Old Style Outside Lavvy

MrsMW

When I was young we had an awful outside toilet, my dad called it the closet while to everyone else it was "The Lavvy". It was dark, you had to take a candle, and cold and it was my job to clean it. Anyway when I was in the garden yesterday I got to thinking. It would be great to have an outdoor loo. Think of the advantages, no running inside in dirty shoes, the ideal place for my husband to sit with his book and have a smoke. A smoking room for guests. I have it all planned, I shall of course have lights and an extractor fan, and a washbasin and a heater and I will put pretty scented candles in there. It goes without saying that we will have proper toilet rolls and not cut up newspaper.
I reckon it would be quite money saving as well because it would cut down on decorating our "smoke" room so often, my vinegar spray would last longer because the bathroom would stay clean instead of being covered in muck from the garden, the list is endless. And it would mean more space inside because the downstairs cloakroom could be used for something else. Oh! I'm getting quite carried away, I shall sit outside and daydream a bit more when I can drag myself away from the pc.

bethscott1970

We still have an outside lavvy but to be honest it isn't used anymore. It's full of pallets I got free and haven't cut into kindling yet. I suppose it would be a good idea to clean it out and let the kids use it when they are running around outside but it is still just as creepy as I remember my Nan's one being when I was a kid. The spiders have claimed it, although I'm not scared of spiders I have vivid memories of a massive spider that lived in my Nan's lavvy and used to come out and stare at you whenever you sat down :eek:

squeaky

Hm

My Old Style lavvy is now my Old Style Garden Shed, kitted out with shelves (made from an old pallet) hooks (made from rescued nails) and a whole bunch of gardening things that either do Old Style gardening jobs or were accumulated in an Old Style fashion. For example my dibber is made from the remains of a spade handle that broke (my fault - I was using the spade to hammer a garden stake in) and had to be replaced. The handle, not the whole spade.

And the ex loo that was in there is now a small sunken pond in my garden which many of the local cats visit daily for a drink. I've got a water marigold and some pond weed in it to help keep the water clean and fresh but I think it's the taste of tadpoles that they really go for

Queenie

Scarey places outside loo's *shudders*


My middle son and his friend camped in the garden when they were younger ... we peered out of the window to make sure they were ok before we went to sleep ... they were using the outside loo .............




.... except, we didn't have one! :eek: They used my rose bush! :wall:

Ticklemouse

My mum and dad have an outside loo and it's still in daily use (They do have an indoor one too) Like you say, it's great for keeping the muck out of the house, either from gardening or from kids who've been playing outside. My dad has put a tap in there which is connected to his hose pipe, and a couple of shelves. He also raised the ceiling height a few years ago too - anyone over about 5ft 5 had to crouch, although he still has his "duck or grouse" sign on the still low door way

In true MSE style, when the pan cracked due to the cold some years back, I gave him my old loo which I was ripping out of my house. It's still going strong and I frequented it only the other day.

They have had to put a bolt on the side gate as they found people knew there was a loo there and used to merrily use it as a public convenience! Mum got fed up of clearing up after those "Saturday nights" and especially a tramp who started to frequent it (Eeewwwww)

Bargain_Rzl

When my aunt and uncle lived in Southport they couldn't afford to have the house done up until they were about to sell up. So the loo options were:

1) loo next to bathroom, which was VILE - stained brown almost all over (though in hindsight I'm sure it was some kind of rust stains, and was actually quite clean) and definitely a no-go area
2) outside loo.

It was a no-brainer really, except in the middle of the night...

Lillibet_2

I wish we had one, I'd love somewhere to store logs, looks like we are going to have to buy a storage cupboard for them wich will eat up all the savings from having fires instead of using the central heating:rolleyes:

calleyw

I don't have a outside loo. But a downstairs one. You come in the back door a few paces and there you are.

Save tramping through the house and lino is on the floor so easy to clean.

And it is the only one with a decent flush. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Yours

Calley

Galtizz

Lillibet wrote:

I wish we had one, I'd love somewhere to store logs

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I hate outside loos, they're always full of SPIDERS :eek: :eek:

nicki_2

We had outside toilets at school and they scared me even though there were about 7 of them. No-one ever seemed to use the very end one furthest away from the door - they always used the one closest and would actually queue to use it when others were free

Our elderly next-door neighbour had one as well but I always "held it" until we went home, but thats under 7's for you LOL One day I was so desperate that I had no choice but to use it. Out I go, in the middle of winter, freezing cold, open the door and there was a BIG rat sitting on the rim :eek::eek::eek: To say I ran back inside screaming is an understatement and I never went out there again. I always made sure that I used the our toilet at home right before we went to visit as in just before we went out the door. Toilet, wash hands , out the frontdoor :rotfl:

Queenie

I recall when I visited the street where my mum was brought up just before it was demolished; one of the elderly neighbours came out to see why we were there LOL (typical of the area ) After she'd chatted for a bit, bemoaning the fact that she was being moved out and how this had been her home for 80 odd years, she reluctantly admitted: "Still, it'll be a treat to have a wee in the comfort of your own home" ... I couldn't envisage my mum's tales of her youth where she'd lived in a two up, two down and a privvy a few doors down shared by 6 houses!! Now *that's* what you call an "outside" loo :rotfl:

I love these threads .. they bring back all sorts of tales from my childhood