In the article, you will learn how to make a dry closet for your own home with your own hands. Such a design will be indispensable if you do not want to make a sewer (or there is simply no such possibility). The dry closet is a design which is intended for satisfaction of a natural physiological need of any person. Such designs are ideal for temporary use. Therefore, to give a dry closet it will turn out to be just an indispensable device.
Features of the dry closet
The peat type of dry closets is very popular among summer residents. They have a rather interesting technology for processing waste. Anyone can make a peat dry closet with their own hands, if equipped with tools and knowledge. Disposal of feces in the construction occurs only in a natural way - no harmful (within reason, of course) substances are released. To speed up processing, you need to use organic products. Peat or sawdust is ideal for this purpose.
Often in dry closets they use bacteria - microflora, which is created artificially. Many use bioenzymes - these are substances that are obtained as a result of the activity of certain types of bacteria. Dry closets work by such simple principles. The design is not much different from the standard, it is installed on a personal plot, away from the places where you usually are. It is advisable to choose a place in which there is no drafts, it should be protected from direct sunlight.
The principle of the toilet
Next, we will look at how to make a dry closet for a summer residence with our own hands, but first we’ll figure out how it works. The bottom line is simple to disgrace:
- The user uses the toilet as needed.
- The vital product, using a suitable container, you need to fill up with a layer of peat.
- Thanks to aerobic bacteria, composting is activated.
- The compost that results is still ripening for a certain time.
Decaying fully compost is a component that is rich in a variety of organic substances. They can very easily be absorbed by plants. Therefore, it will be a very effective fertilizer for absolutely any vegetation.
It is worth noting that such dry closets are often installed on rail and in airplanes. It differs from ordinary toilets in that it uses an activator - peat. It allows you to more efficiently process waste products without leaving a trace from them.
Varieties of toilets
The construction of such a simple structure can be performed according to one of two schemes:
- Without a house.
- With a house.
There are many recommendations that will be useful for using peat dry closet in a residential building (not in the yard, but inside the home). But if you are too sensitive to smells, then this option will obviously not suit you.
But there are professional models that can be used in homes. They do not emit odors during operation. But we are talking about making a peat dry closet for a do-it-yourself cottage. Therefore, it is simply unreasonable to place it in the house - after all, there is a lot of space in the yard, and the device will be used exclusively in the warm season.
Description of structures with and without a house
Without a house - a design that involves the manufacture of a toilet seat and a box for storing powder (peat). This is the simplest solution you can come up with. This system can be successfully operated on a summer cottage, but only if its entire territory is reliably hidden from prying eyes.
You can protect the dry closet box with three sheets of opaque material - it can be a professional sheet, slate, board. But it’s better, of course, to build a small house with a door. In this case, you will get an ideal place to not only meet your need, but also to study local newspapers of ten years ago, profiles of friends on social networks, even to conduct important negotiations without interruption from important matters.
Tools and materials
And now let's talk about how to make a dry closet in the country with your own hands, and what materials will be needed for this:
- Plywood 10 ... 12 mm thick.
- Edged board with a width of 85 ... 110 mm and a thickness of 12 ... 15 mm.
- Wooden beam with a section of 40x40 mm.
- Door hinges - it is advisable to choose medium-sized models, you need 6 ... 10 pcs for the design
- Capacity made of metal (preferably stainless steel or galvanized steel). The volume must be at least 10 liters.
It is also necessary to have such tools at hand:
- Hacksaw with small teeth.
- Joiner's knife.
- Bench hammer.
- Roulette, screwdrivers, pencil.
- Electric jigsaw.
- Self-tapping screws, nails, screws.
- Screwdriver or drill.
Initial stage of work
The most difficult thing is to independently cut a round hole of large diameter on a pre-prepared plywood sheet. Using a hacksaw, the sheet must be cut so that it turns out one panel measuring 50x50 cm. This is the average size, the specific one directly depends on who will use the dry closet. After that, it is necessary to cut a round hole on this panel - its diameter should be 250 ... 300 mm.
But when making a summer dry closet with your own hands, you can make a hole not in the round, but in the shape of an egg. It is recommended first to mark out on a plywood sheet - using a pencil and a ruler, draw a contour of the future hole. Perhaps this is the most difficult to work with.
As soon as you make a hole, you can start processing the wood - carefully clean it with sandpaper. First you need to use coarse, then smaller. Your task is to achieve maximum smoothness of the plywood sheet. In order not to overwork, polish only on one side (do not need to do this from the inside). If there is a desire, then cover the entire surface with varnish - in this case, the possibility of splinter under the skin will decrease.
How to assemble a utilizer case: highlights
After that, you need to assemble the frame of the box. It is inside of it that you will install a container for feces. It is placed clearly under the hole in the upper part. It is not difficult to assemble the box - you will need 4 racks from a square or rectangular beam, as well as 4 partitions from the same material. Connect all the elements and sheathe the outside with sheets of plywood. The height of the structure should be such that the user is as comfortable as possible to sit on a toilet seat. The average height is 350.400 mm.
From above, the hole in the toilet seat should be covered with a sheet of plywood so that extraneous unpleasant odors do not spread in the summer cottage. When repairing the Thetford dry closet with your own hands, you may have to make a new utilizer body. How to do this - we will consider further.
Body manufacture
The essence of the work is to make a wooden rectangular box. It should have dimensions of 1000x500x350 mm. It is necessary to make sure that the bars of the frame are inside the structure, use wood screws for reliable fastening. A case made according to this algorithm must be divided by a partition inside to get two working compartments.
The upper compartment is covered with a plywood sheet with a hole, then without it. The second section is for storing peat. It should also be covered with a plywood sheet lid. Covers must be fastened with hinges so that they open and close as conveniently as possible.
The final stage is the treatment of the entire structure with antiseptic agents that will prevent the formation of fungi and mold on wood. In addition, after processing with such means, the wood will not be very interesting to insects. After installing inside one section of the tank, you can begin to use the dry closet for its intended purpose.
Toilet accessories
To make it more convenient to choose peat, make a small spatula. It can be made of wood, but if you do not mind the money, buy a finished one in the store. On sale you can find various blades - both plastic and metal. The first ones are simple, cheap, but short-lived.
As you know, there is no water washout in the structure - the waste product is simply sprinkled with peat or sawdust. Therefore, after each bowel movement you will have to pick up a spatula, pick up a small amount of peat and sprinkle fresh feces on it.
An ordinary bucket can act as a waste collection container, but it is best to use a more capacious and convenient container for this purpose. It is quite practical to use two containers at once - put one inside the box, and the second (clean and empty) next to it, so that you can quickly replace it if necessary. It is also recommended that you always have on hand various means for cleaning the toilet, antibacterial compounds.
Additional equipment in the summer cottage
Such a construction of a dry closet for a home with your own hands is done quite simply, no deep knowledge in plumbing is needed. But the question is where to put all the waste. Indeed, there is only ever more waste in the tank, so it is necessary to make a compost pit in the immediate vicinity of the toilet.
Its volume should be at least 10 times greater than that of the capacity for collecting feces. In this case, you can slowly collect compost, which will gradually ripen. It is also worth noting that this amount is enough to provide a small plot of 3-4 acres with high-quality fertilizers of our own production.
Open closets are rarely used in practice. Most often, owners of summer cottages prefer to build small cabins that are closed from prying eyes. To make a booth you will need material:
- Edged boards.
- Wooden bars.
- Fasteners.
- Door hinges.
Also in such a booth you can make lighting, a ventilation system, put a power outlet and conduct the Internet. In other words, only your imagination is limited by how the dry closet lodge will be equipped. In the manufacture of the cabin you will need a small amount of material, assembly is carried out as quickly as possible. In addition, the design can be quickly redone. Modernization usually consists in the fact that instead of a home-made toilet seat, a ready-made kit from the toilet is placed. You can even install a toilet and replace peat powder with water.
Peat adding system
Now you know how to make a dry closet with your own hands, but let's talk about how to upgrade it. And more precisely, then replace the manual adding peat. For this, you can use any dispenser system. But if you are poorly versed in technology, it is better to find a finished design in the store than to try to make it yourself. In addition, for greater convenience, instead of a wooden toilet seat, you can put a plastic seat with a cover. In this case, using a country toilet will be even more pleasant.
Please note that there must always be a sufficient amount of dusting powder in the peat compartment. Otherwise, feces that will not be covered with a layer of peat will begin to emit a not very pleasant smell that will ruin your stay in the country.