The Washroom

The big project is building an outdoor washroom. The current facilities are a pit toilet and lots of trees. The goal is an 8x8 structure containing a shower, sink, and sawdust toilet. Water will be gravity-fed from the water-catchment system on the cabin. Some of the water will go into black hose coiled on the washroom roof, which will be heated by the sun for hot water. Therefore, the location needed to meet various criteria: mostly level, downhill from the cabin, with a southern exposure. We found such a spot, staked out the corners, and trampled down the grass. Now the fun would begin.

In researching the type of foundation to build, we learned about the concept of frost heave, where the ground freezes and expands upward - no good for buildings. To avoid having the building move around, footers need to extend below the frost line, which around here is 5 feet. We planned to use a product called a footer tube, which is similar to a 5-foot, rigid, plastic traffic cone. Actually, four of them. Sunk into 5-foot holes, 2 feet in diameter. Easier said than done. We soon discovered that the ground here contains many rocks. After a foot or so, the topsoil turns into a fine dirt full of rocks. Slow going, but we managed. Our original schedule is way out of whack, but that's life.

The next step was to pour the concrete, which went much faster than anticipated. I guess the general principle is that filling holes is easier than digging them. The manufacturer said we needed the equivalent of 11 bags of concrete per footer tube. We bought 12 per tube just to be sure, but we ended up using only 9 per tube. The 48 bags with 66 pounds of concrete each were delivered by a big truck with a crane on it. The driver used a wireless control device to position the crane, which picked the pallet of concrete up and gently placed it next to our building site. Well worth the delivery charge. The extra bags are now stored in a shed and will find good use here in the future. Water was another concern, since rain is our only source. We had enough, but a little rain would be welcome now.

With the footers poured, we took a couple days off to allow the concrete to set. Once it was hardened, we bolted down the beams, resting on the footers, and built a frame of floor joists to hold the structure. The joists support the plywood subfloor, which Caroline primed to protect it from rain, just in case.

Then it was time to build the walls. The north-facing, back wall and the east-facing, right wall were simple, solid walls - so we built those first. The front, south-facing wall has an opening for the door, and the left, west-facing wall will have a window in it. The roof is a sloped, shed roof style. So, next we built three partial walls that will sit on top of the main walls - a rectangular one in the back and two triangular ones on the sides. 

Luckily, Caroline welcomed to friends from Montreal for a visit, and we put them to work raising the walls. With the four of us and some bungee cords, the walls went up quickly and were readily secured. It looks like a room now. 

Wylie, one of Caroline's friends, stayed with us for a few days and helped us immensely with the walls, rafters, siding, and roof design and construction. By the end of Saturday and just before predicted rain, we finished the roof. The 30-degree slope is a bit intimidating to work on, but with the aid of well placed ratchet straps for foot support, we managed to attach the subroof, tar paper, and corrugated metal roofing. 

The final steps for my visit include trimming the window and door and finishing the siding. With two days left to work, the main remaining project is to hang the door. It is on temporarily for now.

The last picture is the final state of the washroom, for now.