# Options on installing a restroom in a barn? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 8, 2016, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529 "2016-02-08T11:09:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529/21 "2016-02-09T10:43:53Z")
> [@Richox](#): > > I installed a new sewer line some thirty metres in Sandy soil the other day. Linking a bathroom to existing sewer. Absolutely nothing difficult about it. How far is the run to your existing septic, and does it allow for a 1 in 7 or so fall? Soil condition at your place? If you’re in a farming area you’ll be able to get a contractor with a backhoe in pretty easy obviously but you’ll know more about that than I. It would be about a 30 meter or around 100 foot run. I dont think I have that slope so I’d have to install a pump which is partly why its just not economical for just a single toilet and sink that would only get occasional use. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529/22 "2016-02-09T10:48:41Z")
> [@Nefario](#): > > AND - you can upgrade to the TR model, for [Fulltime Heavy Use](http://ssl3.sea.tierpoint.com/incinolet/)! :eek: I looked it up and it says it uses about 1 1/2 kwh per “cycle” (flush really) which in my area is about $09.5 per kwh so around 15 cents per flush. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529/23 "2016-02-09T11:32:57Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Another option would be to just forgo the flushing toilet and just have a composting toilet. Has anyone had experience with [these](http://natureshead.net/)? My friend couldn’t get local governent permission to install one - they insisted that a toilet had to be properly sewered. Her parents had used them in the old country, and were comfortable with the idea. I think they came from a place where it was too cold for septic systems 9 months of the year. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529/24 "2016-02-09T15:59:42Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Everything about that ad is awesome. > [@](#): > > You can use INCINOLET at any time - even while it is in cycle. If you’re a braver man than I. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529/25 "2016-02-09T18:46:32Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I looked it up and it says it uses about 1 1/2 kwh per “cycle” (flush really) which in my area is about $09.5 per kwh so around 15 cents per flush. Considering what I pay for water and sewers it’s quite economical. I’ve been told by people who have these in campers and RVs that it’s a marvel to use, no more emptying holding tanks and minimal cleaning. I’m surprised this hasn’t caught on more. Another great use would be for below ground level installations where you don’t need to add macerators and pumps to make a conventional toilet work. But I guess it seems so different in our regular porcelain bowl world that people aren’t willing to make the change. Or maybe the reality doesn’t match the hype, I’ve never used one. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529/26 "2016-02-09T20:15:07Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > If you’re a braver man than I. But it says right there - “won’t hurt your bottom line.” ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529/27 "2016-02-09T21:58:21Z")
Are we to the point where we re-invent the outhouse yet? Dig a new hole every 10 years and use the dirt from the new hole to fill the old one (dump lye to extend life of hole) and drag the structure over the new hole. Or something like that. Use flex hoses to connect water from barn into outhouse - a super de-luxe shithouse! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529/28 "2016-02-10T00:06:03Z")
I’m pretty delicate when it comes to bad smells and bodily functions, and I had no problem with my friends’ composting toilet. It was in a room off their living space which was essentially a barn/garage structure, and it didn’t smell at all. I think they use cedar chips or something similar to cover each deposit. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529/29 "2016-02-10T00:46:32Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > There’s such a thing as an incinerating toilet? :eek: Two thousand dollars for a toilet that incinerates after you use it seems kinda spendy. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529/30 "2016-02-10T03:02:03Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Two thousand dollars for a toilet that incinerates after you use it seems kinda spendy. Think of the saving related to funeral costs. A kind of in-house crematorium. :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-on-installing-a-restroom-in-a-barn/745529.md?page=1)