Replies

1. 
   MarkH | Mar 18, 2006 10:16pm | #1

   I've thought of building one myself.  No ideas for sure, but it can't be too hard.

   Here are some google pics.  http://images.google.com+

   ---

   Edited 3/18/2006 3:22 pm ET by MarkH

2. 
   Piffin | Mar 18, 2006 11:14pm | #2

   unless you live in the deep woods, on a mountaintop, or on a deserted island, you would probably need the wall layout at the entry to have a zig-zag pattern, like a leg of a maze, for privacy - instead of a door.

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   builderhayes | Mar 18, 2006 11:43pm | #3

   Thanks for the pic's and suggestions, this gives me some good ideas. I'm trying not

   to use a door because the darn things never seem to last, no matter how well you

   think you've built them.

3. 
   Notchman | Mar 19, 2006 12:09am | #4

   You'll want to use a frost-free hot/cold water valve with an insulated wall behind to accomodate the long stem.  (They're a little spendy...about $250, IIRC, but worth it for long term).

4. 
   Shavey | Mar 19, 2006 02:32am | #5

   Will it be up on a deck  or on the side of a house, Trex is a nice product to have under foot(no splinters)Make sure to have a drainage below. Not much to building one. You can leave about 8``or so open space beneath the side walls and the door. Pressure treated frame of course and if you want to give a nice clean look on the inside Azek makes 4x8 sheets to  use for wall covering on the inside ,and just match the siding on the house for the out side walls.

5. 
   DanH | Mar 19, 2006 03:38am | #6

   Dummy up the arrangement with whatever's at hand (cardboard, old pieces of paneling, etc) and observe how much room you need to move around, get in and out, etc. This will help prevent any major snafus in the design.

   Like someone else said, plastic decking is probably the way to go for the floor, and maybe the walls. But still provide some sort of drainage underneath -- something like a catch basin out of sheet plastic, filled with coarse gravel and with a drain running to daylight or a dry well. Otherwise the area round the shower will get swampy.

   If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people

   happy?

6. 
   andy_engel | Mar 19, 2006 05:43am | #7

   I edited an article on this topic about five, maybe six years ago in FHB. A couple of glasses of wine into Saturday night, I can't remember the author's name. Nice guy, but that's no help to you. I visited the house for the photo shoot, and used the shower that evening. No zig zags, but a good sized booth, maybe 5 x 5 or a little bigger, with a door, provided room to undress in a modest fashion, and hang the clothes where they'd stay dry. I've got to say that showering outdoors on a warm September evening is delightful. Figure it out, build the shower, and enjoy.

   Andy

   "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein

   "Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom

1. 
   davem | Mar 19, 2006 06:31am | #8

   mine is a cheap tub valve with shower (handy for rinsing buckets) on the side of the garage. i chopped space for a 4x4 pressure treated deck in the middle of the banana plant bed. no walls, no door needed i live alone and the back yard has a 6 foot privacy fence.

7. 
   Nuke | Mar 19, 2006 03:46pm | #9

   An episode of Dwell (I think, maybe another show) features a loft with a large-ish outside deck that features an outdoor shower. The guy's wife noted he took most of his showers outdoors. I always asked why not just bring a bar of soap down to the park during sprinkler watering times and ...

1. 
   caseyr | Mar 22, 2006 06:15am | #10

   I remember the outdoor shower we used when I worked in wheat harvest as a kid. A 50 gallon drum painted black and filled with a garden hose in a sunny location on a tripod of 4x4s. The temperature of your choice was usually not an option... It was on the other side of the barn from the house, so no other walls or screening was provided. It did (sometimes) almost get the dust and chaff washed off.

8. 
   user-126003 | Mar 22, 2006 06:51am | #11

   Our favorite publication had a "finnising touches about this subgect 1 or 2 years back can't remember the issue #.