Occasionally people ask me (especially at cocktail parties) what I’m working on in with my private clients and of course I do not want to sound boring. I was thinking of what project recently would be the least boring and without a doubt, it would be “The Adirondack Outhouse”.
Last fall I completed the drawings for an addition to an Adirondack A-Frame and also was to look at a few out-buildings, one being an outhouse. This summer “Camp” is remotely located on the “water access only” shore of a nice small lake in the Adirondack’s. Although electricity has been run to this side of the lake, there is no public sewer and septic systems here can be dicy. Outhouses in these rural situations are still very common, and the normal solutions many times are not very pleasing.
An Adirondack Outhouse
So here I am… an Architect with an outhouse project. And actually it was a blast to do… so much fun… and my first. Just thought you might like a peek. The contractor, who will be starting the addition in the Spring, says he will have no problem building from the sketch you see here. No permits are needed for anything under 100sf.
As always, I would love to have your opinion and feedback… please leave a comment below.
Best,
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True, you don’t need permits to build 100 s.f. but you should check regarding building outhouses as many areas in the Adirondacks will not allow new outhouses. If there is already one there, they can be rebuilt on the same footprint, but no new builds.
Good point… In our case there is an existing outhouse that this one will replace. There is still a possibility that a composting toilet be installed.
I hope there’s a nice view out the door and it’s private enough to leave it open… there’ll be a composting toilet I presume…
Any ideas on the best design for the underside of the outhouse to minimize odor?
Hi – I’m from the UK. I really like the design of this, but my only concern is the steep angle of the roof and the low roofline at the back – is there a danger of the occupier hitting their head as they stand up? I’m interested in designs for ‘compost’ toilets and because they have no water tank, the actual toilet unit sits closer to the back wall.
Hi Martin,
The steep roof angle was so we could match the pitch of the main A-Frame cabin. The back wall height was designed so there would be full headroom in front of the seat without hitting your head during use. Since this was a true outhouse, there was no water tank either. In case of a composting toilet, the same design attitude would apply… If you can stand in front under the slope comfortably you should be able to use it sitting as well. Taking into consideration the exact requirements and dimensions of the composting toilet would be necessary of course.
Best, Andy
this is just too darn cute!!!
Thanks for your kind words Dick… I think it’s pretty darn cute too… and so does my client (a good thing).
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