Pete McEwan Jr. (center), President of Connecticut Restroom Specialties, is flanked by his brother Brandon McEwan (left) and his brother-in-law Vincent O’Brien, both estimators and project managers for the company.

Functionality achieves the job for SPIROL International Corporation in Danielson, Connecticut, and so Connecticut Restroom Specialties designed a tough and functional restroom there.

Few people think about restrooms when considering the design and function of a building. But when they need them, the restrooms had better be there—and they had better meet their users’ highly personal expectations.

Question: Is it wrong to care about the restroom “experience”?

Pete McEwan Jr. doesn’t think so. He is President of Connecticut Restroom Specialties (CRS). Based in Danbury, Connecticut, the company is a go-to contractor for restrooms throughout the state and also all five boroughs of New York City.

The company takes on projects of any size. Pete Jr. and his team do quotations, submittals, field measures, shop drawings, orders and installations—primarily for restrooms, but also for locker rooms, cubicle track and curtains for medical exam rooms, display boards, fire extinguisher cabinets and bathrooms.

“Architects and builders love us because we are a one-stop shop,” Pete Jr. says. “We are a major distributor of Division 10 Specialties,” the Construction Specifications Institute’s (CSI’s) MasterFormat category for restroom equipment.

According to Pete Jr., sometimes the restroom section of the CSI list doesn’t get the “respect” it should even though there are times when a restroom is meant to impress those who enter it as much as any other part of a building. He says a company’s or store’s restroom reflects—and affects—brand perceptions. When nature calls, a visitor’s or customer’s experience in the restroom can complement the overall positive impression of the business—or it can result in a gut feeling that things might not be as good as they seem.

When an architect or contractor asks for a restroom, CRS designs one that meets—and even exceeds—expectations of style and comfort, Pete Jr. says. Some of the company’s most trusted and reliable vendors include ASI Global Partitions, Bobrick, Hadrian Manufacturing Inc., Scranton Products, Excab Inc. and Inpro Corporation.

His work crews are factory-trained to achieve the quality results that visitors who will occupy the restrooms expect. Each partition, toilet paper dispenser, hand dryer or other accessory is fit to exact measurements for convenience and efficiency.

Ins and Outs

CRS’ project portfolio includes office buildings, schools, restaurants, retail stores, government buildings and numerous other public facilities.

One gem of an installment was at Blue Sky Studios, the 20th Century Fox computer-animation film studio in Greenwich, Connecticut, that produced such movies as “Ice Age,” “Rio” and “The Peanuts Movie.” As a subcontractor under Pavarini North East Construction Co., Inc., CRS installed nicely trimmed phenolic black core toilet stalls and top-grade washroom accessories.

Similar high-quality work greets visitors in restrooms at the New York City Football Club’s soccer training facility in Orangeburg, New York. The 24,000-square-foot building contains medical, performance-training and wellness facilities, team offices and a media center. Under contractor ModSpace, CRS installed ceiling-hung, stainless steel toilet compartments there.

CRS’ restroom work in the Stamford, Connecticut headquarters of Indeed illustrates its ability to complete large projects. CRS installed the challenging ceiling-hung stalls in restrooms on six floors through affiliation with two contractors—Signature Construction Group, Inc. and A.P. Construction Company.

Another large project shows CRS’ potential for repeat business with key clients. CRS installed more than 60 stalls spread across seven floors during the major renovation of MacArthur Long Barracks at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. Here, the team installed ceiling-hung, stainless-steel toilet partitions and stainless-steel hardware. CRS also laid the porcelain wall tile in a stylish horizontal band across each restroom. Next up is CRS’ work renovating 58 stalls in the restrooms on six floors of Pershing Barracks. Both jobs have involved working with Kokolakis Contracting.

“In the last two months, I have quoted other West Point projects, including Grant Barracks, West Point Elementary School and the Anderson Athletic Center,” says Brandon McEwan, estimator and project manager.

Room for the Family

Brandon is part of a three-generation family business. His brother is Pete Jr.

The patriarch of what is now a three-business operation is Pete Jr.’s grandfather, Terrance Miner Jr. Long before the companies had built up their reputations and repeat customers, Terrance laid the groundwork by going door-to-door to drum up business for both residential and commercial construction.

After establishing T.J. & Son, Inc. in Danbury more than 40 years ago, Terrance and his family began Connecticut Laminates & Millwork in Brookfield five years later. The former specializes in interior renovations for offices, medical facilities and retail establishments. The latter creates custom-designed kitchens, libraries and senior management offices.

Terrance still assists with leadership responsibilities. He and his son-in-law, Peter McEwan Sr., own all three businesses. In fact, it was Terrance, affectionally known as Granddad, who saw the potential of a niche firm specializing in restroom construction. And start it the family did, in 2007.

“His rationale was that many contractors and subcontractors know it’s a headache to do partitions—the measurement and installation—and there’s no cookie-cutter approach,” Pete Jr. says. “When I first started, I thought, ‘No way would we be doing installations all over,’ but I was wrong. We’re all over Midtown Manhattan and Connecticut.”