About outhouses

A practical guide

This is my first post to the Homestead Collective so let me know what you think! Just wanted to share my outhouse design and video of moving it this year over a new hole.

I was motivated to build 2 outhouses because I’m a Hipcamp host and a couple of years ago they required us all to have some kind of waste disposal system. Hipcamp is like AirBnB for campers.

We LOVE Hipcampers! They will settle for as little as a place to pitch a tent but some have massive RVs with generators (you get to choose what you want to host). We offer 4 private “primitive” sites along a river, a firepit, a picnic bench and a load of wood for each stay on our 73 acres. It’s an easy revenue stream, plus they are just so appreciative.

So it was worth it to build outhouses. I was stressed out about it until I walked by some fencing at Lowe’s one day and realized that could be my walls and roof. The boards provide enough privacy and the spaces between them plenty of air flow.

After that, it was just a matter of installing a floor - treated lumber - and a plywood bench for a toilet seat. Plus cutting out the bottom of a bucket and attaching said bucket to the plywood to help guide the waste. That was a little tricky.

The metal bucket contains woodchips and a metal soup can. I have a sign that says “One scoop per poop” over it so guests help with the composting. I store TP and some baggies for feminine products in the Tupperware to keep them dry.

I didn’t want to frame a whole door and hinges are high maintenance. But Hipcamp hosts on Facebook gave me the idea of a shower curtain that looks like a barn door. It’s OK so long as the outhouse is aimed away from most foot traffic. Later we added corrugated plastic over the roof to keep rain and leaves out better.

I dug 2-3 foot pits and my neighbors helped me move the outhouses to the sites. I knew the pits would fill up, so I built skids on the bottom. This year was my first chance to use them and I was thrilled with how well they worked.

You can see there’s some wear and tear on the outhouse. A locally-owned hardware store (yes, a few still exist) recommended an environmentally-friendly soy product to waterpoof the outhouses. NOT a good idea. The wildlife loved it! The wooden toilet seats plus the front piece that hides the bucket with the bottom cut out were nibbled badly. We’ve replaced the seats with plastic ones and will be putting up new plywood before next season to improve the look.

Hope you find this useful! If you’d like to know more about our take on living in rural America check out Postcards from The Heartland.

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