[Cob] Re: Outhouse plans

[annmarie smith]

 Before you build that outhouse, you may want to check out the book
"Humanure Handbook" by Joseph Jenkins.  His website link is
www.jenkinspublishing.com,.  there is a free PDF version on line.  I read
this and experimented with it for the past two summers, while living on-site
in an RV working on my house.  Dealing with the "blackwater" tank on an RV
is the most disgusting thing I've ever dealt with (and I grew up on a farm
and work at a vet-clinic!)  Having been a Girl Scout and a hiker, I've used
my fair share of outhouses as well.

The first year I was a little hesitant and set up an outdoor version. Last
year I replaced the toilet in the RV with a composting toilet I made myself.
My composting bin is fashioned out of free pallets and old guitar strings
(I'm a musician so I have these handy, but coat hanger wire works great too!

It is so much more eco-friendly, gives you great compost, and honestly it
doesn't smell.  Mid-summer in direct sun the compost pile doesn't smell and
has virtually no flies.  I'm out in the woods, and there have been no issues
with critters either.  I use mulch hay for cover material on the compost
pile, and sawdust inside for convenience.  My boyfriend was a little
skeptical at first, but he finds emptying the kitchen compost more offensive
than the composting toilet.

This is really a great fit for cob houses, as now all you need is a grey
water system to process/recycle your kitchen and bath water.  Living in
Maine, it sure is nice to have an indoor option for days when black-flies or
freezing winter temperatures make outdoor trips very unpleasant!

Annmarie


>Mary Lou wrote:

    Charmaine, thanks for the input, now I have another book to put on my
wish
    list.  Marlin has me stuck on the concept of using urbanite and I was
    thinking that using the slipform method ,but substituting the urbanite
for
    the stone might be a good approach for my stemwall.  If things go well
(HA!)
    I'd like to give it a go this spring.  I want to get a gateway to my
garden
    made and an outhouse.  Boy!, will I be glad to have an outhouse!
Whenever I
    think I want something for myself,I never get it done,but if I know that
    other people are expecting something of me then it goes to the top of
the
    list.  So, I'm going to throw this committment out on the list and I
expect
    you guys to nag me if I don't get it done this summer.  I'll post
pictures
    this fall.  Yoda's famous line will be my mantra..."Try not,...Do!"

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