How to Make Your Own Updated Outhouse
If you have the privilege of using the Internet to read about building an outhouse, then you probably want one for the aesthetics and not because you need an outdoor privy to take care of business. If you live on a farm, an outhouse located near the barn or a cabin provides a perfect spot for those emergency trips to the john when you just cannot make it back to the house. For whatever reason you decide to build an outhouse, you can easily build a sturdy exterior water closet with a few modern touches to use in emergencies or as a conversational piece when city folk come for a visit. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shovel or backhoe
- Tape measure
- Post-hole digger
- 8-foot long 4-by-4 wooden posts, 4
- Concrete mix
- Water
- Miter saw
- 1/2-inch thick plywood sheets, 5
- 2-inch wood screws
- Power screwdriver
- Tin or shingles
- Wooden planks (optional)
- Paint or stain (optional)
- Hinge fixtures
- Outhouse door
- Toilet seat
- Pencil
- Jigsaw
Instructions
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1
Choose a site for your outhouse. Avoid any underground wires and pipes when you choose a site for your outdoor potty and position the outhouse away from water sources to avoid water contamination.
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2
Dig the outhouse waste hole. Use a shovel or backhoe and a tape measure to dig a 2- to 3-foot-deep hole that is 2 feet square in width and length.
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3
Dig four 2-foot deep post holes for the supporting beams of the outhouse structure using a post-hole digger. Mark off a 4 foot square on the ground around the 2-foot square hole, keeping that larger hole centered on the backside of the outhouse. Dig the post holes in the corners of the marked-off square.
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4
Set the wooden posts into the post holes. Mix and pour a batch of concrete into the remaining openings around the post holes to secure the posts.
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5
Cut plywood pieces to cover the outhouse walls. Cut the first plywood piece 4 feet wide by 6 feet long and attach this piece to the back side of the outhouse. Simply screw the plywood piece into place on the 4-by-4 posts.
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6
Cut two matching plywood pieces that measure 4-feet wide by 6 1/2-feet long for the sides of the outhouse. On one side of each plywood piece, measure down 6 inches and make a mark. Use this mark as a reference point to cut a slope into these pieces that drops 6 inches from one side to the other. Attach these pieces to the sides of the outhouse structure with the taller side of each piece facing the front of the outhouse.
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7
Cut another plywood piece measuring 6 1/2 feet long by 4 feet for the front of the outhouse. Before you attach the piece, cut out an opening on this piece for the outhouse door.
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8
Cut a final plywood piece that measures 5 feet square to serve as the roof. To attach this piece you will need to stand on a ladder and drive screws down through the top plywood piece and into the edges of the plywood pieces that make up the sides, front and back of the outhouse.
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9
Paint the exterior of the plywood outhouse structure or attach wooden planks to the outside walls of the outhouse for a more attractive exterior covering. Apply roof tin or shingles to the top of the plywood roof piece to extend the life of the roof and prevent leaking.
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10
Purchase or build a door that measures 2 1/2-feet wide by 6-feet tall and set it into place at the front of the outhouse structure. Use hinges to attach the door to the outhouse; be sure to use hinges approved for the weight of the door you install.
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Construct the interior seat of the outhouse by building an open-ended 4-foot-wide by 21/2-foot-wide box from plywood. Set the open end of the box over the waste hole. Set a pre-made toilet seat over the box where you wish to place the seat permanently and trace the opening. Use a jig saw to cut out this opening and then attach the toilet seat permanently with hinges to the top of the box-shape.
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Tips & Warnings
Various websites and experts will tell you different dimensions for the waste hole, so the size is really up to you, though it should never be less than 2 feet deep.
An ideal door size for an outhouse should be wide and tall enough for the average individual to pass through, a good size door opening to make measures 2 1/2 feet wide by 6 feet tall.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Well Preserved Wooden Outhouse-Bodie,Ca image by Tahoe Bearables from Fotolia.com
