Making the toilet

Wow, what a weekend. So much achieved, so much exhaustion of body now.

This is the first of a three part blog series describing everything that went down over this weekend as if I put it all into one blog you'd all be asleep before you got half way through.

So first of all: building the Humanure Toilet.

For those of you who aren't aware what this is please visit the link above for an explanation. The design I was working towards is featured in the book which is advertised on that link, and available to read for free on the website. I cannot recommend it highly enough and have actually bought it as well.

My bucket

I ordered four buckets to use as the basis for my toilet and they arrived I could see they were perfect; each came with a lid so when I have filled one I can seal it and carry it easily out to the outdoor collection point. They are white and see-through, however; I may end up painting them in case of visitors with a delicate disposition seeing me carrying them; while in place the box will hide the bucket (as you'll see) so I won't bother unless someone complains.

Caution:: MAN AT WORK!

The plan in book came with rough dimensions but we decided that measuring and adapting was the best idea so out came the tape measure and the correct amount of marine ply was purchased from trust B and Q (along with some brass hinges). I then set to with my trusty jigsaw and cut out the four lengths for the box sides.

Three of the sides for the box

We'd split the work down in half so I would be making the hinged top and toilet seat and Sarah was making the box. Here you can see that three of the four sides are lent against bucket proving that they are not too tall (they actually are, but more on that later) before the complicated task of joining them together into a square box was started. We decided to alter the design from the book slightly by having the legs (made from 2"x1") run right the way through to the top of the box and use these to put screws through. They also helped to ensure a right angle at each corner.

Cutting a hole in the box lid

While the box was being constructed I took the lid and drew around the bucket; the idea is that the bucket can protrude slightly through the hinged lid, to ensure total collection of all fluids while in use (ahem) so after I cut carefully with the jigsaw around the stencil I then widened it slightly again so the bucket could fit through. It didn't take long to do this; a good jigsaw is worth its weight in gold.

Hinges attached and working well

With the hole the correct size I cut an 80mm hinge piece from the lid section and then attached two of the brass hinges to allow it to lift up. The screws I used (not the ones which came in the hinges which were as always dreadful) protruded through so I was then required to hacksaw the ends off; a task which left me with bloody fingers and a frustrated attitude.

Toilet seat fixing (pre-tightening)

Finally I took my lovely (and expensive) toilet seat from its wrapping and looked at the fixings; there was a long brass screw which would go through a hole in your normal ceramic toilet and a plastic wingnut to tighten underneath. I picked a drill bit and found the correct size straight away; I was really careful here as I had to measure and mark the position for these holes to be drilled. Again, I managed this fine and the seat was seated in its position really easily. I had to get my hack saw out again to trim down the super long screws but this time I did it with no blood or frustration.

The completed box

Meantimes to this the construction of the box had been coming on apace and we were ready to trim the legs (deliberately left long) to the correct length to avoid wobbliness. The trusty jigsaw came out and this was achieved very quickly. You can see from this picture how I meant about the legs running through the entire height of the box.

Fixing the hinge lid to the box

The final step of construction had been reached; attaching the two separate items together into one. Within short order the guide holes were drilled, I'd used a counter sink to allow the screws to sit flush, and we had attached the lid to the box.

Very happy first sit

Success; my first attempt at building a humanure toilet was done and I am very happy with it (as you can see).  It is the correct height to sit on however this has meant that I am going to need to (at some point) build a shelf inside the box for the bucket to sit on. I may get this done before I go, or I may leave it til I arrive. It will help the rigidity anyway to have extra cross pieces.

The Thunder Box

A few minutes with the wood stain and here you have it; the thunder box (as labelled by my mate Stu).

Why don't you build yourself one and start making your faeces into something useful, for a change.