Horn plus strobe in commercial restroom?

[nietzj]

Do I need to include both a horn and strobe in a commercial single purpose bathroom?

 

[gadfly56]

Do I need to include both a horn and strobe in a commercial single purpose bathroom?

Technically, yes. Discuss with the AHJ if he'll let you drop the horn. Even at their lowest db settings, for most restrooms in a commercial office building the sound level will be literally painful. If this were a voice system, at a tap setting of 1/8 watt you'd probably be OK.

 

[dkidd]

Do I need to include both a horn and strobe in a commercial single purpose bathroom?

Technically, yes

Where do you find that requirement?

As long as you meet the required sounds levels, you meet Code.

 

[ron]

Your research normally would start with the adopted building code for the jurisdiction you are working.

For example, if you are in a 2018 IBC area, you would look in Section 907.5 for Occupant Notification.

A bathroom is typically considered public use or common use areas and would get a strobe. A nearby horn may suffice if it is loud enough to penetrate the door and still be 15dba above ambient.

https://codes.iccsafe.org/public/document/IBC2018/chapter-9-fire-protection-and-life-safety-systems

 

[gadfly56]

Where do you find that requirement?

As long as you meet the required sounds levels, you meet Code.

As a practical matter, I can guarantee that if you put a horn immediately outside the bathroom set to 99 db (the highest setting I know of for standard FA horns) and then close the door, you will NOT meet the minimum audibility requirements inside the bathroom. If you are using something like a System Sensor SpectrAlert 2-wire device it's no big deal to substitute a horn/strobe for a strobe-only so feel free to experiment. Make sure the db meter is calibrated.