Richmond Portable Toilets for Jobsites and Events

A city of old buildings and new cranes

Richmond has a lot of masonry, and a lot of people tearing into it. Renovations in Shockoe Bottom and the Fan, new apartments along Broad Street, and work on and around the VCU campus keep crews busy in tight quarters. On an urban infill lot with a few feet of sidewalk and no yard, the portable toilet question is mostly about where it can sit.

Count on a unit for about every ten people on a regular week, with a handwash station beside the row. Downtown, the unit may have to sit in a parking lane, and street placement often needs a permit from the city, so check before the delivery is scheduled. Shockoe Bottom sits low by the James and takes water in a hard storm, so put units on the high side of the lot. In the Fan and the Museum District, alleys are narrow and a pump truck is long, so ask the driver to look at the approach before delivery day.

Richmond is also a state government town. Work on and around Capitol Square, the state office buildings, and the courts follows its own access rules, so tell the provider early if your site is on state property. Delivery may need advance notice, and the driver may need clearance.

Carytown, Scott's Addition and the Manchester side of the river have seen a long run of conversion work, turning old warehouses into apartments and breweries. Those sites are mid-size, the crews are modest, and a pair of units placed in a back lot usually does it.

On the Southside, new retail pads along Midlothian Turnpike go up on short schedules, and a single unit for three weeks is a normal order there.

Industrial work along the river

South of the city the work changes. The James River industrial corridor, the port, and the plants around Hopewell have crews that arrive by the hundred during a shutdown or turnaround. Those jobs often have security gates, badge requirements, and tight delivery windows, so tell the provider about them up front. A truck that shows up at a gate without paperwork turns around.

The quote on these jobs should be explicit about service frequency. During a turnaround with a large crew, daily service is not unusual for a short stretch. Ask what the provider will do if headcount jumps.

Petersburg and Hopewell sit along the Appomattox and the James, and a provider that works that belt will know which gates want an escort. The chemical plants around Hopewell run planned outages, and the crews arrive in waves. If you are a subcontractor, ask the general contractor who supplies restrooms before you order your own.

Across the river, Chesterfield County has steady commercial building along Midlothian Turnpike and the Route 288 corridor, and Henrico has the same along Broad Street out toward Short Pump. A Richmond provider covers both counties, but expect the farthest sites to be priced a little differently.

The Folk Festival and everything else on the riverfront

The Richmond Folk Festival fills the riverfront every fall, and once you add the road races, the parades and the concerts at the raceway, event crews stay on the road from spring through fall. Large events along the river and in city parks usually go through permits and an organizer, with restrooms on the checklist, so start early.

Delivery and pickup are a given on an event quote. The line to look for is the midday service pass, which gets dropped first. On a two-day event, day one needs it. Ask whether handwash stations and accessible units are in the price or added after the fact.

Out in the western suburbs of Henrico and Chesterfield, outdoor weddings at venues and church festivals follow the same pattern. The units are smaller in number but the ground is softer, and the truck needs a path.

Mud, heat and the occasional ice storm

Virginia clay turns to soup after rain, and a truck that cannot get to the unit cannot service it. Set the units near a gravel apron or a hard surface if you can. Summers are hot and humid, and winters are cold enough that a long rental through January can freeze. If your job spans winter, ask about winterized units or an antifreeze treatment in the tanks.

Tell the provider about overhead lines, low branches, or anything else in the path. A pump truck is tall.

Two questions are worth asking any Richmond provider: is the handwash station refilled every visit, and who answers the phone on a Saturday? Problems on a jobsite tend to start on a Friday afternoon, and an answering service that cannot dispatch a truck until Monday does you no good.

Before you call a Richmond provider

Bring the address, or the cross streets if the site is new. Know the headcount, how long you need the units, and whether the ground is paved or dirt. Add the gate rules and delivery windows if there are any.

Vacant lots draw some vandalism after dark in any city, and infill sites around Richmond are no exception. Ask for a unit with a hasp, and place it where the site lights reach.

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