outhouse questions

what county is it in most places in Ar. if you have 10 acres or more do what you want dont even need a ceptic system

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Don't complain, just do it

He is in Van Buren county. Near Denard. He can do anything with his property because the norestrictions on it. He has 20 acres.

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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.

The first thing I did on our place was to build an out house. I built it in the driveway of the house where we were living. Had everyone in town drive by to "lookey-loo" to see what I was building. I bolted it together so I could transport it to the farm, then re-assemble it. My brother (lives over the hill) was embarassed to see an outhouse on the place. He tried to tell everyone it was a "utility shed". Of course, I wrapped it in Owens-Corning PINK housewrap so it would stand out more.....

I dug a pit by hand that was about 5' deep. I lined it with an old John Deere field sprayer tank (300 gallon) with the ends cut out. I also set a tire under the tank to help with "flow". Mine is a "dry" sump as opposed to a "wet" sump. It doesn't break down as fast as a wet, but there is almost no smell. Ours still has regular use - even though we have indoor plumbing - and is a LONG way from being filled. I add a bit of hungry enzymes and a bucket of water every fall to help with the break down.

What ever you do, dont identify yourself or tell them what you are planning if you do this, or some county man will be out to your place to either hassle you or tax you for evry move you make.

Amen Randy Rooster I live in the same state. Jay

Thanks guys for the eye opener on how many of my fellow homesteaders not only do not have any respect for land law, regulations, or restrictions...but also little concern for taking the best possible care of our Mother Earth. Okay, I admit, some you do not think your ideas do any harm to the earth - I get that.

Hugs,
Marlene

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It is the one with persistence and determination that brings great ideas into being.

part E on page 4 on this link will give you the specifics on where in relation to water.
http://www.healthyarkansas.com/rules...sanitation.pdf
In Van Buren County you may have to go the county health department instead of the county clerk to obtain the information on privies. Any way I know they are the ones that has the information on perk tests.
Good luck.

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"The whole of the action is the sum of its consequence."

When I bought an auger for the tractor, I made sure to get one that could go 48 inches deep. And I bought a "screw" that was 18 inches wide. I use that for heaps of stuff. But the outhouse hole is was one of the primary goals. Then the outhouse on skids can be drug, by the tractor, over the hole.

Above, somebody mentioned the guy that just drops his load in the woods. There was some logic about how cows do it, so why not people. The reason is that people poop that isn't properly dealt with can lead to people sickness and death. Go out and roll in all the fresh cow poop you want - you'll be fine. But roll around in people poop and you'll get sick quick.

Lime vs. sawdust in the outhouse: my understanding is that lime will make it smell better, but then the poop won't break down. Skip the lime and use sawdust. It will smell better with the sawdust too, AND it will break down.

There was concern about drinking water sources. Valid concern. A lot of farms I've been to that make heavy use of outhouses ask folks to not pee in the outhouses. Pee all over the farm. Outhouses are for poop only. I think this is pretty wise - it helps give the poop a chance to break down where it is. The pee would just carry the poop soup to the groundwater before it is all broken down and stuff.

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[raising chickens] [diatomaceous earth] [permaculture] [rocket mass heater] [lawn care]

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Where ever you put the outhouse be sure and plant some Hollyhocks around it. Thats what they did in the early days and then the "Ladys" didn't have to ask that embarrssing question"Wheres the out house?" They just automactically looked f or the hollyhocks!

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"Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village tho...."

if you need a hand give me a hollor im in stone county

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Don't complain, just do it

Thanks for the offer of help, Mtman. I'm kinda new to the whole outhouse construction game. I'm going to try to frame up as much as I can here at home and transport it over to Dennard to tie it together.

Wherebouts in Stone County? I've been over to Mountain View and really enjoyed it.

we are 17 miles outside of mt. view

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Don't complain, just do it

Marlene..you sound like you would be happy in "Conneticut" or some such place where they are eager to control every little aspect of your life. With the expected rate of use, Paul's solution with pine sawdust will work like a charm. I put mine downhill and well offset from the slope line to my bank spring and future well site. I never ask the durn county government for anything and hope they never know my name. This is my home and I try to do everything to code or better to insure my safety and welfare and to avoid trouble and hassle in the future that might interupt my fishing. That's my interest and business, not some butt-in county dude on a self important ego trip...Glen

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The more a man travels, acquires wisdom and learns about life, the more likely he is to marry a Country Girl.

Knucled drager If you come by I will give you one of the outhouses that I have. It will need a new door but it is ready built and ready to go.

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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.

There used to be a restaurant and gas station in eastern tn. that had a nice back yard with kid swings, picnic tables, etc. They had nice rest rooms inside, but also had two outhouses in the back. When someone would go into the outhouse, the clerk would pick a microphone up from behind the counter and say>>>"Excuse me, sir/madam, I'm painting down here."

You should see the door burst open when they came out, sometimes still fastening their clothes.

There's a bar in Wisconsin a bit north of Madison that has outhouses with two seaters. In the men's outhouse, he's got an old woman mannequin. In the women's outhouse, he's got an old man mannequin. I about peed in my pants on the first time that I opened the door and saw that old woman sitting on the hole. Always good for a laugh when someone is coming back from the outhouse for the first time...

That's a beaut of an outhouse Alex!!!!!!!

Shepherd,

Thanks.

I guess my answer to start of this thread is my pictures. Having it sealed up and looking like a bathroom will make it easier for kids to accept it and hopefully not be so afraid of it. Or, less afraid of it.

Alex

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Thou art That

We built our outhouse over a 300-gallon plastic septic tank. If we every fill it, we can have it pumped out and start all over. If you are digging in sugar sand like we have, you're going to need to either use a tank or reinforce the hole so it doesn;t cave in.

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This is the government the Founding Fathers warned us about.....

Well most outhouses ARE pretty disgusting to have to use - that's why yours is so impressive... it looks great and appears to be very well sealed up, ventilated, etc.