Click image to enlarge

Garden "Outhouse" Tool Shed

Text, photos & design by Tom Hintz

   My wife is an avid gardener and was constantly carrying a specific group of tools back and forth from the permanent shed to the garden on opposite sides of the yard. Because I had recently purchased a surface planer, I thought this would be a good opportunity to justify its existence.

   The shed is designed to mimic an old country outhouse and stands a bit over 6ft tall and 20-inches square. If I build something like this again I would make the body a little wider to appear more in proportion. The sides, floor and door are made from ¾-inch pressure treated stock. The roof was glued up from tongue-and-groove cedar. The "chimney" is actually an adjustable steel dryer vent elbow.

      The crescent-shaped window was hand-drawn and cut with a saber saw. This bit of realism presented a problem the next spring. Small birds used the opening as their personal entrance to build a nest and hatch a flock of smaller birds. My wife waited until the smaller birds grew up and left, then stapled black roofing felt across the back of the crescent.

   Though the outhouse, now five years old, it still looks great after standing up to the tough North Carolina weather.

Do you have a comment about this page? - Email Me!

Back to the Projects Directory