Porta Potty Rental for Commercial Construction and Tenant Improvements

This page is part of our construction porta potty rental section.

How many units does a commercial site need?

Cal/OSHA requires one toilet and one hand-wash station per 20 employees or fraction of 20 (Title 8 §1526 and §1527). On a commercial job the hard part is the headcount, not the math.

Headcount on a commercial project rises and falls by phase. Site work and foundations run with a small crew. The peak usually comes when structure, MEP rough-in and exterior trades overlap, and it drops again at finishes. Order for the phase you are in and change the count as the schedule moves. You can add or remove units at any point in the rental.

Our guide to Cal/OSHA portable toilet rules covers the per-sex wording and the all-gender exception that lets single-user units count toward the total.

How do you handle multi-story sites?

Section 1526 sets a count per employee. It does not say how far a worker may have to walk or climb to reach a toilet. On a multi-story building that gap matters: a crew on the third deck with all the units at grade loses time on every trip, and units that are hard to reach get used less than they should.

Our units are ground-level units. We place them at grade, where the service truck can reach them every week, and we do not supply units for upper floors. On a multi-story job, plan the ground-level layout around that:

• Put units at the base of each stair tower or hoist. The walk from the way down should be short.
• Order more than the minimum. Extra units spread around the building cut the time lost on each trip.
• Move units as the access changes. When a hoist comes down or a stair opens, tell us and we will shift the units to match.

Tell us the number of floors and where the crew comes down when you call.

What about tenant improvements where the restrooms are off-limits?

Tenant improvements are the commercial jobs most likely to be caught without a toilet. The building has restrooms, so nobody orders one, and then one of these turns out to be true:

• The lease or building rules bar contractors from the common-area restrooms. Many landlords and property managers write this into the construction rules for the building. Read them before mobilizing.
• The water is shut off. Plumbing demolition, a new meter or a backflow change can take the suite's restrooms out of service for days or for the whole job.
• The restrooms are the work. If the scope includes gutting and rebuilding the restroom core, there is nothing to use until near the end.
• It is a cold shell. A first-generation space may have a stub-out and no fixtures.

Cal/OSHA's count applies whether the work is indoors or outdoors. If your crew cannot use a plumbed restroom on the property, you need a portable toilet and a hand-wash station.

Placement on a TI is a landlord question first. The unit usually goes in the parking lot or at the rear service door, and it will take one or more parking stalls. Get the property manager's sign-off on the location and tell us about any restrictions: delivery hours, a loading dock schedule, height limits in a parking structure, or a rule against service trucks during business hours.

How do retail and warehouse projects differ?

Occupied retail centers. The site is surrounded by open stores and their customers. Units belong inside the construction fence, screened from storefronts, and off the shared drive aisles. Delivery and service need to match the hours the center allows. Temporary fence panels with privacy screen, arranged through our partners, keep the public out of the work area and the toilets. See temporary fence rental.

Warehouse and industrial buildings. The buildings are large and single-story, and the walk is horizontal. A crew working the far end of a slab or the back truck court will not walk to the front gate. Split units between two or more locations and move them as the work front moves from slab to walls to roof to interior. On sites with a SWPPP, keep each cluster away from inlets and drainage. State stormwater guidance says at least 50 feet from drainage conveyances where the site allows (CASQA WM-9).

Long ground-up projects. A restroom trailer beside the site office is worth pricing for superintendent, inspector and owner use. Trailers are arranged through our partners and quoted individually.

Do commercial sites need ADA-accessible units?

It depends on who uses them.

The second row comes up more often than contractors expect. If you close a store's restrooms during a remodel and put portable toilets out for its employees or customers, those are not construction-only units. Order at least one ADA-accessible unit for that cluster, set it on a firm, level surface, and keep an accessible route to the door.

Can you provide a certificate of insurance and other paperwork?

Commercial owners, property managers and general contractors usually ask every vendor for a certificate of insurance before the first delivery, often naming the owner and GC as additional insured.

• Certificate of insurance: We provide certificates of insurance, including additional-insured certificates, on request.
• W-9 and vendor setup forms:
• Waste disposal records or service logs for the project file:

Send your insurance requirements with the quote request so the paperwork does not hold up delivery.

Can service be scheduled around site hours?

Weekly service is included on every 28-day rental: the tank is pumped, the interior cleaned and sanitized, and toilet paper restocked, with water, soap and paper towels refilled at hand-wash stations. On a commercial site the timing matters as much as the frequency.

Tell us when you request the quote:

1. Gate hours. When the site is open and who lets the driver in.
2. Blackout times. Concrete pours, large lifts, large deliveries and inspections when a service truck would be in the way.
3. Landlord limits. Hours when service trucks are not allowed in an occupied center or business park.
4. Heavy-use periods. Weeks when overtime or weekend shifts mean the units need a second visit.

Service runs on a set route, which is how we keep pricing competitive. You can request a specific service day. If your site needs a day that requires a special trip, the price may change.

Our office answers from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day of the week, and the same number is answered 24 hours a day for emergencies.

What else can you put on the same order?

• Dumpsters. Roll-off containers for demolition and construction debris come from our sister company, Victory Dumpsters. TI demolition fills a container fast, so book it with the toilets.
• Temporary fence. Panels for the perimeter and for screening the toilet area, arranged through our partners.

One quote for the whole site is described on our job site services page.

Where do you deliver for commercial projects?

We deliver to commercial projects in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee and Lake Elsinore, and to sites along I-215 in Perris and Moreno Valley. We also cover Riverside and Corona. The complete list is on the service areas page.

Commercial construction FAQ

Our TI crew is only four people. Do we still need a hand-wash station? With fewer than five employees, one single-user toilet is enough and the washing facility may be inside it. At five or more, the wash station has to be outside the unit.

Can units go inside a parking structure or the building? Possibly, if the service truck can reach them. The unit needs to sit within about 30 feet of where our service truck can park. Tell us the height clearance when you call.

How do I work out the count for a phased job? Use the peak headcount for each phase and the porta potty calculator guide. We can adjust the order between phases.

What does a 10-unit order cost? Units start at $189 per 28 days each, plus a delivery and pickup fee. Multi-unit orders are quoted by the job. See pricing.

Get a multi-unit quote

Call (951) 517-3600 or send the form with the site address, start date, peak headcount by phase and any insurance requirements. We will come back with a unit count, a service schedule and a full price.