We have started building the outhouse! In our backyard. We are using the same kind of plan that we used to construct the tent platform. We designed the privy to be built in four panels and then hauled out to the site. We got a good start on the walls last weekend. I found a website from some university agricultural extension service that allows you to download free building plans. The available plans are mostly for agricultural buildings such as chicken coops and slaughter houses. I downloaded outhouse plans as well as the blueprints for a bomb shelter. Guess which one Ray wanted to work on first. The plans called for a 4x4 foot building. We wanted to make sure that was roomy enough so we used this system to check the dimensions.
We taped a square on the deck and determined the outhouse should be roomy enough for both a person and a dog to use comfortably. We went on to frame up all three of the side walls. Eventually, they will be insulated and paneled. This is what they look like right now. It will have a translucent corrugated fiberglass roof and of course, a crescent moon on the door.
I did not want to use or maintain an outhouse with a gross plywood bench so I have been doing research on what is politely called an outhouse pedestal. I found a Canadian company that makes a very nice fiberglass model that should be able to withstand our temperature extremes as well as being very easy to keep clean. This is a picture of that pedestal.
We will not have a concrete slab as pictured here. Our plans call for a plywood floor assembly that will be covered with a nice, easy to clean linoleum. I don't want to sound like too much of a princess, but if the plan is to build an outhouse, I would like it to be the cleanest, most pleasant outhouse possible.
We got the good news over the weekend that the driveway was in! The contractor actually made it out last week and put in the driveway, cleared a few trees from the building site and dug the pit for the outhouse. We took a trip up there yesterday to check it out. The town of Cumberland was all decorated for Christmas and looked charming. Having a driveway really changes the whole place. Now we can actually pull in and park the car. 
That is a far cry from pulling off the road into the woods. Now it actually feels like a destination. It was really pretty out there with snow on the ground. We don't have any snow yet at home so that was kind of a surprise. The place looks really different without all the leaf cover. We do lose some of the privacy. The two neighboring houses are more visible. But we also gain a much better view of the lake. 
There is thick tree cover at the edge of the wetland that blocks the view in the summer. Eventually, we will thin those trees a bit so we have a nice view from the cabin, but for now when the leaves are in, it is hard to see the water. This time, though, the water was easy to see. The lakes are not iced over yet, so there were still plenty of birds to watch. It is hunting season up there now. The deer tracks were quite visible in the snow and there were gunshots audible all afternoon. That might be the last time we make it up there this winter. Now we turn our attention to finishing the outhouse, which Ray moved into the garage last night, and planning the cabin!
We taped a square on the deck and determined the outhouse should be roomy enough for both a person and a dog to use comfortably. We went on to frame up all three of the side walls. Eventually, they will be insulated and paneled. This is what they look like right now. It will have a translucent corrugated fiberglass roof and of course, a crescent moon on the door.
I did not want to use or maintain an outhouse with a gross plywood bench so I have been doing research on what is politely called an outhouse pedestal. I found a Canadian company that makes a very nice fiberglass model that should be able to withstand our temperature extremes as well as being very easy to keep clean. This is a picture of that pedestal.
We will not have a concrete slab as pictured here. Our plans call for a plywood floor assembly that will be covered with a nice, easy to clean linoleum. I don't want to sound like too much of a princess, but if the plan is to build an outhouse, I would like it to be the cleanest, most pleasant outhouse possible.
