I am fitting out my unused garage as a living space. I intend to rent it out initially as a vacation/short-term rental and use the funds to transform my 0.6-acre, heavily treed/shaded property into a permaculture forest as much as possible. In about 10 years, when I'm an empty-nester, I would move into the remodeled garage and turn my current house into the rental. As such, I am designing one space for two different objectives: for renters now, and for me later. To align these objectives somewhat, I am planning to market the rental towards people with an interest in experiencing alternative living solutions.
Toilet options I know of:
1- Install a water-using toilet.
Pros: no maintenance, comfort/ease for occupants.
Cons: Cost - Zero attention to earth care - a standard toilet will consume water and create waste; my house is currently connected to a septic system which is now over 70 years old but still seems to be going strong; if I add one more toilet, I will be required to connect to the city sewer. I haven't priced it out yet, but my guess is that it will cost me $20-30k to connect the new toilet to the sewer system.
2- Install a composting toilet. In spite of what the city staff first told me, upon pushing back, it appears that I legally AM allowed to install a composting toilet, either within the space or separately outdoors. (The code does state that I must have a greywater connection. I am still trying to figure out why this is; any system I have looked at does not appear to create greywater runoff.)
Pros: Earth care - no water use, beneficial use of human byproduct.
Cons: Not very "exciting" or inspiring - feels like RV life more than innovative green life - so it may deter more renters than it attracts, undermining my imperative to earn money to fund the permaculture project; the compost toilet chambers would need to be changed after each rental (no one is going to want to vacation in a house with someone else's pee and poo in the chambers) - I am not exactly desiring to deal with other people's poo and pee on a regular basis.
3- Install a HomeBiogas toilet.
Pros: A somewhat normal-feeling toilet experience, since pee/poo is channeled out of the building; feels super innovative and exciting; provides free cooking fuel (SO cool); transforms human byproduct into fertilizer/compost aid.
Cons: I'm not clear yet on how the system works and don't know if it's fitting in a situation where there may be days or even weeks without the system being "fed," so I don't really know if it would work will in an AirBnB setting; the outdoor component of the system is pretty large and has several location restrictions: must be within 10 feet of kitchen for gas line to stove, must be on level ground, must be in sun, must be far enough from windows that smell will not be an issue. I simply don't have a location that fits those bills, As much as I wish this could be my solution, I don't know if it's possible - I have thought about housing it in an insulated box, lined with ecofoil, with a side that tilts out in the morning and reflects sun off the ecofoil into the box, but there is really nowhere within 10 feet of the kitchen that gets enough sun for even that solution.
I'm really hoping there are some solutions out there I haven't considered. Thanks for your thoughts. I am happy to post more details about my property/structure/layout and respond to any questions.
Elyce
