Help with simple outhouse framing

Hello folks,

I've been lurking in the shadows of these forums for a while now. I recently closed on decent chunk of dirt to tend so its time for me to start posting!

The first thing I plan to build is the pooper for obvious reasons. It's going to be a dry composting toilet in a simple clay slip building. I am going to raise it a little bit off the ground to make wheeling the full wheelie bin in and out easier. Once the house is complete and the outhouse has served its purpose I plan to upcycle all of the materials into whatever I need when that time rolls around. I have zero building experience but I plan on changing that.

My question is about the foundation. If the building is on stilts, so to speak, is it enough to just dig some deep holes and shove the poles in there and make them plumb? Or do I need to treat the wood/create some sort of footing around the base of the posts?

The climate is rather temperate. Once in a blue moon the temps will be below freezing, if ever. The proximity to the warmish Indian Ocean keeps things pretty consistent.  

Welcome from out of the shadows Mike!  Seeing as how its just a temporary structure, I would say that your poles can be put directly into the ground as you suggested without any further processing. However, if you wanted to use the poles again and have them as rot free as possible, puting something like pea gravel all around the pole and tamp it in good would provide good drainage and be relatively easy to remove.   Good luck on your crapper!

The Indian Ocean has made its mark on the global news cycle this year. In March, tropical cyclone Idai made headlines as one of the most severe storms to have made landfall in Mozambique. ... This makes it the most deadly tropical cyclone ever to have made landfall on the southern African subcontinent.

Might consider some kind of tie-down.

Thanks for tip Gerry. I was wondering if something like that would be necessary to help with drainage and whatnot. I'll give it a go!

Burl, thankfully I am far enough south that the ocean temperatures are too low to sustain a cyclone. Now who's to say how that will change in the coming decades considering climate change and the like but hopefully I'll be pooping in a sturdy, passively cooled house by that time and not a rickety outdoor pooper.

Mike Harris wrote:Thanks for tip Gerry. I was wondering if something like that would be necessary to help with drainage and whatnot. I'll give it a go!

The pea gravel would definitely aid with drainage if your soil is prone to holding water and prematurely rotting the posts.