sets were installed to provide a concealed void in which to conceal all the services, including mains water, waste pipes and cisterns. Fronted in solid grade laminate panels, this further strengthened the easy clean nature of the new washrooms. 

The decision was made to use white solid surface wash troughs, which were mounted on a custom vanity unit underframes constructed from solid grade laminate, a highly durable material that’s completely impervious to water so will never swell or weaken from ingress water. The school chose to go with a bright and engaging colourway of lime green and purple, which helps to give the washrooms a more modern and vibrant aesthetic. 

We fitted non-concussive taps with the wash troughs, which when operated only emit water for a set period of time. This helps to conserve water usage and prevents the risk of taps being left on absent-mindedly. They also remove the need for a user to touch the tap after washing their hands, minimising touchpoints in the wash space. 

With the new washrooms being exposed and open to the main thoroughfare, there was some concern over the noise of hand dryers creating a disturbance when lessons were taking place. To mitigate this, we installed Fast Dry brushed stainless steel hand dryers that have integral power control. This meant we could adjust the output and volume of these units, ensuring noise was kept to a minimum. 

The expansive project was carried out on time and to budget ready for the new term ahead, with students, parents and faculty all highly pleased with the results. Works were planned and conducted in accordance with building control and carried out by our DBS checked washroom installation team.