The Throne: A Hill-Billies' DIY Outhouse With a Little Sparkle

by Jessica Byrnes

When we first went off-the-grid, we were in a tent on a hillside. That meant no loo. Fortunately camping has become somewhat sophisticated, and temporary toilets can be found at places like Campers World. Fortunately, again, Colorado is sufficiently open-minded to allow out-houses. I was amazed to find out that they are banned in Utah.

the throne a hill billies diy outhouse with a little sparkle, concrete masonry, diy, home improvement, outdoor living

The actual structure had to be built, which is quite a bit of work - first a massively deep hole that allows for drainage. Then the structure itself, which was made from recycled barn wood and a simple corrugated iron shed-roof.

The front area was built up with dirt and we made steps with large flat rocks found on the property.

The inside - plain.

A wonderful young girl came to stay with us from Spain....... so she spent the next 3 weeks helping me.

the throne a hill billies diy outhouse with a little sparkle, concrete masonry, diy, home improvement, outdoor living, Jessica Seeliger from Barcelona a true gem

Jessica Seeliger from Barcelona: a true gem

The next step was to start putting up the decoration on the inside walls. Stones, shells, jewels, broken plates, small tiles - a big hodge-podge. Versabond is the adhesive I used. Found at any hardware store. Very inexpensive and super-strong.

Left wall detail

We both worked on these walls because that's a lot of work!

Left side wall

There was no planning of what mosaic piece to put where. Just sticking pieces in as we went along. This project is for total beginners and this proves it. Neither of us are mosaic artists.

More detail

the throne a hill billies diy outhouse with a little sparkle, concrete masonry, diy, home improvement, outdoor living, The Right Back Corner anything goes

The Right Back Corner - anything goes

Then the back wall section and seat area were done - the seat really needs to be solid gold....

the throne a hill billies diy outhouse with a little sparkle, concrete masonry, diy, home improvement, outdoor living, The Seat really should be Solid Gold

The Seat really should be Solid Gold

Finally the floor was mosaicked with small tiles from scraps.... the motto is: never spend a penny when you find mosaic pieces for a project like this.

The Completed Throne

If you are going to be a Hill-Billy and live Off-The-Grid, you may as well be an Upper Class Hill-Billy!

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2 questions

Danielle on Nov 08, 2015
it's gorgeous, I love the way the mosaic wanders and changes, it's just so incredibly cool, but I have question about the outhouse building itself. I'm guessing you left the gap between walls and roof for ventilation and light, but what happens at night or with blowing rainstorms and in the winter? Are you planning to add a solar light maybe and at least run sealed canvas panels around the top to keep snow out?

1
C on Nov 08, 2015
It's certainly creative but I wouldn't want to clean it, especially if there are guys using it. I've never seen an outhouse so open like this. How do you keep the rain, snow and dust out?

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3 of 73 comments

Jessica Byrnes on Dec 05, 2015
Hey Schotzi - we did too!!!

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Sherri kight on Jan 03, 2016
I love it. Such a nice place to sit and read LOL. You've given me an idea. Thanks

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- Jessica Byrnes on Jan 04, 2016
  @Sherri kight :):)
  
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