outhouse questions

I wonder if you were to have a nice, long vent pipe coming out of the top which you painted black .... and then sealed up the bottom fairly well ...

With even a little sun, the air in the pipe would heat and then rise. Creating a healthy airflow.

Then it would seem that air would be drawn in from the "moon", through the hole (where one sits). Any time spent in the outhouse, one would smell only fresh air - yes?

Well .... at least on a sunny day.

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

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Correct Paul. Our pipe is black, but any will work as you describe. NO smell with the excellent ventilation and lime (I have not used sawdust as recommended by others -- probably good idea).

IMHO,

Alex

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Paul, do you know of any state wide regulations on outhouses in our state? I'm thinking about putting one on our undeveloped property in Lewis county for use while we develop the land, build the house etc.

Secondly, a number of people have mentioned building it on skids so it can be moved when needed to a new hole. Does the open space between the bottom of the floor and the top of the dirt hole opening present any issues with regards to smell, or critters getting in there etc?

Thanks

I have to admit, I have not looked at one spec of regulations on this topic.

At the same time, I am very concerned about my own drinking water, so I know I am going to take the proper steps to do a good job. I want to make sure that the rainwater runs away from the outhouse. And I put a sign inside that says "poop only - no pee!".

Now that I think about it, it might be smart to write a little something to put in there about placement for the future - so whoever might move it in the future would know about all the reasons why to do things a certain way.

All of the sleds I build have a very wide roof. Rather than use paint, I like a wide metal roof to keep the rain off of all the wood. Including the skids. Including the pit (which I want to keep dry (hence, no pee)). So when I park it, I can toss some rocks and dirt along the edges. They will dry out pretty quick and not decompose the wood. At the same time, it will keep most critters out. And the vent system described above is something I should add.

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

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That's actually a good point for more than just outhouses and such around the place. I have done a ton of work to this place (underground power, water, drainage, wiring inside the house and outbuildings etc), and I'm the only one who knows where it all is, how it works, why it was designed the way it is etc. I should map all that stuff out to provide a written history for future users, like my wife if I should pass on, or my son if he inherits the place.

Anyway, thanks for the reply.

If nothing else, a few things like that ... maybe laminated ... might make for good reading while sitting in there.

Something like that could help a lot when you have young people helping out. Young people are so much smarter than old guys like me, so they have to tell me how I'm doing it all wrong. But maybe if they happened to read a few of these sorts of things then maybe they can understand where I'm coming from better. Then when they're telling me that I'm doing it all wrong, they might actually have a good idea!

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

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Alex, could you take a slightly more distance picture of the outside?

You ran electric to it?

Pish-posh! Not a magazine to be seen. No seed catalogs. No tool catalogs. Missing some of the most important tools for a proper sit down.

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"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands..." tick-tick-tick

LOL Willy! I just figured the seed catalogs and Countryside & Small Stock Journal were on the opposite side that's not showing in the picture!

That's a great building, Alex.

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The less I seek my source for some definitive - The closer I am to fine.

http://williampalmerhomestead.weebly.com/

We built ours 6' x 6'. Made it easier with the sheeting. Paneled the inside and DW painted it bright green. Put several coats of white enamel on the bench and stick on tile on the floor. Of course, she put some cutsie signs on the walls. She was wanting one for some time and one day I came home and there she was, up to her b_ _bs in a hole in the side yard. Needless to say, we got right on the project. Outside is brown metal and has a used storm door, for now.

Here's our new outhouse (the hole was filled in for politeness). We camp on our land while awaiting amenities, so we'll move this chair from spot to spot. We used a plastic shower chair left over from surgery rehab. DH cut an opening and attached a toilet seat. The fine-looking side table is a pine log that nicely holds our plastic bag with TP. The lovely gold-plated I mean gold-spray-painted shovel was from a groundbreaking ceremony.

We have one we salvaged to use at an event for one day a month for about 50 cowboys, and we did not dig any hole. It does have a "clean out" in the back, a panel that can come off so you can clean it out if needed, but it had never needed it. Throw a coffee can of lime down it and it's stays good as new. Painting the inside white took away some of the creepy factor for the ladies. And you definitely need to mouse proof the TP!
I think that'd be all you need for your purpose.

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Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. :baby04:

BTW, nice gold shovel, OmaMutti!! Very glamourous!!

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Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. :baby04:

Don't get me wrong now, the building in the picture looks impressive. I just assumed it was missing the required accoutrements since they weren't shown. Kind of like opening the hood of a sports car and taking a picture of the radiator and battery. Then again, Alex seems to have his act together in most of the pictures he posts, maybe he has a system like the library. Enter the call number of the item you want, put it into the vac tube, send it to the staff and once they pull your reading preference they send it to you on the dumbwaiter. Now THAT would be an impressive outhouse.

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"Only the rocks [and really embarassing moments] live forever"

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands..." tick-tick-tick

Back to original question, while answering about farm equipment catalog.

If someone wants, or feels they need, to read, then they can bring what they want. One visitor left one of those fancy boating magazines, more like a glossy book. The boats were huge, one-hundred feet and more, FANCY.

Or, one can look out one of the three (3) windows and watch the birds, or snow fly.

Alex

BTW, and to answer another related question on this thread: Yes we ran power to our outhouse. We ran an underground cable, which has three wires with ground. The power is for inside and outside light, controlled from local switches, and a receptacle. The power can be shut off from a breaker in our cabin.

We have a kerosene lamp, a candle, and a small plate with a mosquito coil near the seat. Oh, and a can of mosquito spray.

No, no one, so far has turned off power when another was in the outhouse.

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At the rear of an Outback pub in Australia, the toilet facilities consisted of two large pits, with no surrounding fence or roof for privacy. One afternoon a mate was relieving himself in one of the pits, when a local standing by the other pit remarked that he must be a newcomer to the town. "What makes you think that?" said my mate.
The local replied, "Coz you're using the ladies' toilet"

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Is there an electric bathroom heater for the cooler days?

We made the two single-glazed-operable windows face south and west, the double-glazed door (1/2 glazed) face north. I insulated our outhouse with R12. I put plastic vapor barrier on the inside and tapped and sealed with Tuck-tape to keep out infiltration.

During the day our outhouse is heated by the sun and is warmer in the evening and morning than the winter minus 35F.

Also, it is a comfortable temperature in summer, because of the insulation and cross ventilation from the operable windows.

Anyway, too much info.

We could have a heater but do not need or want. On minus 35 night once I left the 100 w light bulb on. But I don't do that any more.

Alex

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