The Turdis has landed

'The Turdis' has landed

'The Turdis' as its become known is the composting toilet I have been building for our woods. I’ve been building the structure at home as I have access to more tools and then it will be disassembled and moved to the woods where I will reassemble it. It’s going to be a temporary building that can be removed if necessary. Where possible I have been using recycled materials to build it, so the base of the structure is a pallet that I got from a local garden centre (please seek permission from the owner for any recycled material you might spot). I then bought some CLS timber from my local DIY store to construct the frame, I plan to treat this with wood preserve to prolong its life. I do have pallet wood I have collected from pallets I have disassembled but ended up using featheredge boards I got from the same DIY store. 

One idea I did toy with was just buying a small shed, but in my experience these need a flat base and they tend to not be strong enough to stand on unsupported and we don’t have a flat area for it; also they tend to not be that high and we wanted a more airy space. So the basic shape is a 4ft x 3ft pallet with four walls, the roof is clear perspex left over from another project and some ply and shingles to add some stability to the front section. The business end of the system is taken care of by a large plastic bucket and a large funnel from Toolstation. 

I made a central piece to cover the gaps from some sheet aluminium I had laying about and hammered it into shape over the funnel and the bucket. A cheap toilet seat from a DIY shop, some left over ply and some 40mm pipework from an old plumbing project completed the toilet system. Urine will be collected in the funnel directed out the back of the building and into a gravel filled soak away, the solids into the bucket to be covered by sawdust. I’ve got to cut up with a load of wood at the weekend I’m down at the woods so that should top up the sawdust pile for the toilet as well. 

DIY urine separator

The design of the building to hold this has been made up as I went along, I worked out the scale of it purely on the lengths of timber I could buy so the sides are 120cm long based on cutting a 240cm feather-board in half and knowing I could find a 3ft wide pallet. Apparently a loo with a view is also required so a I’ve constructed a stable door where the top part can be left open if desired; this should help on hot days or for when you want a longer break in the smallest room. One major area of thought has been around access to the bucket for removal. Access from the back of the building is one option but seems a risk if you're tilting the bucket in any way, so the design I have gone for allows the top and toilet seat to be removed and then the bucket can be sealed and lifted out. I’ve still to make some quick release brackets to hold the lid down and I added some location stops to keep the bucket in position. The two largest sides will be feather-boarded in advance so this will save construction time in the woods and then just the end and the doors to be finished up.

It all seems to be coming together at the moment….