The only structure that can not be dispensed with on the garden plot is the toilet. It is very convenient when it is located inside the house, although this imposes restrictions on the number and content of outdoor work.
In order not to bring dirt into the house, doing land or construction work, equip a separate toilet, used mainly in the warm season. However, year-round use is possible, as is often the case, for example, in rural areas. In this case, additional insulation may be required.
What should be the toilet?
The existing schemes of country closets are very diverse. During their construction, structures made of wood, metal, concrete, brick or plastic are used, which have different functionality and speed of construction. The most aesthetic are wooden toilets, the assembly of which is slower than metal-plastic, but faster than brick and concrete structures.
The following varieties of latrines can be distinguished:
- as a collector for sewage - with and without an airtight or leaky cesspool. An alternative to the pit is “powder-closets,” in which feces are collected in a bucket or deeper container and crushed by sawdust or peat. In well-maintained summer cottages, dry closets can be installed, although they are still not widely distributed;
- by type of seat - the most comfortable toilets are equipped with a toilet, while in simpler designs a platform with a seat is built or a hole is simply made in the floor;
- according to the level of improvement - insulated or heated, with a dressing room, combined with a shower, etc. Warm toilets are very practical when visiting a summer house in the cold season. In the dressing room you can undress, which is important with a large number of clothes during the autumn-winter work.
When arranging and planning a toilet, you should pay attention to the following factors:
- environmental safety - the building must not violate sanitary standards;
- structural strength - the toilet should be strong enough. In worn-out structures, cases of people falling into a cesspool are not uncommon;
- convenience - at the stage of building a summer cottage, you can be content with a toilet without a toilet, while at a capital cottage it is better to equip a more comfortable place.
A wooden toilet differs from its brick and concrete counterparts in its small weight and relative simplicity of design. There are capital and portable toilets made of wood. Portable facilities are convenient for quickly changing the installation location so as not to cause sewage pumps to pump out the cesspool.
In capital summer cottages, this principle does not apply - the toilet should be aesthetic, convenient and practical. Consider the main stages of the construction of a wooden toilet.
Choose a drawing of the toilet and determine the size
Since the toilet will not be subjected to heavy loads, it should not be made too massive and durable. The construction should only withstand gusts of strong winds, rain and winter precipitation. General drawings and diagrams of a wooden restroom are shown in the figures. You can find a significant number of sizes and shapes of wooden toilets on the net, but you should definitely not follow them. Most of the drawings are designed for the average person, so during the construction it is necessary to take into account the dimensions of the people who will use the restroom.
The size of the classic wooden toilet is small. Optimum dimensions are: 2.2 × 1 × 1.5 m (height × width × depth). Such a toilet is easily ventilated and gains heat when used in cold weather. There are windows for lighting above the door or on the sides of the walls, and for night visits, lamps are installed inside and outside.
If the dimensions of the owners of the cottage are large, then the width and depth of the toilet can be increased. The height of 2.2 m to the ceiling is most comfortable in natural and poor artificial lighting. The top of the roof is even higher, and the indicated height only limits the internal space.
Seat selection
The wind rose, plot plan and the location of other buildings will help determine the optimal location of the closet. For moral and ethical reasons, the toilet should not open in the direction of nearby neighbors (if there is no continuous fence or green hedge) and annoy with smells when the wind direction changes.
Sanitary standards allow you to put a toilet under the following conditions:
- the distance to the capital buildings is not less than 12 m, and to the shower (saunas, baths) - not less than 8 m. The toilet can be combined in the shower, if the sewage is discharged into a separate pit;
- distance to corrals with animals - 4 m or more, and to the fence - at least 1 m;
- the depth of groundwater must exceed 2.5 m (for a toilet with a cesspool). The location of “powder-closet” and toilets with hermetic barrels for sewage is not affected by the depth of groundwater.
Removal from water sources to the toilet should be at least 25 m. In most suburban areas, this requirement is practically impossible; therefore, a well or well is located at a maximum distance up the slope. The toilet is equipped in a lowland so that it does not flood in the flood or during heavy rains.
When planning the toilet, it is imperative to provide for the possibility of periodic pumping of the cesspool. The length of a standard sleeve for pumping sewage is 7 m, of which 2-4 m are in the pit. Consequently, the sewer machine must have access to the toilet at a distance of 3-5 m.
What is required for construction?
Any wood material is suitable for building a toilet. Since one of the reasons for using wood is the desire to save money, expensive species should be used only for artistic purposes. To increase the aesthetics of the restroom, a lining or a block house will help. The use of conventional tongue-and-groove boards will simplify their docking with each other and increase the final strength of the structure.
Mineral wool, with which two-layer piers are filled, is suitable as a heater for walls. This material does not absorb odors well, and is also not susceptible to decay and burning. Foamed insulating materials are used less frequently.
Particular attention should be paid to wood finishes. If the construction is long-term, its processing should include:
- antiseptics. Since sewage is an attractive medium for the propagation of microorganisms and a source of high humidity, it is advisable to combine antiseptics with waterproofing. The optimal materials for covering the bottom of the foundation wood are bituminous mastics, which give the tree stability and durability;
- varnish or paint treatment to reduce the effects of moisture and slow down the aging process of wood under the influence of atmospheric oxygen.
The size of the cesspool depends on the estimated intensity of use of the toilet. For most families, a 1 m pit will be enough3which needs to be cleaned every 3-4 years.
To make the use of the toilet more comfortable and increase the period of its effective operation, ventilation of the cesspool and the room itself should be provided. This is usually done using separate ventilation pipes, the upper section of which should be 40-60 cm from the roof surface.
The optimal design of the toilet, installed in the country toilet, should not have a bend ("knee") for a water seal. They don’t conduct water in country toilets, so the toilet will be more convenient if it is equipped with one direct guide for sewage. It’s better to choose an inexpensive toilet seat so that it is not a pity to throw it out at the end of the summer season. For winter visits to the country, you can provide a removable insulated seat.
How not to miss the important - the main stages and materials for the construction
The general stages of construction are the cutting of the material and the phased assembly of the finished structure. Cutting can be carried out in advance and during the installation of wooden knots. For the most convenient and fast work you will need:
- drill and drill;
- a jigsaw or a circular nozzle on a grinder for cutting wood (can be replaced with a conventional hacksaw);
- screws or nails;
- scrap (for breaking hard soil);
- shovel with a short handle (for digging a hole);
- a drill for soil (for making vertical recesses for corner posts);
- sledgehammer and hammer;
- building bubble level.
Necessary materials:
- concrete columns (can be replaced with metal);
- wooden beam (not less than 50 mm thick);
- sheathing material;
- roofing material for roofing;
- cement;
- sand;
- paint;
- varnish.
To greatly simplify the work, a cesspool can be dug with a small excavator. It will be much easier to manually align its edges than throwing out cubic meters of soil with a shovel.
The main components of the toilet are built in the following sequence:
- cesspool - can have various sizes, be concreted, hold a plastic barrel or concrete ring;
- foundation - the strongest foundation is made of cement mortar, and the simplest structures are made entirely of wood. As corner supports, you can use concrete poles, the bottom of which is impregnated with bitumen. They are deepened into the ground by 0.8-1 m and concreted to achieve maximum stability of the structure;
- floor and crate under the seat or toilet. An ordinary crate is made of 50 mm timber, and for capital structures, its thickness increases to 100 mm. To increase the strength of the floor, the base of the toilet should be done away from the pit, leaving only a part of the toilet with a seat above it;
- frame structure. For the frame, metal welded corners or a thick bar are used. Cross joints are made of short bars, and the frame itself is a face of regular shape. You can connect the bars and bars with the help of metal corners or the fixing system "groove-spike";
- exterior cladding with wooden boards, block house or clapboard. Before finishing the lining, the gap between the walls can be filled with insulation;
- equipment of the roof, sloping from the front of the toilet to the back (so that water does not drain under the door). The roof surface should protrude from the edges of the toilet by 15-25 cm, preventing moisture from entering the base of the walls and into the cesspool. In the lower part of the toilet, it is recommended to fill in a concrete blind area up to 20 cm wide, covered with a layer of penetrating waterproofing;
- roof finish. In order to avoid leakage and decay, the roof should be covered with roofing material or other sheet waterproofing material;
- internal and external wall decoration (painting or opening with varnish). The toilet floor can be made of wood or tiled. Such a solid and well-washable base will be more hygienic and more durable. Before decorating, it is advisable to treat the wood of the walls, floor and ceiling with an antiseptic for wood (you should choose a drug for residential buildings).
Closet equipment with an additional hood located under the seat will reliably get rid of the smell in the room. The essence of the method is to install a high pipe, which will draw air through the toilet (seat) and bring it above the roof level. To implement this scheme, windows or slots for the influx of fresh air should be provided.
You can decorate the toilet with an artistic pattern or simply with a quality layer of paint or varnish. Climbing plants planted around the restroom will make the room less visible.
Mistakes a Newbie Can Make
- The location of the cesspool is close to the groundwater level - it can lead to the final deterioration of water sources in wells and boreholes.
- Complete tightness of the structure (lack of fresh air flow) - leads not only to the accumulation of an unpleasant odor, but also to dampening of the wood due to the constant formation of condensate.
- Laying the floor above the cesspool with thin boards (less than 30 mm) can cause a person to fall into sewage.
- The use of a common pit for the toilet and shower - leads to contamination of a larger amount of soil space and interferes with the normal course of feces fermentation.
- The location of the toilet in the middle of the area planted with trees and shrubs - prevents the passage of the dump truck.
To avoid miscalculations in the construction of a country toilet, you should initially carefully consider its planning and construction. The most dangerous consequence is the pollution of groundwater, which can leave a whole country community without drinking water. Important aspects include the use of high-quality materials in the construction of supports, for which only durable bars devoid of rot should be selected.
Features of the construction and design of an ideal toilet for a summer residence; look at the video:
Toilet care
- Airing in dry weather - reduces and stabilizes the humidity level.
- Periodic painting or varnishing - is performed as the previous layer of paintwork wears out.
- Processing with an electric planer - is carried out when mass cracks appear caused by drying of wood.
- Periodic cleaning of the toilet - is performed as the level of sewage rises to a level of about 2/3 of the volume of the cesspool. With very slow filling, it is recommended to call the scavenger at least 1 time in 5 years, otherwise the feces form hard deposits that are difficult to pump out.
The appearance of clearance of the structure is the first sign that the supports (bars) need to be replaced or repaired. The introduction of new angular and transverse racks helps to increase the strength of an already shaky structure.
You can get rid of the smell in the country toilet by adding peat or special biological preparations to the cesspool. In the summertime, tomato tops will help reduce the level of “aromas”, further slowing the development of larvae of flies.
Rest and work on a summer cottage without a toilet will always be inferior and uncomfortable. Organizing a wooden restroom on the street is the easiest way to provide basic amenities. Building a wooden toilet will help to do without a bathroom in a country house of small dimensions. The availability of materials and the ability to assemble with your own hands are another plus in favor of a stationary wooden structure.