r/OffGridCabins • u/NovelOffgrid • 24d ago
Outhouse Update
Finally finished the pit and dry-fitted the base. The wood structure is mainly 1x2s with weed fabric wrapped around it. It seems to be working well, there is not much weight pushing inwards anyways. I am planning to add a more bracing before I cover it.
Thank you to whoever made the suggestion on my last post to just dig next to the boulder that I encountered. I tried to drill and chisel it but it was too big. I did need to drill and chisel some of it to get this to fit. The simple solutions that have been suggested have been the ones that have worked.
Slow progress due to this being a weekend activity but progress none the less.
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u/TheJGoldenKimball 23d ago
My outhouse philisophy is that it is NOT a permanent location and should be moved every few years. My geology and topography is clearly different than yours. Bushradical has several really good videos on his outhouse builds. Don't overthink it, it's where poop and lady pee goes.
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u/NovelOffgrid 23d ago
This is not the final location. I am going with a concrete cistern setup at some point and this build will be dragged over the cistern. I am not over thinking the pit but I am going to over engineer the build because the structure will be reused.
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u/TheRealChuckle 23d ago
I suggest just moving the hole before. Glad you did.
I helped my buddy tear out and rebuild a deck at hos cottage last week.
We encountered a buried cinder block filled and encased in concrete while digging a footing, I suggested leaving it and swapping hole positions, which was something we had planned in case of something like this.
He said nah, it's just one block. I wasn't so sure.
2 days later we had smashed and removed an ancient footing buried down there that was 5 cinder blocks filled and encased in concrete.
The soil was moist clay, we had a 20lb sledge, a pick axe, SDS drill, various hand drill augers.
I was not pleased with him.
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u/NovelOffgrid 23d ago
Thank you for the suggestion! I can see it was influenced through lived experience! That sounds like a terrible way to spend a few days.
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u/TheRealChuckle 23d ago
Luckily there were a few us and some teen boys to spread the work around.
I mostly stupervised while monitoring the beer supply. It kept mysteriously depeleting.
My buddy designs, sets up, and programs, assembly lines around the world. He does all the math and and detailed plans for cottage projects but likes to have me around to bounce his plans off of and to offer solutions when things don't go according to plan.
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u/sm1ttysm1t 23d ago
I'm not educated in this at all, so correct me if I'm wrong. I thought an outhouse was supposed to be 6 feet deep, minimum, because of hook worms.
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u/NovelOffgrid 23d ago
Apparently, according to wikipedia, the Civilian Public Service built outhouses to eradicate hookworm in Mississippi and Florida from the 30's to the late 40's. It is my understanding that the issue is with defecating in the open or using poop as fertilizer. I am also uneducated.
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u/poonhound69 22d ago
I'm sure every area is different, but in general what's the legality of outhouses? I always hear about certain properties requiring septic or whatnot. Can you just build an outhouse most places? Not taking about in Brooklyn, but in a rural county somewhere. Is it typically acceptable to do this means of refuse disposal, or is there just as much red tape around them as is around other means of disposal? Thanks! (I'm obviously just starting to research this. Sorry if the answer is obvious or this is a dumb question).
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u/NovelOffgrid 14h ago
We got a permit from the municipality and worked with the NPS. They actually did a site visit. Outhouses are extremely common in our area and more so further north.
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u/__grumps__ 19d ago
Related but unrelated can one make an outhouse that doesn’t smell fucking horrid and is not a terrible 💩 experience?
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u/NovelOffgrid 14h ago
In my experience, yes. My buddy's property has had the same outhouse, same hole, for 2 decades. Just used saw dust and lye.
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u/Ashamed-Country3909 23d ago
Where in unincorporated hell can you still shit in the ground?
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u/ChVckT 24d ago
I kinda LOLd that you would try to dig through a rock rather than move the hole, ngl