Tips For Building Outhouses

f one needs to build an outhouse it is really quite a simple process to do so. First one has to dig a pit. The pit could be a square pit and could be dug 3 feet by 3 feet square and 5 to 6 feet deep. Now pour a concrete frame which may be 3 inches thick and 6 inches wide and three feet by three feet square. Place this on the pit and then pour another frame that is 3 inches thick and is six inches smaller then the outer frame and has a two feet by two feet square of open space in the middle. Once this sets place it over the outer ring and you should have a double layered slabs of concrete with a two foot opening in the middle covering the pit. Now a toilet can be place on the slab and if required another slab constructed to fit the aperture of the toilet. To build the privy or outhouse as one would call it one could build a wood frame with four posts on the corners. These posts can be fixed in the earth by digging holes and placing the frame posts in them and reinforcing the posts foundations with concrete. Wooden planks can be used for the walls and the door and a screen covered window built to let in light. The roof could be a tarp or tin sheets. There should be a slope in the roof so that rain water or snow does not accumulate on the roof. An electric bulb or a lantern could be hung in the outhouse. Paint the walls of the outhouse and the outhouse is now ready for use. It is advised to keep an ample supply of lime close to the outhouse or some of it in a bucket in the outhouse. Pouring some lime down the commode into the pit will help to cut the odor. When the pit is quite full to about a foot and a half of the top one should remove the outhouse and cover the pit with soil and build a new outhouse.

There are building plans that one can get and the easiest source for this would be the Internet where there are plans available. If an outhouse is to be built near a gully one does not need to dig a pit and a pipe in the commode disposes the waste down the gully.

One word of caution when building an outhouse is that it should be at least a 100 feet away from any water source like a well. This is done to ensure that the well does not get contaminated. Pouring lime regularly down the chute will be a way of reducing the chances of mosquitos’ cockroaches and flies breeding in the pit.

If a proper outhouse with septic tanks is to be constructed then it would be a good idea to consult a building constructor. In this one would need to get septic tanks constructed. There are septic tanks that one can buy and get installed. There are the two tank and three tank types available and with different capacities. So it really depends on how long one wants to use the outhouse for.

Outhouses are quite commonly built at construction sites where there are projects that are going to take quite some time to complete. Like bridges, high rise buildings, etc.

It is not very difficult to construct an outhouse and any one with or without a little help can construct one. After all they used to be just shacks with a hole in the ground that was put up in the yard or any space that was sufficiently convenient to get to and from.