I'm a licensed architect, licensed in multiple states — and I'm a contractor's daughter. I've watched the same ADA misses trip up tenant after tenant in lease build-outs. These are the ten that show up again and again on punch lists, in tenant disputes, and in plan-review rejections. Read this before you sign anything.
You found the space. The lease is in front of you. The broker is calling. Whether you're opening a restaurant, retail shop, professional office, or fitness studio, the tenant build-out has to pass local plan review, ADA Standards, the International Building Code, and the lease's permitted-use clause. The most expensive mistakes are the ones that get caught at inspection — or after you've opened. Here's what to know before you sign.
The IBC and ADA work together here: your business type and calculated occupant load drive the number of fixtures required, and at least one of each type must be accessible. Tenant-builders frequently install what the previous tenant had — or what the lease "as-is" condition shows — without recalculating for their intended use. A 120-seat restaurant at occupancy load needs a different fixture count than a 40-person office, even in the same footprint.
Why tenant-builders miss this: Plan review will reject the permit, and the cure is far more expensive than getting it right the first time — and tenant improvement allowances rarely cover it.
ADA Standards require a minimum 32 inches of clear opening width between the face of the door and the opposite stop, measured at 90 degrees. Many tenant-builders spec a 36-inch door and assume they're covered — but the hinge side, stop, and any panic hardware eat into that clear opening. Heavy glass doors, oversized pulls, and double-leaf pairs without an accessible leaf all fail this test surprisingly often.
Why tenant-builders miss this: A 36" door that nets 30" of clear width is technically non-compliant. This is one of the most common items on punch lists at final inspection.
The accessible route through your space requires a 60-inch turning circle (or a 60" × 60" T-shaped clearance for a three-point turn) anywhere the path changes direction. Tenant-builders often optimize for square footage and leave 48-inch corridors at corners, which feels fine in plan but traps a wheelchair user. Reception desks, displays, and feature walls get placed in the corner clearance zone.
Why tenant-builders miss this: Once the framing is up, the cure is demolition. The turning clearance is read during plan review and re-verified at inspection.
Any counter where a customer transacts business — point-of-sale, reception desk, checkout, service windows — needs a portion at maximum 38 inches AFF with knee clearance underneath. Tenant-builders routinely install 42-inch retail counters back-to-front and forget to design the accessible portion. The accessible portion must be at least 36 inches wide and integrated into the main counter, not a separate side desk.
Why tenant-builders miss this: A side desk with a lowered section defeats the integrated transaction requirement. Inspectors will catch this — and it reads as exclusionary to disabled customers and clients.
Permanent rooms and spaces — restrooms, exits, stairs, floor numbers, tenant entry doors — require ADA-compliant signage with specific contrast ratios (70% minimum), tactile characters raised 1/32 inch, Braille below, and a sans-serif font between 5/8 and 2 inches in height. Tenant-builders often use decorative wayfinding that prioritizes the brand aesthetic over ADA-compliant character height and finish. Exit signs are a separate, distinct requirement.
Why tenant-builders miss this: Visual contrast and tactile requirements exist because some users cannot read the sign visually. Replacing signage at build-out closeout is expensive, and the cure rarely matches the original design intent.
An accessible lavatory requires clear floor space (30" × 48") extending beyond the lavatory, with knee clearance under the bowl and insulated pipes. The adjacent toilet compartment needs properly anchored grab bars at specific heights (33–36 inches AFF). Tenant-builders frequently layout the fixtures without running the ADA gauntlet — and the result is a lavatory that floods an inaccessible user, or grab bars mounted into blocking the toilet clearance zone.
Why tenant-builders miss this: Grab bars that block the toilet, or a lavatory that a wheelchair user cannot roll under, are common inspection failures — and structural blocking for grab bars must be in the wall framing, not added later.
The accessible route cannot have thresholds exceeding 1/2 inch at doorways without a beveled edge, and changes in level greater than 1/4 inch must be beveled at 1:2. Tenant-builders often specify raised flooring, decorative thresholds, or transitions that look clean but fail ADA. Soft joints between two floor finishes are common culprits. Carpet edges and recessed walk-off mats require beveled transitions throughout.
Why tenant-builders miss this: A wheelchair caster catching on a 5/8-inch lip is a tipping hazard. The surface profile gets walked at inspection and is documented in the punch list.
Wall-mounted objects between 27 and 80 inches above the floor can't protrude more than 4 inches into the circulation path. Tenant-builders hang fire extinguishers, drinking fountains (which have their own clearance), art, signage, and shelf displays directly along accessible routes without checking the projection. Aisle-end displays and checkout-queue line stanchions are common offenders.
Why tenant-builders miss this: A cane or a wheelchair user relies on detectable clear space. Projecting elements that look decorative but block head clearance are real hazards — and they fail the same inspection that catches a stuck door.
Mirrors above lavatories must have the bottom edge of the reflecting surface no higher than 40 inches AFF if the lavatory is 34 inches AFF. Coat hooks in toilet rooms and dressing areas must allow reach — mounting them above 48 inches AFF is a common pattern that fails reach-range rules. Tenant-builders copy standard residential mounting details without recalibrating for ADA.
Why tenant-builders miss this: These feel like finish-level details but they read at inspection. The fix during punch list is small in cost; the fix after occupancy open is disruptive.
If the space has any assembly seating — waiting area, conference room, dining, training — wheelchair spaces and companion seats must be integrated throughout the seating distribution, not relegated to a back row or a separate corner. The 2010 ADA Standards require a specific calculation based on total seats, and the accessible spaces must adjoin an accessible route and provide dispersion comparable to the general seating.
Why tenant-builders miss this: Concentrating accessible seating in one location is a common pattern that has been specifically cited in DOJ settlements. Integrated dispersion is not optional — and it has to be in the furniture plan at design, not added at furniture selection.
Have a lease or floor plan in front of you? Let's review it before you commit. I've caught every one of these ADA misses in plan reviews — I can spot yours.
Book a Consultation →