I am trying to make the 20 acres we just bought a little more ready for family camping, so I have decided to build an outhouse on it for my wife and little girls. I have a question about how deep the pit needs to be. Since we will only be using it every once in a while (one weekend a month) how deep does the pit need to be? I have seen some people on the internet say 3-5 feet, but I figured I would go on the low end of that since it will not get much use and alot of decomposition of waste is likely to occur between visits. What do you think? Any other advice on outhouse construction?
Depends. :-/ Depends on how you are going to dig the pit. If digging by hand I can understand the temptation to dig the minimal depth of say 3 feet. If by machine I'd go the whole 5 feet for certain. On the other hand even if you are digging by hand and the earth is easy enough, no boulders, etc., why not go for the extra depth and know that you may never have to dig another pit and move the outhouse? JMO
If you have little ones you may want to consider a two-holer, one cutout smaller than the other. :-/ Make it as fly and vermin proof as you can. Install a good vent stack with provision for air to enter the pit area, all well screened.
http://www.fapel.org/english/ansepti.htm scroll way down for outhouse specific
http://burfordbrothers.net/privies_old_and_new.htm
Ours is four feet, dug by hand, but only two people use it most of the time. Grab a couple of handfuls of live worms from a fishing supply or bait shop and throw down- they will process everything unless you lime it.
Also remember you will need room to cover it up when your done with it.
And I here you'll need more than a foot of dirt so I would go deep as I could.
Kevin
Ah yes, I forgot about the need to provide for a move... here in NM the Enviro Dept states a min of 12 inches to cover up the old pit. Here they also demand you have room for expansion; at least space for 2 more pits. You only need the permit for the first dig if you go the official route. Property boundary, distance from house, well, other water sources vary around the country county by county.
Take a look at this:
http://www.omick.net/composting_toilets/composting_toilets.htm