Bathroom floor - overflow containment

A bathroom overflow of some sort is inevitable. But, in any bathroom I've seen in a residential or office setting, the water is almost invited to head toward the wood trim baseboard commonly installed and ruin the drywall and ceiling below. I'm not talking about a massive overflow like a stuck toilet left running over a weekend. Nothing but a floor drain system like in a school locker room will help that. But, to protect from the occasional toilet overflow, has anyone seen a residential or office bathroom floor and baseboard installation designed to retain at least a few gallons of overflowed water? I'd much rather shop vac up a few gallons safely contained within the bathroom floor than have to repair and paint a ceiling or wall in the unit below.

 

There is no specific containment apparatus for what you want. It's possible to make a tray like apparatus that has a small wall that maybe rises about an inch or two that could be installed around the toilet. If you Google toilet overflow containment

"https://www.google.com/search?q=toilet+overflow+containment&num=20&client=firefox-b-1&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=R0v1OEiUzVA2tM%253A%252C1E8t7di2PzEfJM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kQ7thbemVoHPBDIvXg8ny9s7rFXRw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiw3YWl64vgAhVOhOAKHT71CG4Q9QEwD3oECAMQCA#imgrc=R0v1OEiUzVA2tM:"

You'll see images, but they all target prevention vs containment.

You post begs the question, why is you toilet over flowing and what measure are being taken to prevent it? If it's a community bathroom with many people (not just family members) using it, the most common cause is the wrong kind of toilet paper. As I posted in another recent thread, use something like Scott's plain old stuff. The very thin but very soluble paper that breaks down quickly and won't clog even if large amounts are used. You might also consider a water alarm that will alert you if a flood or overflow is in process.

 

Some of these are community bathrooms. We've posted signs saying "please don't put paper towels down the toilet" but you can't police these things person by person. The most recent case was some kid putting something down a urinal and then running off. Fortunately only one user followed and reported it, but the damage was done. Anything could cause the unexpected, and they usually aren't intentional. They just don't understand the limitations of a toilet. But if the baseboards would contain the water, I could resolve the problem without it damaging the floor below.

 

Tough problem.

At our store we let customers use the employees restroom. We must enter a code on an electronic lock and let them in. Then we must wait outside until their done. It's not fun, but it is effective. It tends to limit problems because the user knows, that we know who they are. The only other alternative is to have a restroom attendant.

Also eliminate paper towels and get air blow dryers and only supply the commercial toilet paper.

 

It would seem that, even with privately rented apartments, it would be good to contain enough water to represent a single flush. Accidents happen. But, although I've seen tons of posts about ceilings damaged because of overflows from upstairs, no standard installation procedure has been addressed.

 

I have an indoor hot tub room. Sometimes a water fight breaks out and big waves get washed over the side. Simply caulking the bottom of the wood base molding to the floor does a good job of containing it.

Keep in mind that a tile floor is not waterproof. Grout is not a waterproof barrier. So, if the water isn't cleaned up in a reasonable time it will eventually seep through the grout but if you can get it cleaned up reasonably quick you can avoid further damage.