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zman
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2019 11:33am
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Hi Everyone.
Well I finished building my outhouse in my garage and I will be taking to the pc of property I have purchased, I do have a question though for everyone, seems most of the land has allot of rock and might not be able to dig as much as I would like. Does anyone have any ideas for a situation like this?
Thanks in advance for the advice and any tips
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Princelake
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2019 11:39am
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I was only able to dig maybe 2 feet at the most and cribbed it and back filled with gravel. I'll dig up some pictures fo you.
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2019 11:41am
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We operated for years using a screw top five gallon bucket for weekend trips. At conclusion of trip bucket top got screwed on, brought back home, dumped into commode and rinsed out.
It wasn't the most pleasant of tasks but it worked. In most places in US the outhouses that are holes in ground are technically illegal. But I know a lot of people have them and no one is looking.
The other solution is what we did on farm for tree stumps. Blast
High nitrogen fertilizer and fuel oil. Pack it in small hole and detonate. You'll have a big hole in no time.
And it's far more fun.
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Princelake
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2019 11:43am - Edited by: Princelake
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Says the file is to large to upload.
I dug down my 2 feet cut down a bunch of trees roughly 6" wide and cut them into 4' sections and used 12" spikes and built my cribbing. Then had a rock full of gravel dumped off and filled around it.so I have a house on a hill haha.
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Princelake
Member
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2019 11:50am
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http://www.small-cabin.com/forum/6_8344_0.html#msg117752
Here is my outhouse post with pics
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Nate R
Member
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2019 01:17pm
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Depending on your local climate, a moldering privy style might work better in this situation.
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zman
Member
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2019 02:18pm
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Thanks Everyone great advice as usual
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NorthRick
Member
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2019 05:23pm
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A lot of rock, or bedrock? Big difference.
You can dig through soil with a lot of rock using hand methods. In addition to a shovel, get a pickaxe and a digging bar. Use them to loosen the rocks and then remove them from the hole with the shovel or your hands.
Hard work? Yes, but doable. Bedrock on the other hand...
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xtolekbananx
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2019 06:54pm
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I only went down 3 feet, hit very hard clay as a rock. The hole is 3x3x3 feet and had it for 2 years now. With weekend use in warmwr months it will take 10 years to fill. You can also pump or dig another hole.
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morock
Member
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2019 06:59pm
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I have a similar problem, so I built mine on two beams that will act like skis. I can dig a fresh hole behind the current shack and then use a come-a-long and pull it over the new hole. Just be sure you can fill in your old hole. 
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zman
Member
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# Posted: 3 Apr 2019 01:24pm
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Great thanks Everyone
Awesome advice 
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zman
Member
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# Posted: 3 Apr 2019 01:26pm
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I think I'll start with a pickaxe and shovel and see how it goes, its allot of bigger rocks but only digging will tell how big all those rocks are.
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NorthRick
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2019 03:01pm
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I'd strongly suggest adding a steel digging bar to your arsenal. A 5-6ft one, pointed on one end and a chisel on the other. Pick it up and let it drop under its own weight and then pry to loosen up the rocks. As your hole gets deeper, it works better than a pickaxe.
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beachman
Member
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2019 05:56pm
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Xtol - no need to pump or dig a different hole. Clean out in the spring after the stuff "matures". After the first couple inches, its all non-smelly compost. Just try not to think about what you are digging.
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Eddy G
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# Posted: 5 Apr 2019 09:09am - Edited by: Eddy G
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Have you considered composting?
Containing the waste under the outhouse, removing it periodically and composting it?
We've been using a composting toilet at our cabin for a few years now and really sold on it.
Converting an out house to a compostable system would be simple enough.
I think it makes a lot more sense in the long run then an old school out house. It's cleaner, less odor, less work when done on regular basis and better for the environment (if just your property).
Our place is mostly used weekends.
Once and while we'll spend a long 3 or 4 days in a row up there at most..
We generally empty the composting toilet bucket into the composter, rinse it out and put back in to the toilet when we're packing up and going home.
It just takes a few minutes.
Last year I emptied the composter out around May and spread the compost around some areas on the property. Worked out really well.
Just a thought, something you may want to look in to. I found a lot of info on composting here on this site as well as others. Good Luck.
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zman
Member
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# Posted: 5 Apr 2019 10:07am
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Ya I have been looking into that as well, I think I might go that route for inside the Cabin as I have 2 daughters and they would like something inside as well. So might do a small compost toilet inside
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vtbros
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# Posted: 6 Apr 2019 09:32am
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As suggested above, Inwould recommend a moldering privy. Build a crib work above a small hollow and place outhouse above it. Works great. No smell. Appalachian mountain club has great information about building one.
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Jim in NB
Member
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# Posted: 9 Apr 2019 10:19am
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Composting is the way to go. I have three at my camp. One in the camp, one up the hill and one down by the lake. Use a five gallon bucket and sawdust. No smell whatsoever and a much more pleasant cleaning task.
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 9 Apr 2019 12:09pm
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If your cabin is elevated I was able to create an indoor bathroom using a RV/Boat toilet (Dometic 300) and then used a hose to a portable RV tank on wheels. When near filled I used the compost method as suggested here or trucked it to the nearby State campground and used their RV dump facility.
I had water pumped with 12 volt RV pump from 55 gallon barrels I had filled at home. It made for a very nice bathroom the wife appreciated the look and feel of home facilities.
RV toilet don't hold water and in my climate freezing is an issue. During winter I use no water and dump directly into a screw top 5 gallon bucket I had mounted a hose flange to. I had an additional lid if I had to transport it home to dump. It worked very well.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 9 Apr 2019 12:45pm
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You could use rv antifreeze to the water tank. So you can still flush and the waste won't freeze.
That's what I do.
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silverwaterlady
Member
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# Posted: 9 Apr 2019 12:53pm - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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Hope you don't run into this issue.
This rock looked so small until we started digging, lol.
Had to move it to build our deck ramp.
If you have a lever long enough....
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zman
Member
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# Posted: 10 Apr 2019 08:44am
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Thanks again everyone.
Awesome information
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