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This is my parent's outhouse at their cabin in Minnesota.
Everyone who's tried it says "That's the nicest outhouse I've ever used!"
It's got a lot of good features.
The previous outhouse wasn't bad, it was a classic of the two-holer variety.
The way those work is you cover one hole and use the other til that pit fills up, then you switch.
By the time you need to shovel the nightsoil out of the first hole, it's a year old or so and has turned to dirt and can go on your garden. Or you dig another pair of holes and move the outhouse over them and cover the first pair. If your soil is porous and you worry about tainting your well, you put barrels in the holes.
Once someone left the door open and a porcupine went in and gnawed the seats to get the salt. That made the thrones kind of rough, but it went with the northwoods-ness of the place.
Vandals knocked that outhouse over many times and eventually they stole it.
Remember vandalism? It used to be an important part of growing up in the U.S.
So we needed a new outhouse. My parents bought an old fishhouse, which is a shed people put on the ice of a frozen lake to fish through a hole in the floor.
And they turned it into the nicest outhouse in the world
Everyone who's tried it says "That's the nicest outhouse I've ever used!"
It's got a lot of good features.
The previous outhouse wasn't bad, it was a classic of the two-holer variety.
The way those work is you cover one hole and use the other til that pit fills up, then you switch.
By the time you need to shovel the nightsoil out of the first hole, it's a year old or so and has turned to dirt and can go on your garden. Or you dig another pair of holes and move the outhouse over them and cover the first pair. If your soil is porous and you worry about tainting your well, you put barrels in the holes.
Once someone left the door open and a porcupine went in and gnawed the seats to get the salt. That made the thrones kind of rough, but it went with the northwoods-ness of the place.
Vandals knocked that outhouse over many times and eventually they stole it.
Remember vandalism? It used to be an important part of growing up in the U.S.
So we needed a new outhouse. My parents bought an old fishhouse, which is a shed people put on the ice of a frozen lake to fish through a hole in the floor.
And they turned it into the nicest outhouse in the world
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Signing UpStep 1The Interior
It's paneled with plywood and insulated with fiberglass batting.
They used to light the outhouse with hurricane lamps or a kerosene lantern.
That was enough to warm it up quite a bit.
Then they got electricity. Now there's a lightbulb and an electric baseboard heater.
Purists were aghast!
They didn't bother putting in running water, and as you'll see it doesn't need it.
Instead of a pit under the outhouse or a pair of barrels, they put in a fiberglass holding tank they got from a damaged freight dealer. The sink and toiled drain straight down into the tank. Every few years they call for the "honey wagon" to come pump it out.
That's probably environmentally worse than the old "compost-in-place" system, but here in Minnesota we've got world famous eco-friendly sewage treatment plants that do okay.
They used to light the outhouse with hurricane lamps or a kerosene lantern.
That was enough to warm it up quite a bit.
Then they got electricity. Now there's a lightbulb and an electric baseboard heater.
Purists were aghast!
They didn't bother putting in running water, and as you'll see it doesn't need it.
Instead of a pit under the outhouse or a pair of barrels, they put in a fiberglass holding tank they got from a damaged freight dealer. The sink and toiled drain straight down into the tank. Every few years they call for the "honey wagon" to come pump it out.
That's probably environmentally worse than the old "compost-in-place" system, but here in Minnesota we've got world famous eco-friendly sewage treatment plants that do okay.
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Now being the lovable guy that I am I suggest that one acquire a bear trap and set it right behind the outhouse covered discretely with leaves. Be sure to walk out to the outhouse on Halloween night and make a bit of fuss doing it. If you are kind call an ambulance when you hear the scream of agony. It is Trick or Treat, right?
What my folks have is more of a minimum-water-consumption alternative to conventional toilets. And a reference design for outhouses people love. People really love this outhouse.
Pumpouts for boats here on SF bay are free so people won't pollute as much.
But we decided to use a "sawdust toilet" on Solara instead. That means we carry sawdust and buckets for our "sawdust toilet" but we haven't had anyone need to go #2 yet.
Here's the "Humanure" composting toilet system, which doesn't cost anything:
http://weblife.org/humanure/default.html
Green this project by using a composting toilet.
Also DO *NOT* PUT A LOCK ON THE OUTSIDE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT1t3OjVcew
Seem's a bit easier, even less wasteful, and produces lots of good compost.