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Outhouse, Privy, or Dunny Construction & Maintenance Guide
+ 1950s Camp Virginia Photos & Outhouses
- POST a QUESTION or COMMENT on how to build, locate, use & maintain an outhouse
Privies and outhouses:
This article discusses outhouse construction, maintenance, venting and lime or lime alternatives for odor control, outhouse sanitation, outhouse safety, and outhouse products or alternatives.
A privy or outhouse is a toilet located outside of a house or other occupied building.
Historically a privy was a small wood structure that encompassed walls, roof, a door for privacy, a rudimentary ventilation system, and one or more seats placed over a pit dug to receive the usual toilet wastes.
Modern outhouses follow those old design ideas but often use plastics or other newer materials and may add solar-powered ventilating fans. We list sources of outhouse supplies. Our page top photo shows a modern outhouse along the Appalachian trail in Sharon, Connecticut.
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?
Outhouses & Latrine Construction & Maintenance Guide + Temporary or Makeshift Toilets
An outhouse is a separate building constructed over a pit dug into the ground and used as a toilet. Inside the outhouse is one or more holes or toilet seats constructed over the pit.
Outhouse construction usually includes a separate vent that conducts gases and odors from the waste pit to above the outhouse roof.
The purpose of an outhouse or latrine is provide a low-cost, easy-to-build toilet that is safe and sanitary, keeping human feces and urine away from drinking water and preventing fly infestation that can spread disease.
Watch out: failure to provide even the basic sanitation provided by an outhouse or latrine pit leaves people defecating in open fields, drainage ditches, riverbeds. Open spread of human feces increases the risk of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis, polio, and typhoid.
Traditionally outhouses were constructed close to the principal building or residence in communities not served by sewers and at buildings not served by a septic system.
Commonly in many parts of the world modern outhouses are also placed at remote locations on hiking trails and in camping areas.
Here we illustrate and describe outhouses or dunnies used in a variety of locations.
Our outhouse photo shows the interior of a modern outhouse along the Appalachian trail in Sharon, Connecticut.
How to Build the Simplest Outhouse / Latrine
To build the simplest, least-costly, easiest outhouse or latrine follow these basic procedures:
- Select the outhouse location:
at least 50 feet, preferably 100 feet from drinking water sources such as wells, lakes, or streams.
The outhouse location should also be on a higher spot of ground so that during rainy weather the pit will not be filled with surface runoff. If you don't have a high ground location you should at least construct a berm of soil to keep surface runoff from entering the outhouse pit.
More examples of designs for open pit latrines are found at LATRINE TYPES & CONSTRUCTION. There we cite this U.S. military field manual specification:
The latrine or outhouse pit should be located at least 100 yards (90 meters) downwind (prevailing wind) and down gradient from the unit food service facility and at least 100 feet (30 meters) from any unit ground water source.
- Dig a hole six feet deep.
The length and width of the hole depend on the number of users you anticipate, or the number of toilet seats or holes you want to provide.
For a single family of six people and for an outhouse or latrine pit that should last at least three years, the hole may be just one meter square.
Watch out: Do not work alone, as in some soils there is risk of being trapped by a soil cave-in.
Tip: instead of digging a hole or pit with vertical sides, make the hole wider at the top than at its bottom. By slanting the sides of the latrine pit you reduce the chances of a cave-in.
Optional tip: line the latrine pit sides with reeds or bamboo set vertically against the pit sides to help avoid cave-ins in wet weather. If bricks or concrete are available those too can be used to line the sides of a latrine pit but they're not necessary.
- Provide a safe, strong outhouse / latrine pit cover:
in the absolute minimum construction there must be a latrine cover constructed of wood or reinforced concrete strong enough that there is no danger of collapse or falling into the latrine pit.
The cover includes a small squat hole, perhaps a foot in diameter, over which the user can squat to defecate. - Provide weather shelter:
using a simple rectangular structure of wood, bamboo, cloth, reeds, surround the latrine pit cover or outhouse pit cover and provide a roof so as to provide weather protection, sun protection, and privacy for users and also to reduce fly infiltration.
A good outhouse or latrine pit surround/cover design includes exit vents or slits near the roof so that by natural convection odors and moisture can exit the structure. - Abandoning the latrine:
when the latrine is filled to or close to one foot of the surface it should be abandoned by filling-in with stone and covered with soil.
You may be able to re-use the latrine cover and surrounding structure over the new latrine pit that can be dug nearby, but far enough away that the excavation does not risk a cave-in from the adjacent pit.
Types of Lime Used in Outhouses
Our outhouse photo below shows a modern installation in Portland Maine.
Notice the air intake venting around the base of the outhouse walls - a contributor to fresh air and low odors in this outhouse. Other than lime (or in some areas lye) we have found these suggestions for outhouse maintenance:
Question on Lime Alternatives for Outhouse Odor Control
I use an outhouse and use lime. What else works. I am low income and live in Texas. Thanks. - Rob Hager, TX.
Answer:
Lime has been traditionally used reduce the odors or smells in an outhouse or at an outdoor latrine. Lime does not speed waste decomposition and may actually slow it down by decreasing the acidity of the sewage. Lime also reduced the problem of flies in the outhouse or latrine.
See FLIES, MOSQUITOES REMOVE or REPEL. Some folks hang flypaper inside the outhouse pit to reduce the fly problem further.
Lime may also absorb some portion of liquids (urine) and may pick up moisture from the air, aiding in waste decomposition. More about the types of lime used in outhouses is below
at Details About the TYPES of LIME USED in OUTHOUSES
Watch out: don't get lime on the toilet seat - it will cause skin burns.
Types of lime that have been used in outhouses include the following:
Lime is calcium hydroxide (CaOH2), or more carelessly called S-lime or slaked lime.
Quicklime is calcium oxide (CaO). Quicklime, when "slaked" with water (providing more H2O) becomes hot and chemically changes (this is why mortar can be warm or even hot when being mixed).
Quicklime is made from limestone (calcium carbonate or CaCO3) by heating limestone in a kiln to drive off CO2 leaving CaO.
Calcium hypochlorite Ca(CLO)2, (lime chloride) produced by treating slaked lime (CaO) with chlorine gas, is also sold for treating manure or for sanitizing dairy barns, and is essentially powdered bleach - a disinfectant.
Alternatives to Lime for Outhouse Odor Control & Maintenance
Sawdust for the outhouse: After using the outhouse sprinkle a thin layer of sawdust. That will reduce the odor and still decompose.
Cedar shavings
work even better and may provide a more pleasant smell. In a remote area if sawdust or wood shavings are not available, even dry leaves may help reduce odors.
Wood ash:
If your home includes a woodstove, wood ashes can also be sprinkled over waste in the outhouse.
Straw or peat moss
for the outhouse: Other recommendations for an outhouse additive to keep down odors include chopped straw or even peat moss to encourage the formation of a crust atop the waste.
The crust also reduces outhouse odors and flies.
Crust formation is encouraged by adding lye or hydrated lime at one pound per 1000 cubic feet.
In other words, for a human-use outhouse (as opposed to manure storage) you don't need much lime for daily use - just a sprinkling.
If the pH of waste is kept over 6.7 crust formation is encouraged.
Outhouse chemicals for odor control:
In the enormous world of magic additives sold for septic systems (products that are generally not needed for septic systems, are sometimes harmful, and are illegal to use in some jurisdictions), some producers of bacteria or enzyme septic additives recommend their products for use in outhouses to promote decomposition and reduce odors.
We have not been able to find technical data supporting that use - contact us if you find such information as we'd be glad to add it here.
Our photo (left) illustrates solar-powered venting on an outhouse at the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge walkway that spans the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, NY.
Kitchen waste for the outhouse:
Some people add vegetable waste (never meat waste) to the outhouse on occasion, especially cooked cabbage, to promote the composting action of the outhouse.
Watch out: Do not use thick wood chips in any volume in an outhouse as they won't decompose rapidly and the added volume will reduce the life of the outhouse pit.
Watch out: Do not use bleach nor formaldehyde for outhouse odor control. These chemicals are irritants to the outhouse users and they also interfere with the biological break-down of sewage in the outhouse pit.
Use a Vent for Outhouse Odor Control
If your outhouse does not already have one, construct a vent pipe that conducts gases from inside the waste chamber up through the roof of the outhouse itself.
Our photo below shows a home-made round wooden vent stack on a building in Cooperstown NY.)
If the outhouse includes a toilet seat with a lid, and if the lid is kept shut when the outhouse is not in use, the vent will reduce odors inside the outhouse by venting them outdoors.
Our photo above illustrates the outhouse vent system on an outhouse in the Acadia National Park in Maine. You can see that the builders constructed a large boxed-in vent that distributes gases and odors well above the roof of the outhouse.
Your privy vent can be constructed of a 4" or larger plastic pipe but you can also simply make a home made one out of 1x6 boards framed into a rectangle.
You can also use 4" aluminum or steel vent piping such as a clothes dryer vent or a steel chimney vent pipe.
Ventilation of the outhouse interior itself (see our photo, above right) can help avoid heat stroke in a too-hot outhouse interior during summer months.
Also see SEWER GAS ODORS
Warnings: Do Not Use These in an Outhouse or Latrine
Watch out: do NOT try pouring bleach or any chlorine product into the outhouse or any other type of dry toilet. The chlorine will react with the urine to make dangerous, even possibly fatal ammonium chloride gas.
We also do NOT recommend using the deodorant chemicals intended for chemical toilets such as those used in RVs or porta pottys - those chemicals may interfere with the natural breakdown and decomposition of outhouse sewage.
Do not spray pesticides into an outhouse pit or latrine. Frequent spraying of outhouse pits for insects will breed pesticide-resistant insects that can become a serious health hazard.
One-time insecticide spraying a latrine or outhouse pit that has become filled and is about to be filled in and closed, is permitted. This is to prevent fly pupae from hatching and gaining access to the open air.
Outhouse and Latrine Fire and Explosion Hazards - Lessons from Camp Virginia
The Day the Blackfeet Set Fire to Oklahoma
Outhouse fire risks: In the summer of 1955 at Camp Virginia, in Goshen, Virginia, there were two large outhouses, each sporting about a dozen open seats. [That's the author, third from left]
The outhouses were named for two U.S. states. Campers would say "I'm going to Oklahoma" to mean I need to use the outhouse. That was fine. The second outhouse was named "Arizona". Also fine. Oklahoma was a bit more popular than Arizona as it was a shorter walk from the camp cabins.
We were divided into camper groups by bunks (cabins), each named after an American Indian tribe. Arapahoes, Blackfeet, Mohicans, Utes. That's me (DF) 3rd from left in the photo above. But as Mrs. Ebbe Hoff later told my mother, boys will be boys, and someone had the theory that methane gas in the large outhouse pit would make a neat explosion if we dropped a match or two down the hole.
We had been studying camping and woodlore, including a class guaranteed to be popular with boys: how to build a small fire using as few matches as possible. Some of us were pretty good at fires, so we had a few wooden kitchen matches left over.
Our outhouse photo below shows a very old wood-shingled outhouse in Cooperstown, NY. This outhouse was located more than 100 feet from any nearby pond or stream.
One afternoon, just after our incarceration in our cabin for rest period, four of us well-rested Blackfeet crept down to Oklahoma to see what we could do with some matches. I'm not sure but I think it was my buddy Granger Ancarrow (2nd from left) who first dropped a lit match down an outhouse hole in Oklahoma.
There was a sudden woosh! as a methane gas cloud exploded.
See METHANE & SEWER GAS HAZARDS and
also a related explosive gas found in septic systems
We thought this was wonderfully exciting. Quickly more lit matches followed the first one into the outhouse pit.
We had already exploded the immediately available methane gas, but there was quite a bit of dry toilet paper scattered in the large outhouse pit, and now it caught fire. That too, seemed exciting at first.
But the fire grew, and very soon we got worried about burning down the whole outhouse structure - something that camp director Mac Pitt would not be very happy about.
Quoting from Camp Virginia's modern website about "Building Character":
Building character comes through teamwork, trying new things, patriotism, faith, sportsmanship, intergenerational friendships and great role models. All is easier in such a beautiful, inspiring and fun community.
Thinking fast, and exhibiting teamwork, we recruited more campers (the rest of the Blackfeet and some of the Mohicans) and we all took our turns peeing onto the fire in the outhouse pit below. The pee, combined with a few buckets of water tossed in by our role models, camp counselors DeWitt and Emerson, saved Oklahoma from destruction.
But that was not the end of it.
Watch out: don't throw matches into the outhouse pit, and never pee into a fire except in the most dire emergency. Methane explosions can be dangerous. And the stench of hot burned urine was unimaginable to anyone who had never peed onto a fire before. Which was all of us.
For the rest of the summer, acrid stinking Oklahoma was completely unusable. We all had to crowd into Arizona.
Considering recent Arizona stop-suspicious-looking-people legislation, it's lucky that none of us at the time looked like a genuine Blackfoot, or we'd surely have been arrested for improper peeing.
POETRY & SHORT FICTION by Daniel Friedman
Reader Comments & Photographs of Camp Virginia, and Goshen Virginia in the 1950's
With apologies to readers who don't care a hoot about Camp Virginia, we include photographs of Goshen Virginia and the Camp contributed by readers and the author. Or if you wish, skip over this stuff and continue
at OUTHOUSE LOCATION - WHERE TO PUT THE OUTHOUSE.
Our photo, below left, by the author [DF], shows Camp Virginia's Maury River in 1955.
Reader Lee Schiflett contributed the three Goshen Virginia photos and text just below:
John McDonald's store on Little River, near Goshen,Va. The photo was taken probably around 1950. McDonald's Store was a ' general ' store in every sense of the word, selling clothes, canned food, pots and pans (which hung from the ceiling) and of course 'pop' (soft drinks) candy bars, and all sorts of things the camp boys would buy.
I remember it sounded like a school yard when the boys would come.
I knew Mac Pitt, and I remember one counselor named Jimmy Cease.
Jimmy had a summer romance with my cousin Martha Belle Lyle who lived in Goshen. Jimmy drove the camp truck , a yellow '49 or '50 Ford pickup and came the Goshen Post Office often. Grandpa operated his store until he was 88 years old.
The Scouts had bought all the land on either side of his farm. Always the good businessman, he got the Scouts to find him another farm that suited him and traded the Little River place for a much larger farm at Rockbridge Baths.
I took the photo at above right in October, 1957. I call it "The Little River Homeplace".
McDonald's store isn't visible here, but it was about 50 feet from the right side of the house.
Lake Merriwether covers the bottom land in front of the house. Nothing remains to show that a family once lived here, or that Camp Virginia boys once rode their ponies down the gravel road and stopped at the store for a bottle of ' pop ' and a candy bar.
This photo (above) was taken from the store porch and shows the bottom land of Grandpa's farm. The dam is on the right where the two mountain ridges come together. All of this is covered with water now. Photo taken probably fall of 1957
Outhouse Location - where to put the outhouse
As we noted earlier, the traditional location for an outhouse was close to the building it serves.
In urban settings "outhouses" or dunnies or thunderboxes were constructed abutting an exterior building wall where the dunny collected waste in a container that was collected by night soil collectors for disposal out of the city.
The public outhouse shown below, in Acadia National Park, Maine, is located uphill and well away from the nearby and rocky Maine coast and bay.
When locating a new outhouse, be sure that your outhouse is located where it won't contaminate a nearby well, stream, or lake. We give clearance distances between onsite waste treatment systems and other site features
at SEPTIC CLEARANCE DISTANCES.
Outhouse Pit Depth - how big and how deep?
In freezing climates, it's a good idea to make the outhouse pit extend below the frost line. Otherwise in winter the waste may simply freeze and decomposition won't occur. Digging the pit to an eight-foot depth is common practice.
Watch out: while it seems unlikely that a child would deliberately enter an outhouse pit, make sure that your outhouse and its seats or seat openings are secure against a child falling into the pit. Falling into a pit or septic tank can be quickly fatal.
See SEPTIC & CESSPOOL SAFETY for details.
Traditional Outhouse Compared with Composting Toilet Type Outhouses
It's useful to understand the difference between a traditional pit-outhouse and a more complex composting outhouse. A pit outhouse is simply a protective structure built over a hole or pit that receives the human waste.
Good design includes privacy doors, vents so that the outhouse does not become too hot in summer, and a vertical vent stack to conduct gases and odors out of the pit up through the outhouse roof. The pit-type outhouse was moved every few years or longer, depending on how rapidly the pit filled.
Shown above: a conventional dug-pit outhouse on the Appalachian Trail in Dutchess County, New York.
A composting outhouse is a more complex system that speeds the decomposition of the sewage waste and produces an end product that can be spread on plants.
The most popular text we have found on this topic is the Humanure Handbook [cited atReferences or Citations ]
Also see COMPOSTING TOILETS [web article]
Traditional Outhouse Compared with Portable Toilets, Port-A-Johns or Porta Potty restrooms and chemical toilets - Portable Loos
Our photo of a portable toilet or "porta-potty" - a temporary or portable chemical toilet being checked out by our granddaughter Sophie Gieseke illustrates an alternative to outhouses suitable for short term use.
RV-type chemical toilet additives are often used in portable toilets & restrooms (chemical toilets for hire) such as the unit shown, in order to keep odors down between emptying and washing of the unit.
Watch out: small children should never be left alone in an outhouse or portable toilet because of the risk of a child falling into the pit or reservoir.
Because waste is stored temporarily in chemical & portable toilets between emptying and cleaning of the units, chemicals are used to deodorize the holding tank.
Typically the Anotec liquid deodorant is colored with a blue dye. Examples of chemical products used in portable loose or rental toilets & restrooms include
- Bio-Blue toilet deodorant packages
- Walex Porta-Pak holding tank deodorizer
Currently bio-degradable chemical toilet deodorants are typically enzyme-activated nitrate based products formulated to work as biological agents rather than preservatives such as the previously but no longer used chemical toilet and portable john disinfectants formaldehyde or bleach.
Temporary Makeshift Toilets at Construction Sites
Standard procedure is to order a porta-john such as the blue box shown in our photo just above on this page.
But our friends in Guanajuato, whose home construction has extended over several years, found that the site crew had made this expedient toilet that took advantage of the early-installation of the septic tank.
The toilet is flushed by pouring a 5-gallon bucket of water into the bowl. As you can see, by the time we took these photos the concept of privacy had deteriorated a bit.
List of Types of Latrines & Basics of Latrine Construction
The military use improvised latrines for human waste disposal during field exercises or missions when chemical latrines are not available.
Details about each of the latrine types can be found along with sketches and conditions of use
at LATRINE TYPES & CONSTRUCTION
Outhouse & Latrine Designs, Regulations & Codes
Illustration above & below, of a two-seat outhouse or sanitary vault privy, adapted from the IndianaVault Privy guide cited just below.
- Indiana, THE SANITARY VAULT PRIVY
A planning Guide and Minimum Requirements For the
Construction of Vault Privies [PDF] (1986) Bulletin S.E. 11, Indiana Department of Health, - retrieved 2022/06/22, original source: https://www.in.gov/health/files/sanitary_privy.pdf
Excerpt: The purpose of this bulletin is to establish standards for the sanitary features of privies and provide guidelines for their construction. It is not intended to provide fully-detailed construction drawings and the information contained herein should be considered only as a minimum planning guide.
The standards contained on the following pages establish the minimum features of single or multiple seat, vault-type privies which, when properly constructed and maintained, constitute an acceptable sanitary privy.
For normal human beings who don't know, a "sanitary vault privy" is an elegant euphamism for "outhouse" or "latrine". - Ed. - Ohio - OUTHOUSES & HOLDING TANKS REGULATIONS, [PDF] retrieved 2017/10/20, original source: http://www.odh.ohio.gov/
- "QUANTIFICATION of Methane Emission and Discussion of Nitrous Oxide and Ammonia Emissions from Septic Tanks, Latrines, and Stagnant Open Sewers in the World", US EPA, web search 07/01/2010, original source: http://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=40001LAG.txt
- The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure, Joseph C. Jenkins, # Joseph Jenkins, Inc.; 3 edition (September 1, 2005),
ISBN-10: 0964425831,
ISBN-13: 978-0964425835
- Green Latrine, Pro-Planet Industrial Supply, 1615 Monrovia Ave Costa Mesa, CA 92627-4404 map Orange County, CA Metro Area (949) 645-4582 Pro-Planet.com
- U.S. Army, FIELD FACILITIES FOR HUMAN WASTE DISPOSAL [PDF] Army Study Guide, (U.S. Army Field Manuals), web search 07/02/2010, original source: http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics
/field_sanitation/field-facilities-for-huma.shtml - FM 21-10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE MEDICAL THREAT
- FM 21-10 CHAPTER 2: INDIVIDUAL PREVENTIVE MEDICINE PROCEDURES
- FM 21-10 CHAPTER 3: LEADERS PREVENTIVE MEDICINE PROCEDURES
- FM 21-10 CHAPTER 4: UNIT FIELD SANITATION TEAM
- FM 21-10 APPENDIX A
- FM 21-10 REFERENCES
- FM 21-10 INDEX
- Lifewater International (Christian mission) Latrine Design and Construction Making Culturally-Appropriate Latrines [PDF] retrieved 2019/09/18 original source: lifewater.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Lifewater-LatrineDesignandConstruction-Manual.pdf [Copy on file]
- National Lime Association. Fact sheet—LIME SAFETY PRECAUTIONS [PDF] National Lime Association, Arlington, VA USA. - retrieved 2023-09-05, original source: lime.org/documents/lime_basics/fact-safety_precautions.pdf pdf iconexternal icon[accessed 2021 Jan 29].
- Miller, F. DeWolfe, Mhhamad Hussein, Khalil H. Mancy, Morton S. Hilbert, HUMAN INTESTINAL PARASITIC INFECTIONS and ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH FACTORS in RURAL EGYPTIAN COMMUNITIES, [PDF] U.S. EPA, ORD, Athens GA, USA, U. Michigan School of Public Health, U. Alexandria High Inst. of Public Health, retrieved 2019/09/18 original source: https://nepis.epa.gov/
- SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN: ONSITE WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS MANUAL [PDF] (2002) EPA 625/R-00/008, U.S. EPA, Office of Water Office of Research and Development U.S. Environmental Protection Agency retrieved (new) 2019/09/18 original source: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/2004_07_07_septics_septic_2002_osdm_all.pdf
- SEPTIC TANK SITING to MINIMIZE the CONTAMINATION of GROUND WATER by MICROORGANISMS [PDF] (1987) U.S. EPA, retrieved 2019/09/18 original source: https://nepis.epa.gov/
- US EPA DESIGN MANUAL for Onsite Wastewater Treatment and Disposal [web page series from the PDF given above]
- U.S. ARMY FIELD MANUAL FM-8-285-Noxious_Chemicals discusses Ammonia, Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen Sulfide, Oxides of Nitrogen, Hazards caused by fire,
- U.S. ARMY FIELD MANUAL 21-10, Field Hygiene and Sanitation, 1988, web search 07/02/2010, original source: http://www.enlisted.info/field-manuals/fm-21-10-field-hygiene-and-sanitation.shtml
The purpose of this manual is to assist individual soldiers, unit commanders, leaders and field sanitation teams in preventing disease and environmental injuries.
The manual provides information on preventive medicine measures (PMM) to the individual soldier as well as essential information for the unit commander, unit leaders, and the unit field sanitation team on applying unit level PMM. - WT-2016 Stainless Steel Waterless Toilet, Willoughby Stainless Fountains, Tel: 800-428-4065 Website: https://www.willoughbystainlessfountains.com/ retrieved 2019/09/18
Excerpt:
The Willoughby WT-2016 Stainless Steel Waterless Toilet is a single-user fixture for use in parks and recreational environments where waste systems or water supplies are not available or desired.
...
Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above
Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.
Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs
On 2023-03-05 by Jay - Richard Weakley was my camp counselor 40 years later
Those pictures and your camp journal entry are priceless. Most amazing to me is the older of the two because the counselor on the far right is Richard Weakley.
He was my counselor in the Ute cabin 40 years after he was yours!
I can't see his anchor tattoo on his forearm in the picture but I'm sure he had it then too because that was after the war and the tattoo looked like it had been done on the deck of a rolling battleship...
On 2023-03-05 by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - Richard Weakley, Camp Virginia Counselor
@Jay,
Fabulous. Thanks for that added note. I'm glad I was able to find these old photos.
It was a great camp with lots of memories and even some skills. When we go canoe-camping in the Quetico and are days away from the nearest anything, knowing how to get a fire going with wet or damp wood and a match or two, skills from Camp Virginia, can be a life-saver.
Memories and memorabilia from Camp Virginia circa 1950s
OK so I found a post card from my sister that shows my first year at Camp Virginia was 1953 - I was 10.
It was a Baseball Camp. I hated baseball and was a terrible player.
But wonderfully, the camp was jammed full of other activities, swimming, crafts, even singing on the stage - to amuse visiting parents we stood in a row and sang "when you walk through a storm, keep your chin up high, and don't be afraid ..." (I was told to just mouth the words and keep quiet because I sang so off-key that I threw everyone else off).
And of course the most important, getting that Ranger Badge: learning to build a FIRE - which meant being permitted to use matches! - now THAT was stupendous fun and developed skills I still use today when we go camping in the Quetico or Boundary Waters wilderness.
Hail Camp Virginia - On 2023-02-28 by InspectApedia Editor -
And from my budding career as a writer
More photos: Camp Virginia 1950s
These are the fellows in the 1954 photo
More photos: Camp Virginia 1950s
Here I'd grown an inch and am standing at left
More photos: Camp Virginia 1950s
That's me, - 2nd from right among the standing boys
On 2023-02-28 by InspectApedia Editor
@Jay,
I'm so pleased that you found this Camp Virginia (unofficial) article and page.
I was there before you - in the 1950s - 1954-1957 - dates I know only because I found my camp diary that began Saturday July 24, 1954 at Camp Virginia, Goshen VIrginia.
Amazing how long those outhouses lasted.
I'll post a couple of 1950s things for you and other Camp Virginia alumni.
On 2023-02-28 by Jay
I stumbled across this web page at InspectApedia while looking for old pictures of Camp Virginia.
I was a Ute, then a Mohican, then Blackhawk, then Navy-4 before I became a junior counselor. I remember Oklahoma ("Okie" we called it). Filled in the Okie pit, bulldozed the structure and dug/made a new one nearby called Texas in about 1997.
All my brothers and I spent most of the summers of our formative years there listening to Buck Pitt tell us how to be good men. Early 1990s to about 2002. I miss that place. What years were you at Camp Virginia? I would love to see some other pictures from around Camp.
Reply by (mod)
I was at Camp Virginia in the 1950s. - Daniel
Camp Director of one of the camps at Goshen Scout Reservation, seeks information
Hi I am a Camp Director of one of the camps at Goshen Scout Reservation, and I was wondering if you had any more photos the area before the dam was constructed? - On 2012-11-15 by Jonathan -
Reply by (mod)
I was at Camp Virginia in the mid 1950s and have posted above my photos of the Maury river before the dam was built. - Daniel Friedman
On 2021-11-27 by Patricia - Can you winterize an outhouse ?
Can you winterize a outhouse
On 2021-11-27 by Inspectapedia Com Moderator -
@Patricia,
If your outhouse is like those we discuss in this article series, there is no plumbing, no water to freeze, nothing to "winterize" in the sense of providing freeze protection.But you can insulate walls and make a tight-fitting door to reduce the cold drafts suffered by people using the outhouse in winter.
See WINTERIZE - HEAT OFF PROCEDURE
for our complete winterizing series.
If, however, you want to make an outhouse more comfortable in cold weather, consider lining it to stop drafts and adding doors to close its usual half-moon cutout vents so that users aren't subject to icy winter draft.
On 2021-03-07 by dbs760@twcny.rr.com - Does new york state have any regulations for a out-house on a lake
does new york state have any regulations for a out-house on a lake
On 2021-03-07 by (mod) - are outhouses permitted near a lake in New York?
@dbs760@twcny.rr.com, New York may permit installation of a composting toilet (that's not an outhouse) if you can demonstrate a need for water conservation;
Your local inspector MIGHT approve an incinerating toilet. but I doubt it.
You can see the New York State Septic Regulations, Appendix 75-A (2016) that the word "outhouse" does not appear.
Here is a pertinent excerpt from the NEW YORK STATE SEPTIC CODE APPENDIX 75A [PDF]
(b) Non-Waterborne Systems.
(1) General.
In certain areas of the State where running water is not available or is too scarce to economically support flush toilets, or where there is a need or desire to conserve water, the installation of non-waterborne sewage systems may be considered however, the treatment of wastewater from sinks, showers, and other facilities must be provided when non-flush toilets are installed. Household wastewater without toilet wastes is known as greywater.
(2) Composters. These units shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. The units shall have a label indicating compliance with the requirements of National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Standard 41 or equivalent. Only units with a warranty of five years or more shall be installed.
(3) Chemical and Recirculating Toilets.
(i) Chemical toilets provide a toilet seat located directly above a vault containing chemicals to disinfect and remove odors from the wastewater. Recirculating toilets use chemicals as the toilet flush fluid. The wastes are separated from the fluid, wastes discharged to an internal holding tank, and the fluid reused.
(ii) The liquids used in these types of toilets do not completely disinfect the wastes; therefore, waste products from these units shall not be discharged to surface waters or to the ground surface.
(iii) The reduced volume wastewater from recirculating toilets may be discharged to a larger holding tank but not to a subsurface absorption system.
(4) Incinerator Toilets. These units accept human waste into a chamber where the wastes are burned. They have a very limited capacity and require a source of electricity or gas. The ash remains must be periodically removed. They must be installed according to the manufacturer's instructions.
5) Greywater Systems. Greywater systems shall be designed upon a flow of 75gpd/bedroom and meet all the criteria previously discussed for treatment of household wastewater.
So you will need to check first with your local building code inspector to ask if you can be granted a waiver.
Let me know what you're told, as that will help others.
On 2021-01-09 by Tracy winter outhouse - almost killed myself when I slipped
* die, not did
I am new to a winter outhouse and almost killed myself when I slipped the other night. What kind of flooring do you recommend to not did this winter? Thanks,
On 2021-01-09 by (mod) -
Tracy:
Well thank goodness you didn't die in the outhouse.
I suspect that a key issue is whether or not the outhouse floor can be kept dry or not. If rain or snow blow onto the floor, or if it gets wet by other means, then in winter the risk of ice means bad slip hazards no matter what floor covering is present.[Click to enlarge any image]
Next trip, take along a flashlight and check out the floor; perhaps in daylight you can take a photo of the outhouse floor and post it for me to examine - use the "add Image" button. (One photo per comment).
That said, there are simple no-slip stick-on strips used on stairs and ramps that might improve the floor safety, and there are sand-paints that also can make a walking surface more granular and less slippery.
An example is this Uline no-slip tape shown below.
More suggestions areat SLIPPERY STAIRS, WALKS, ROOFS
and at RAMP SLIP TRIP FALL REDUCTION
On 2020-11-11 by Anonymous - Are outhouses legal everywhere?
question! are outhouses legal everywhere?
On 2020-11-15 - by (mod) -
No Anon.
For example in most jurisdictions it is not permitted to construct an outhouse or privy close to waterways, lakes, streams.
On 2020-07-31 by Dave - Do we or should we line the outhouse pit ?
Is there any reason to line an outhouse pit if caving in is not an issue?
On 2018-04-16 by (mod)
Dave, typically the pit is left open to the soil if there's no cave-in concern. If only the bottom is open to the soil you reduce the effluent dispersal ability of the outhouse.
On 2020-07-09 by Robert I'm using an old 250 gallon oil tank as a septic holding tank - what can I do to improve its sewage break-down?
I'm using an old 250 gallon oil tank that's been cleaned out as a self contained septic tank that will not leach. I plan on pumping it out when it gets full.
What can i use in the tank to help breakdown the waste, and also eliminate odor?
Thank you in advance for your expertise.
-Robert
Reply by (mod) -
OPINION: No additives are going to make that setup work. And no additives would change the pumping frequency needed for a septic holding tank.
On 2018-04-15 by LimeIsGood - Outhouse Waste treated with Calcium Hydroxide ?
Lime destroys odors by killing the pathogens of decay that generate the odorous gasses. While slowing the composting process, lime treated outhouse waste can be added to your compost pile with other composting organic material.
Waste treated with Calcium Hydroxide is a beneficial item in that Lime will naturally degrade to Calcium Carbonate over time (lawn lime or ground limestone). Limestone in your soil balances the pH and promote plant health (the leafy part of the plant)
Quicklime or Calcium Oxide (CaO) is often applied at an industrial level to treat de-watered sewer waste solids. Quicklime emits heat at great temperatures when in contact with water. Large Municipal wastewater treatment plants treat their dewatered waste with Quicklime to pasteurize their solid waste
This treatment process results in a saleable product for use on farms and gardens. The product contains, nitrogen, carbon and calcium carbonate, which are beneficial to plant growth.
-The Lime Guy
On 2018-04-16 - by (mod) -
Thank you for your comments, Lime Guy. We welcome content suggestions, corrections, or criticism and are happy to identify and link-to such contributors. If you've more to say you can also contact us by email using the page top or bottom CONTACT link.
Daniel
On 2018-01-18 by Margaretvsiebel@icloud.com Does presence of an outhouse make a property we're buying a "toxic site"?
Wow! Never know outhouses could be so interesting, and campers so silly.
QUESTION-we are looking at property with an outhouse (area) that has been used for 30 years by resident—is this going to be something like a toxic site?
Resident is elderly, and I think outhouse most rustic, probably not moved on regular basis.
We are planning to install regular septic, but worried about clean-up.
On 2018-01-18 - by (mod) -
Margaret
I would not consider a previous outhouse pit a toxic waste site unless someone was using the outhouse as a dumping station for illegal or toxic chemicals.Assuming the outhouse is no longer in use I would consider a good dose of lime and then filling in the pit to ground level.
If you're going to keep the outhouse as a scenic feature you might want to tack down the toilet seat lid so as to keep my big brother from tossing my fire truck or even me into the opening.
On 2017-11-10 by Anonymous - What's the best kind of lime to use in a privy?
the best lime for privy
On 2017-12-17 - by (mod) -
Lime is a standard product. Calcium Carbonate available from garden suppliers, masonry suppliers, paint suppliers, even some sports suppliers (those lines on the football field).
Some people suggest that you can also use calcium hydroxide (CaOH) sold by farm suppliers. I DO NOT recommend use of CaOH as it is more dangerous, more caustic, and may be both a contaminant and too-long-lasting.
On 2016-12-09 by Lois - Don't confuse water supply aqueduct with sewer systems
This is great, thank you!I'm 15 and I'm creating a latrine system for a fantasy story I'm writing (I know it probably sounds silly). Just wanted to ask: would a concept like Roman public toilets work?
But without the aquaducts to carry the waste and instead having individual barrels of metal underneath every toilet, to be filled with waste, periodically taken away , emptied, washed and replaced.
Would that be really unhealthy and not worth the bother even for a primitive society?
Also do you know any easily obtainable and natural 'disinfectants' that one could 'accidentally' create or find in a primitive society? Thank you so much.
On 2016-12-10 - by (mod) - Aquaducts carried drinking water in to cities, not sewage out.
Lois:
Aquaducts carried drinking water in to cities, not sewage out. Roman sewage handling was pretty simple and pretty un-sanitary. Toilets and wastewater discharged often into gutters along the sides of streets. There was thus open sewage in the street.There was, as you'll read if you research "Roman Sewage Systems" a problem with sewage contamination of drinking water, probably when sewage leaked into cisterns that stored rainwater for local use at individual buildings.
Earlier in Greek cities people just dumped their chamber pots into the street - a practice that carried on much longer in some parts of the world. Hence the custom that a gentleman escorting a lady walked on the outside edge towards the street with the lady on his right.That reduced the chances that a chamber pot of pee and poop would be poured onto her head or that she'd be splashed by sewage being tossed into the street from a window above.
People did know how to make soap and some people used it. Or scrubbed with sand. Vinegar and limon juices are very mild but natural disinfectants. But people didn't understand much about germs and the causes of infection.
Question: don't be scared of the Johnny House
In all my 68 years of living in the mountains of West Virginia and using countless "Johnny Houses" over decades I've never seen or heard of anyone blowing up a sh*thouse with matches.
People set them afire by smoking cigarettes, but methane gas always rises and no outhouse I've ever seen was gas-tight to where a tossed cigarette or match would explode it.
As for kids being hurt a few got their legs down the hole but people are smart enough to make the hole under the seat too small for a kid to fall through. Its simply amazing to me that anyone would ever fear a Johnny House.
They have been part of country life for centuries, and I actually rather have the sh*tter outside instead of a toilet in the house. The old people thought having a commode inside the house was dirty and unhealthy, and perhaps they were right. - Huck 4/19/2011
Reply:
Quite so. We agree, Huck, that outhouses are not likely to explode from kids playing with matches and methane gas hazards, though there is no question about an outhouse being set on fire, as we recounted above. It was burning toilet paper, not methane gas that set the fire.
And it was a big, long lasting, and stinky fire at that. Worse, if there is enough dry paper waste in the outhouse, kids setting it on fire can burn down the whole structure. That happened, but only once, among the outhouses we knew personally.
See METHANE & SEWER GAS HAZARDS.
However there are very serious methane gas explosion hazards in homes and other buildings if sewer gases are not properly vented outside.
It's a fundamental mistake to think that because one of us has personally never seen something, that the something doesn't exist or never occurs. I'll bet you've never seen the inside of a jet engine, but it's there. - Editor
Question: I don't want to keep moving the outhouse - what about a chemical additive?
Hello, I have an outhouse at my hunting cabin. No one lives around the area and its all my property, I dont want to keep moving it. I want to know the best and quickest cemical product for breakdown. Thank you Don Fassbender 7/19/2011
Reply:
Thanks for the outhouse moving/relocation question Don. Unfortunately when the outhouse pit becomes full close to ground surface you'll need to relocate the outhouse. Solid waste in the comparatively dry environment of an outhouse pit is not going to disappear by bacterial nor enzyme nor other "breakdown" process.
Consider that even in a working septic tank where there is plenty of water, the solid waste remains in the tank and has to be pumped out and disposed of.
Your alternative to occasionally relocating the outhouse and closing the old outhouse pit would be to go to a gas-powered incinerating toilet.
Question: bad urine smell around the outhouse
interesting and helpful read.. but what i am looking for information on is an outdoor toilet(campground) that has a plastic septic tank under that gets pumped out when full.. the problem is the smell of urine is so bad, what can we add or do to eliminate the smell. thank you - Debbie 8/18/11
Reply:
Debbie, you're talking about a port-a-john type toilet that uses a plastic reservoir to hold all waste; The same chemical disinfectants and deodorizers that work in chemical toilets should do the job you want; you may want to add just a little water when the disinfectant/deodorizer is placed into the holding tank; these chemical toilet chemicals are widely available from RV suppliers, even from Sears.
Just see CHEMICAL TOILETS
Also make sure that the Port-a-John is being properly cleaned, not just emptied.
BUT you might check that the people using the outhouse are aiming clearly - if users are peeing not into the tank but onto surfaces in the facility then the pee smell will continue to be horrible between cleanings.
Question: corn starch as an odor killer?
I did not see corn starch as an odor killer, listed above. I know people who used it. Is there a reason why it is not recommended? I'm using a temporary bucket, toilet seat, plastic bag liners, while the septic is backed up to the house toilet. The smell needs attention, as the recommended bags are not cheap, must serve several uses before disposal. - Lurch 12/6/11
Reply: nope, not for an outhouse
We have not been able to find any expert sources who could confirm that corn starch is an effective deodorant; in fact with sewage nutrients it may promote bacterial growth.
Question: too many flies at the outhouse
hello, My outhouse is producing a lot of flies inside this summer and i was wondering why and how to get rid of them. It has been a dry summer in ontario and i thought maybe the pit was producing more flies because of the dryness.what should i do? - Devon 9/2/12
Reply:
Devon, we moved this discussion to FLIES, MOSQUITOES REMOVE or REPEL. But for your particular case make sure that the toilet lid is kept down, wash the urinal if there is a separate urinal device, and make sure that your outhouse pit is properly vented above the roof
Question: what chemical do I use in the outhouse for waste breakdownb
I have an original log cabin in the hills with an outhouse, I would like to know a chemical to use for waste breakdown. Years ago my Dad used either lye or lime--I think. - Lanette 10/10/12
Reply:
We discuss the use of lime in outhouse pits in the article above. Please take a look, and if questions remain, just ask.
Question: how to maintain a stone privy
I'm trying to find out how you maintain and use an old stone built domestic privy with a perminantly fitted wooden boxed seat and lid, can anyone please help? - Ann 10/24/12
Reply:
Ann, the same maintenance suggestions given above pertain regardless of how the outhouse building itself was constructed. Make sure your structure is sound and that it is properly vented and you should be OK.
Also take a look to see if the pit has become so full that it needs attention. Because of the difficulty of moving a stone outhouse or privy, you might instead need to ask for help from a septic pumper. It's almost impossible to pump the near solid waste out of an outhouse pit, but by adding water and then pumping it may be possible to create space to permit continued use.
Question: optimum earth closet (privy) vent diameter
(Apr 17, 2015) tom said:
does a bigger vent pipe reduce more order, I use a 3in plactic pipe, would it reduce more order if I would be 6in. My e-mail is tom@tilfordgulch.com
Reply:
Tom:
That's an interesting question. My guess is that larger diameter venting of a latrine or outhouse will certainly improve the venting flow and thus reduce odors since the chimney effect would be greater.
There may be extreme cases where the air movement direction changes but normally a 6" vent will certainly vent better than a 3" vent over an outhouse. If you look at the public toilets put up by various park services you'll see (such as in our photos above) 10" and 12" diameter vents.
Question: too much water in the outhouse pit
21 July 20914 Cat said:
I actually had a question. I have (bought) a camp with an outhouse. It did not seem to be decomposing fast enough. Unaware of the do's and don't of a privy, we unfortunately dumped some lake water in it to try and help. we were also unaware of the "no paper" rule. I then added some bio stuff to help.
The outhouse was made with a culvert (open at the bottom). I am on a sand base. The problem I have is when I last checked, the bio stuff seems to be working and decomposing the solid waste, however, I noticed the liquid is not draining (pool of water on top of waste). The outhouse is on a cement base and therefore cannot be moved. Any advise on how to fix this would be really appreciated. Thanks
Reply:
Cat
I would not add more water to the outhouse;
I have not seen a "no paper" rule for outhouses and have seen toilet paper dumped into them for more than 50 years.The paper volume at normal usage levels is not an issue.
Question: what to do to manage outhouse flies
25 Jul 2015 mike said:
i live in northern Minnesota i live here year round all i have is a outhouse ... the trouble i have in the summer is fly's hundred's and hundreds hatching down in the pit what can i put down the hole to kill them that's safe
Reply:
Mike
See
FLIES, MOSQUITOES REMOVE or REPEL
and let me know if that helps or if it leaves you with more questions.
Some other suggestions about insect control at latrines, outhouses, privvies, re at FM 21-10 Appendix A [PDF] U.S. Army Field Manual: Latrine Construction
On 2014-07-22 by A.G. - Will tampons decompose in a pit toilet?
Will tampons decompose in a pit toilet?
On 2014-07-23 - by (mod) - no
A.G.
No. Tampons, typically made principally of cotton do not decompose in a pit toilet - at least not in my lifetime and probably not in anyone's.
Here's a recent research citation
Cabrales, Luis, and Noureddine Abidi. "On the thermal degradation of cellulose in cotton fibers." Journal of thermal analysis and calorimetry 102, no. 2 (2010): 485-491.
However in a pit toilet the volume contributed by tampons is most likely trivial. By contrast it is a worse idea to flush tampons into a water-based sewage system such as a septic tank and worse still into a system were pumps are used to move effluent.
On 2013-02-18 by Lee Tender
seeking info regarding structures previously made during 1930s possibly later for rural and park sites sanitary outdoor waterless toilets plans in archives possibly available to support employment project for youth/men and water conservation ultimate
On 2013-02-17 by Jon
I will be digging a pit this spring and am not sure if water will be present or not. Can you tell me how much water would be to much water? I want to make sure there is good decomposition. If there is water and it is allowable, is lyme still ok to be used?
thanks
On 2012-12-23 by Kerr
When I lifted the lid on my dunny today I noticed there was burnt and smoked toilet paper. Its a holiday retreat so it is a 20Litre bucket beneath a toilet seat. I use sawdust only and empty this after a few weeks into another location.
There have been no chemicals used. It is Australian summer, and it is hot ATM but I didn't think it was THAT hot..... Any ideas as to why this happened?? I've poured a liter of water on it tonight. I've had this setup for 7 years with no probs before......
On 2012-11-27 by Dusty
Hi. Our hunting shack has a concrete septic tank with an outhouse built on top. Will lye or lime deteriorate or destroy the concrete tank?
On 2012-11-28 - by (mod) -
Dusty,
Lime, no. Lye, maybe.
...
Continue reading at LATRINE TYPES & CONSTRUCTION or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.
Or see these
Recommended Articles
- ANTIQUE LATRINE GOODRICH CASTLE
- COMPOSTING TOILETS
- FLIES, MOSQUITOES REMOVE or REPEL
- FM 21-10 Appendix A [PDF] U.S. Army Field Manual: Appendix A Preventive Medicine Measures Tasks - Cat Hole Latrines, Straddle Trenches, Deep Pit Latrines, Bur-out Latrines, Soak Pits for urinals.
- LATRINE TYPES & CONSTRUCTION
- METHANE & SEWER GAS HAZARDS
- OUTHOUSES & LATRINES - home
- SEPTIC & CESSPOOL SAFETY
- SEPTIC / SEWAGE SOIL CONTAMINATION HAZARDS
- SEWER GAS ODORS
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OUTHOUSES & LATRINES at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.
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Citations & References
In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
- Camp Virginia, PO Box 10, Goshen, Virginia 24439, Email: info@campvirginia.com, Winter Contact Information: Director Emeritus - Betty Pitt, 8122 Greystone Circle East, Richmond, Virginia 23229, 804 282 2339 or Winter Contact Information:
Camp Director - Shepherd 'Shep' Lewis, 345 Lexington Road, Richmond, Virginia 23226, 804 513 9236
Quoting from the camp's website:
Camp Virginia was founded in 1928 by Directors Coach and Mrs. Malcolm Pitt of Richmond, Virginia. The spirit they developed has been continuously nurtured by campers, counselors, alumni and the Honor Council. All phases of camp life, from the activities to the cabins, stress integrity, unselfishness, and gratitude, and these values are enhanced by daily devotions and prayers. Here in the midst of these beautiful Allegheny Mountains and the Maury River, the founders’ goals of reaching each boy, building character, and developing well-rounded campers will always be pursued.
Camp Virginia has been in the Pitt Family for three generations. Their love and guidance of the Camp Virginia campers and counselors for over eighty years has been their trademark in building a diverse, loving, and extensive Camp Virginia Family. - "Water Efficiency Technology Fact Sheet: Composting Toilets [on file as /septic/EPA_Composting_Toilets.pdf ] - " U.S. EPA, Web Search 07/01/2010, original source: http://www.epa.gov/owm/mtb/comp.pdf )
- In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested
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