Category: Country Cabin

In this post I will introduce our latest project at our rustic off grid cabin on Vancouver Island, how to build an Outhouse step by step. Now priority wise, this was this highest priority project for us this year as our old outhouse had seen better days and was literally almost falling over, or at least it felt that way when you were inside it. It was originally built in the 1970’s when our cabin was built.

Step 1 – Select a location for your outhouse

First things first, we had to choose a location, and we decided to stick with the original location as the original outhouse hole was very deep and barely seemed to be filled in at all. It didn’t smell and it was nice and far from the cabin but still accessible at night if needed.

If you need to dig a new hole, you could rent an excavator to do it. You want the hole to be at least 6 feet deep and 3 x 3 or 3 x 4 in dimensions.

Ours happened to be quite large as we found out when we demolished the old one. So we had to build a larger foundation to cover it.

Step 2 – Demolish the old outhouse if needed

Demolishing the old outhouse just takes some brawn from a couple of folks. I was fortunate to have my son, my boyfriend and my daughter helping at various stages of this project.

After tipping it over, they cut the boards and hauled away the pieces onto a tarp, trying to avoid losing any old rusty nails in the process.

Step 3 – Build the foundation

Confirm the ground is level enough or where you need to dig out, to build your foundation. You should already have foundation plan, deciding what you are going to build your foundation with. We decided to use 8 x 8 x 16 inch concrete foundation bricks. We would have to cut some of them to get the right size as you will see in the YouTube video I provide a link to.

We started on one side and made that first row level, and then because of the slope of the ground we ended up with 2 layers on that side going to one on the other side of the foundation.

Dig out the dirt as needed, or backfill to make sure the bricks are level from all corners and along each side.

Add the first layer of wood on top of the brick layer. This is what the outhouse structure will be nailed/screwed down to. Add a subfloor to the foundation leaving a hole for where the toilet seat will be positioned above it.

Step 4 – Start the build of the outhouse structure

Build a standard shed, or in our case, using the tongue in groove boards provided, assemble them in the order needed, following directions from the kit.

We used a kit from Pacific Rim Log Structures called the “Betty” shed, which then we would customize for an outhouse. The custom tongue and groove logs were imported from Estonia and were the closest I could find to a Finnish style structure so far.

Step 5 – Build the roof

Add the roof boards and then depending on which material you are using for roof, add a plywood layer and then the shingles.

We ended up covering the roof in between working on the roof boards and then later the roof shingles so we could build the bench seat inside.

Step 6 – Build the bench seat

This next step in how to build an outhouse is the most important! We needed a functional outhouse fast and this step was more complicated than expected. We needed to make sure it was strong enough to support anyone that used the outhouse. As well, we wanted it at the back of the outhouse with room for a sink on one side. We used 2 x 4 construction, and plywood all around, and then created extra support beams in the middle. For the top we used 1 inch thick plywood to make sure it wouldn’t ‘give’ when you sat down.

I strongly suggest drawing out a plan for your bench seat and then precutting the wood to build it from. Our bench seat ‘box’ is 52 inches by 36 inches by 18 inches high. It included the extra support on the inside just off center so that there was support on each side of the hole in the ground/floor. See more details on the YouTube video shown later in this post.

Once the box was built we cut the hole and added the toilet seat.

Step 7 – Add any extras, sink, towel and toilet roll hardware

We also added a pedestal sink by adding the proper drainage and piping to drain the sink water into the outhouse hole. We bring potable water in to the cabin for regular drinking. but we use lake water in jugs, to bring water to the outhouse for washing up. It makes such a difference to be able to wash your hands properly.

We installed new hardware for the towel rack, toilet roll holder and a clothes hook.

Next Steps:

We will still need to stain the wood inside and out, as well as add some beadboard to the front of the bench seat, and other decorative items.

The full Outhouse build on my YouTube Channel

Here is the YouTube video for how to build an outhouse or the “outhouse build”, where you can see the process from start to finish.

I hope this post gives you some good information for how to build an outhouse step by step and I hope you enjoy the video on How to Build an Outhouse.

🙂 Bonnie