Outhouses

The outhouse came about when there was no sewerage system and people did not want to conduct themselves in the open. So a deep hole was dug in the ground and covered with a plank with a hole on it and then a shed like shelter constructed around it. This place came to be known as the outhouse as it used to be at some distance from the main house. The outhouse was known by different names around the world, thunder box, dunny, john, and shit house are just some of the names. The outhouse was constructed at a distance from the main house so that the smell would not waft into the house. A discarded tin box with toilet paper or newspaper used to be placed in the outhouse. The tin box would keep the rats and other pests away from chewing up the paper.

There is a difference between eastern and western cultures. In the east people just squat on their haunches where as the westerners prefer to sit. So along came the toilet seat. This could just be a basic chair with the center cut out of it or a proper commode. When there was no sewerage system instead of digging a pit a bucket would be placed under the toilet seat which would be removed and disposed by the night soil carriers. Some people went to the extent of constructing two outhouses, one for gents and the other for ladies. A small peep hole also used to be cut in the door and the purpose of this was never quite clear. There are also a number of jokes associated with the outhouse. As this used to be a rough cut structure to keep the rain and the cold out and give the occupant privacy; jokes about the outhouse tipping over or getting blown away used to be common.

Outhouses still exist in rural places where there is no sewerage system as yet and in some of the under developed countries. Constructing an outhouse does not require an expert builder or an architect and it can be a simple clap and board construction. Another way of disposing of the waste was to have septic tanks these tanks were also known as holding tanks. They could be two tanks or three tank constructions.

When sewerage came some of the old outhouses were converted into bathrooms and they became regular toilets with showers and other outhouse bathroom accessories and maybe a hot tub installed in them. Of course if one is inclined to construct an outhouse there are free plans that one can get and there are also kits available and one can quite easily construct the outhouse. Like some people have got elaborate toilets so can one let one’s imagination loose when constructing an outhouse?

Some outhouses that went out of use when the sewerage system came around have been converted into storage sheds.

The outhouse theme can also be used in modern bathrooms and there are some companies that are still manufacturing the old style toilets. If one wants a bathroom with an outdoor theme then it should holding tank of water, there is plenty of material from which one can draw up ideas and give a modern toilet a quaint outhouse look. One could go to the extent of having the toilet constructed in the outhouse style at some distance from the main house which could be connected by a covered or screened path.

If one wants to take a walk down memory lane one could build themselves an outhouse that would look like the outhouse of yester years but have all the fittings of a modern day toilet. Of course if one so desires one could get an outhouse kit also and have it assembled or assemble it themselves.