At our place we have an abundance of plastic barrels for dock flotation. We needed an outhouse but we weren’t up to digging a pit, so my cousin came up with the brilliant idea of using one of the barrels.

It is such a simple plan that I just had to share it. This outhouse follows the concept of a sawdust toilet—each time a deposit is made a scoop of sawdust is added.

Cutting the plastic on the barrel was easier than I thought but it was helpful to have the cut line marked first. We used short two-by-10 scraps for the main toilet set platform and then added three-quarter-inch plywood to finish the top. To hold these platform pieces in place, we used 1 1/2-inch screws. The cut-out from the barrel was kept and it makes a great “lid” until the walls and roof are built for the outhouse. I even added a sent stack to deal with any smell.

As seen in Jan/Feb 2006 issue of Cottage Magazine