Help me design a very small bucket outhouse

I'm throwing ideas around in my head, but I really don't have much building experience, but I know lots of permies do!

Bit of background: we have a spaghetti farm and the chickens all live in a big field about 1/4 mile from the house. There's a hiking trail behind, and very little shrubbery to hide behind. Neighbors seem to materialize out of thin air with no warning - mostly nice neighbors, but their timing is sometimes not ideal. I have a senior's bladder, and the knees can't *always* manage to do the squat approach. I have enough to carry around, so I really would prefer a bucket with a seat than a Shewee.

Needs and limitations

1. I will need to mostly build this by myself, and I'm both inexperienced and a wimp. (Fine build 115 lb senior female.)
2. I *needs* to be portable. Ideally, we could use the forks on the small tractor we have to move it. Second choice would be an easy way to add wheels so we could use the lawn tractor to move it.
3. What's the smallest I can get a way with? I'm small, so I'm wondering if I could use an existing sturdy pallet that is only 42" by 42" as a base?
4. The goals are dry inside, mostly excluding rats and mice, privacy because of where it currently must live.
5. We get wind - particularly in the field where this is needed. I'm thinking adding metal bars which can stake it down might be enough?

If you have thoughts or questions, put them down. Neighbor has a mill, so I can get weird sized lumber cut to help give enough strength, but still keep it light weight.

Jay, We have a few bucket toilets. One in our RV, one in the barn and one we move around depending on what we are doing on our property.

This pop up tent is used for the barn and around the property. Easy up and down, durable and stakes down to do okay in the wind.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CDW9R7YM?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

You could DIY based on the dimensions here. A 4x4 pallet base would be plenty big. I have the 5 gallon potty and 5 gallon sawdust bucket in this one and I am 6' and no issues.

It will fit about any size person. We are getting almost 50mph gusts today due to a storm and it is doing fine. I am not sure I'd want to be using it right now but I also would not want to be out doing anything else either.

Josh Hoffman wrote:This pop up tent is used for the barn and around the property. Easy up and down, durable and stakes down to do okay in the wind.

It appears from the confusing webpage, that the base is 47" by 47", suggesting my existing skid would be on the "snug" size.

However, I already have problems with my Muscovy landing on tarp covered mini-hoop shelters I use for moms with babies, and they have *sharp* claws, so the tent isn't an option.  

I'm looking for something that will last. Because of how wet we are all winter, I will have to use some metal as well as wood, but that's what I'm aiming for.

Jay Angler wrote:

Josh Hoffman wrote:This pop up tent is used for the barn and around the property. Easy up and down, durable and stakes down to do okay in the wind.

It appears from the confusing webpage, that the base is 47" by 47", suggesting my existing skid would be on the "snug" size.

However, I already have problems with my Muscovy landing on tarp covered mini-hoop shelters I use for moms with babies, and they have *sharp* claws, so the tent isn't an option.  

I'm looking for something that will last. Because of how wet we are all winter, I will have to use some metal as well as wood, but that's what I'm aiming for.

I think you'd be fine on the 42x42 footprint. That is funny about the ducks. It would be a funny sight to be on the potty, in the tent, and have a duck land on it lol.

How visible are you? Do you need all 4 side closed? Maybe not because of visibility but because of weather?

We try to make going to the potty an normal thing in our house so having the tent open is not really a problem. However, if our neighbors could see, I would not expect them to be onboard with our practices.....

If you need 4 sides closed up, then you'll need a door which will add to cost and construction time.

I'm showing my ignorance,  actually my best quality, but what's a spaghetti  farm?

If I was in your Wellingtons, I would use the pallet and plan on moving the structure always with your tractor. Adding wheels is not practical,  as it could be top heavy and prone to tipping or even flipping.
Secondly,  stick with a base 48 inch square,  exactly half a sheet of plywood.  Perhaps half inch will be of sufficient strength,  and begin by screwing it down using heavy duty exterior screws, not those for sheetrock.  Using 2 by 3 studs, create your box and keep it shorter than 8 feet. The goal is minimalism here.  Stronger sides are key, so use steel anchors for each wall.  Better to build with 3 walls and use a tapestry or fabric shower curtain for the door.  Siding can be anything you choose, just keep it lightweight....I might use 24 inch aluminum flashing since your climate is damp.  Roof is up to you, but forget about big eaves, stay with the mantra of minimalistic simplicity .  All wood parts need 1 or 2 coats of quality paint.

Install something like a 3 gallon bucket and toilet seat. Then let the shit hit the......er, pan.  
Rico

I meant to add
A bucket smaller than 5 gallons would work, as you are slight of stature and this toilet will be only used intermittently

Don't forget to always place the outhouse somewhere near or just beyond the wood shed.  That way you can grab some wood on your way back to the house

Rico Loma wrote:I'm showing my ignorance,  actually my best quality, but what's a spaghetti  farm?

What is a Spaghetti Farm?

I forget that English can be a very local language! The short answer, it's any relatively long, narrow farm - skinny so the only thing worth growing is spaghetti which is also long and thin!

Historical Origins - the longer answer and somewhat off topic

Land in some areas of Canada was gifted to immigrants who had "Served the Crown". Since everyone needed water, the land usually started at a river and went back from there for some distance. Since families were large at that time, when the sons were "of age" the land was divided to give each son a share, but they also needed water access, so that division was in strips. Go through 3-5 generations and you end up with a pile of long skinny farms leading back from the river, and on a map it did look enough like a line up of spaghetti that the joke was born.

What about something like a deer stand?

We make ours out of 4 x 8 plywood with a 2 x 4 frame.  Just a rectangular box with a door.  They are made with screws so that they are easily disassemble and re-assembled.

Ours have a floor, a roof and windows.  The windows and roof might not even be needed.

There could be several in different location.

Cost is not my limiting factor. First, I have a lot of downed trees and a neighbor with a saw mill he loves excuses to play with. Second, we've got a fairly decent "spare parts" collection that I can raid including being able to upcycle hinges and other fittings.

However, vermin are an issue. Voles, mice, huge rats, squirrels, racoon are all looking for dry places to dig under or chew into. So I want to build it securely - yes, a door is more work, but if it keeps squatters out, I will take the time to do the job right.

My limiting factors are: 1) to design light enough for a relatively small tractor to lift it when we need to move it (which isn't likely to be often.) So sneaky hints to keep the weight down while not making it too fragile for wet snow and 80-100km wind gusts. Alternately, hints to make parts of it come apart as suggested up thread. Doors with hinge pins are simple to take off for a move, and then re-install.

2) I am soooo.... done with tarps. Anything based on that is out. In our climate they solar degrade and start shedding microplastics within 2 years and I plan to live longer than that!

3) I also need hints to help me build it as much on my own as possible.

The hints about keeping the overhangs small to reduce both weight and wind load is good, as my inclination is the other way as we're so wet all winter. I'm going to have to figure out how to balance that one. This is definitely not a climate for *no* overhangs, but I've had temptations in the past to make structures shorter when I didn't really need a lot of height, and that means that overhangs need to be safe for taller people who could run into them. But going taller on such a small structure will make it tippier, so more hints about how to make safe overhangs seems like a good thing.

Standard blue box portajohn is about 42-48 and tapers a bit so 42x42 will work if you put the bucket in the corner, but it will be tight.  

Building it to fit tractor forks is definitely a good idea if you have them.

Four long rebar stakes will keep it steady in pretty severe wind. But not guaranteed.

My preference for building material is metal barn siding, but that was my job for a long time so I have the tools and experience and lots of scraps saved up.

If I had to build one these days with your access to a sawmill, I’d build it 48x48. Buy one landscape timber to make skids, 2x lumber for the floor and 1x for the walls. A little porch overhang in front but not much on the sides or back.  

I know it's not DIY but temu has that very tent outside complete with the bucket potty and 50 liners plus absorption pads for liquids for $50. I just don't think you can DIY for less

I’d think about half an A-frame!

Usually I’d say use 4x8 corrugated polycarbonate for the straight side and slant side (with a knee wall of whatever height and size you want in lumber).  Lotsa light that way re spiders or cleaning.  It also comes in smoked and colors if you want more privacy.  Clean buckets and sawdust buckets tuck under the slant side.  Super lightweight.

Since you’re smaller, and can get odd lumber cuts, maybe you can get away with a 6-foot straight side in wood, and use polycarbonate for the slant.  You can also put another polycarbonate section on top of the first to overhang as much as you want.

The book Microshelters by Derek Diedricksen has a version of this called “The Lime Wedge” and other very small lightweight ideas that might be food for thought!

My first thoughts; Build it on skids. Build it round. 6 ft diameter.
This would counter the wind. Use vinyl soffit vertical as the outer skin. (Weight.)
Cedar inside (weight)  use touch n foam to seal every little crack.then paint.
Put a light shower system in, using a garden sprayer that attaches to shower hear. (YouTube)
Have a toilet seat mounted on a bucket. Biodegradable bags with sawdust to compost. Take it with you or dig a pit with cover.

What I did about 50 years ago, before I had built the house (with indoor composting toilet), was to make a small bucket outhouse, likely (it was half a century ago) a bit smaller than your pallet. It was in the country, with no nearby neighbours, so I don't think it had a door, although one could have been added easily. I used tongue and groove boards, but plywood or chipboard would be quicker and inherently sturdier. In that case, the vertical corners need to be reinforced with full height 2" lumber inside (or possibly angle brackets or strapping on the outside, spaced close enough to be sturdy).

If you use the pallet as the base and floor, it could be easily skidded or lifted on forks. If the pallet is "double-sided" with the heavy lumber (3"x3" or larger) at the edges, they can provide firm anchorage for at least two sides. (Use #12 screws or heavier, not nails.) I didn't have a pallet, so I just built a simple variant for the base that i then attached vertical boards to. The roof, probably plywood, was a single slope away from the doorway.  A toilet seat was supported on a simple platform with space for a small plastic trash can under it. (I must have had a foot rest for my 3-year-old son, but I can't recall now.)

Such a small structure doesn't need much framing, and mine was never in danger of being knocked over by normal storms. If you're in an area with occasional very high winds, you could drive two or more substantial stakes into the ground beside it, and screw the structure to them. If you want to keep critters out, the floor will need to be solid, of course. Building a critter-tight door requires some care, especially of you use boards, which are likely to warp.

It may sound weird but... fishing hut comes to mind. LOL

Jay Angler wrote:Cost is not my limiting factor...

2) I am soooo.... done with tarps. Anything based on that is out. In our climate they solar degrade and start shedding microplastics within 2 years and I plan to live longer than that!

Why are you buying plastic tarps? Cotton canvas is the way to go...

I know you prefer timber, and plastic ain't very permies but IF you had 2 IBCs to repurpose, you could make a lightweight but re-inforced, waterproof WC that keeps critters (and neighbors) out- you could even have a gravity fed basin. I've seen designs for showers which would be more complicated. You could wind secure it by staking each corner like you do a tent.

Maybe look for a usable used porta potty/satellite

Just thinking that if you have a tractor that could pull something on skids, why not go a bit bigger.  It could be a storage shed for tools, etc, with enough room for a bucket.  
You said it was a 1/4 mile from the house so if I was that far I would want something to keep things in so I didn't have to lug them around.
A bit heavier, but depending on how it was built not to much.  Depending on what you have in your "bone yard" would have a say in design.

Sarah Joubert wrote:... plastic ain't very permies but IF you had 2 IBCs to repurpose, you could make a lightweight but re-inforced, waterproof WC that keeps critters (and neighbors) out- you could even have a gravity fed basin.

Interesting idea - I'm a fan of re-use and upcycling, so re-using old plastic has merit up to a point. Alas, gently used IBC's are over $100 in my area - the downside of living on an Island, even if it's a *really* big Island - and not easy to come by. I will google pictures of the idea and consider it - they are designed to be moved with fork-lifts.

Rico Loma wrote:I'm showing my ignorance,  actually my best quality, but what's a spaghetti  farm?

It's where spaghetti is grown, of course! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti-tree_hoax