Current at: 30 July 2008
Airlocks in bathrooms
Q. Chris from
Carlton asks: Is it a requirment that an airlock is installed between a kitchen and a sanitary facility?
A. The Building Code of Australia Volume 2 requires that a sanitary compartment or a room containing a toilet must not open directly into a kitchen or pantry unless an airlock is provided by a hallway or other room but does allow another option as a concession.
If the sanitary compartment is fitted with mechanical exhaust ventilation then the room can abut a kitchen or pantry but the exhaust fan must be ventilated directly to the outside of the building by way of ducts or into a roof space where the roof has tiles without sarking.
The intention of this provision is to provide adequate ventilation from the roof space where a roof covered with metal roofing or sarking may not provide that adequate ventilation.