Outdoor Shower and Toilet Facilities Out Back

mgamber · Jun 22, 2009

I have 12 Acres here in Texas. There is a house here already with a Septic.
One of the things we have been building is a outdoor "party area" in the back part of the property that we host parties and camping on for friends. We would like to have shower facilities out there (water is already run to the back from the well). I plan on letting the gray water spread out over the fields and should cause no harm there. I have also recently been considering that a Toilet would be a nice addition. Any advice on how to handle this? It would not be used very often (maybe once a month) but there could be 30 or more people there on an event weekend. Port-a-Johns are the current solution but I don't like that. Anyone built a single toilet septic?
Looking for cheap solutions...

ByronBob · Jun 22, 2009

You need some sort of solids tank and a few leach lines. I would think a 250 gallon tank and 2 50 foot long lines to let the water flow would be easy to do.

All of this is assuming you have access to a backhoe and ignore the local septic codes and keep things of the QT.

mgamber · Jun 22, 2009

How is septic tank capacity calculated? One weekend a month use with 30 people all using it once during that weekend should be no more than a full month's use on a single toilet on a house, right? Will the close spacing of flushes cause extra problems?

Jimbrown · Jun 22, 2009

Almost all of the state and federal parks here in Az have gone to composting tolets.

Not sure of the cost vs septic.

Composting Toilet Systems Inc. - Newport, WA

mgamber · Jun 22, 2009

Composting Toilet sounds like a winner. Have found quite a few DIY sites. I bet this would work well.

tommu56 · Jun 22, 2009

A 1000 or 1200gallon septic tank would work dig the hole and line around the hole with drain field pipe that should give you 30 0r 40 ft with a riser to the outlet end of tank plumb the toilet to the inlet with vent of course.

A couple of my friends have done this at their cabins with a 1oo gallon tank and haven't had a problem so far.

tom

Gsquared · Jun 22, 2009

In Texas you need a permit for a septic system unless it is a single family system on 10 acres or more. So if you decide to do something your self, don't advertise it. The load that 30 people will put on a system in a weekend might be more than you think. If you guess an average of 3 flushes per person per day, that is 90 flushes a day or 180 gallons a day. A 100 gallon tank is way too small. That assumes the shower goes out to the grass, which is a good plan. Good luck and keep us posted on how it works out so we can all learn.

Highbeam · Jun 23, 2009

Dig pit and build an outhouse. Perfect for this situation. My ashaus uses the Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) design and doesn't even stink. Same deal, intermittent use by more than 50 people.

mgamber · Jun 23, 2009

Any pics or links of your VIP?

Highbeam · Jun 25, 2009

The key to getting info on the VIP is to call it a Ventilated Improved Pit Latrine and then you get all sorts of links. Such as this one:

http://web.cena.usp.br/apostilas/Plinio/Disc CENA 0534 CB Bacias Hidrográficas 2009/viplatrines.pdf

The difference between the VIP and a normal outhouse is the ventilation stack. This chimney sucks air into the pit down through the toilet seat working like a bathroom fan to keep the smells in the pit and up the chimney instead of the pit venting through the seat.

I have some photos at home but it doesn't look like much.