Outhouses were built and used before sewerage systems came about and there were many jokes associated with the outhouse and they also found a place in old Hollywood movies in which the actor would have the outhouse blown away while they were using it. The outhouse came to be known by a lot of names like; the privy, the john, the thunder box, etc. Most English speaking countries had their own name for it. Privies of the 19th century were outhouses that were built at some distance from the house and the water source like the farm well. So that the odor would not waft into the house and the groundwater would not get contaminated. The typical outhouse was a pit that was dug into the ground and then a commode was fixed on top of the pit opening. A wooden shack was built around the commode with an entry door. An old used cigar tin or a biscuit tin used to be placed in the outhouse with old newspapers in it. The use of the tin was to keep the mouse from eating up the paper. A lantern or a candle stand was placed in the outhouse. Today the outhouse has ceased to exist in the developed countries although it can still be found in some of the under developed countries.
Outhouse décor items have found their way into stores and one can find a lamp shaped like an outhouse or even a cookie jar. There is a wide range of outdoor home décor items that one can use to create the atmosphere of an outhouse in the modern day toilet. Soap dishes, toilet roll stand and even shower curtains with the outhouse motif are not too difficult to find. There are also others who have gone to the extent of actually getting an outhouse constructed of course the design is on the lines of an outhouse although the toilet itself is quite modern. Outhouse plans and outhouse blueprints can be got and there are some sites on the Internet with detailed building instructions for an outhouse.
To build a privy or an outhouse one needs to make sure that it is not near a water source like a well it should be at least a 100 feet from the well and should also be downwind from any human habitation. A pit of 6 feet depth should be dug it should be 3 feet by 3 feet wide. Then pour a concrete frame which should be wide enough to cover the pit and should have a hole which should have a diameter of at least 8 to 12 inches. Once the concrete has cured place the concrete frame over the pit. Now one can get a commode and place it over the concrete frame and construct the walls and the roof of the privy. It should be high enough so that one can enter it and should have a window. Of course there will be a door for entering and leaving the privy. Place a bucket of lime in the privy and instruct everyone who uses the privy to pour some lime down the privy. The lime will prevent cockroaches and rats from infesting the privy.
People who like to dwell in the past may convert a toilet in the house into an outhouse and get and install one of the old style commodes in it and may also get outhouse pictures to hang on the wall and other outhouse décor items to create an olden day’s outhouse atmosphere in the toilet. Keeping any outhouse décor in the house helps in getting a conversation going and the older generation do like to look at them and remember the yester years.
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