Smoke house from a new outhouse

[Chef Rocks]

Hey All,
Has anyone ever built or have any plans on how to build a smoke house from an outhouse?
It is made out of pine, So I am thinking of lining it with cedar, just my initial thoughts.
Thanks,
Jim

 

[indaswamp]

got any pics?

 

[bill1]

I could see a "coolness" factor to it among this crowd (haven't seen one of those lately!) particularly with TBS wafting out a little moon-shaped exhaust port on the front. :-)

But I think the average visitor to your home would find it highly unappetizing. And if you don't "advertise" the fact it was once an outhouse, but that reality slowly dawned on them, I think it could make for a very unpleasant exchange.

I'm a nerd, and definitely a part of this crowd, and I even cringe a bit at the idea of covering over the original boards with anything else. Granted pine isn't a good choice for smoking meat, but you shouldn't be getting that hot that the walls would be smoking anyway. And a half-dozen low-temperature "burn-ins" would at least remove what I would consider the "fumes" of its former use. But the thought that those "original fumes" are just sandwiched inside the walls, well it's a little too gross for me.

So I think the best way to make this work is to shorten the thing by sawing off the bottom couple feet of it, and preferably some of the top of the boards too, and mount it on a 2' high arrangement of cinder blocks that serves as your firepit. You want to have a professional look to it, so although it has the vibe of an outhouse, people don't think of it that way. Somewhat like a "restomod" of an old car.

 

[smokerjim]

Multi purpose smoke house, great idea!

 

[bill1]

Multi purpose smoke house, great idea!

Yeah, and I thought it was a plus to just have a cooker that could both smoke and grill.

 

[Chef Rocks]

got any pics?

I could see a "coolness" factor to it among this crowd (haven't seen one of those lately!) particularly with TBS wafting out a little moon-shaped exhaust port on the front. :-)

But I think the average visitor to your home would find it highly unappetizing. And if you don't "advertise" the fact it was once an outhouse, but that reality slowly dawned on them, I think it could make for a very unpleasant exchange.

I'm a nerd, and definitely a part of this crowd, and I even cringe a bit at the idea of covering over the original boards with anything else. Granted pine isn't a good choice for smoking meat, but you shouldn't be getting that hot that the walls would be smoking anyway. And a half-dozen low-temperature "burn-ins" would at least remove what I would consider the "fumes" of its former use. But the thought that those "original fumes" are just sandwiched inside the walls, well it's a little too gross for me.

So I think the best way to make this work is to shorten the thing by sawing off the bottom couple feet of it, and preferably some of the top of the boards too, and mount it on a 2' high arrangement of cinder blocks that serves as your firepit. You want to have a professional look to it, so although it has the vibe of an outhouse, people don't think of it that way. Somewhat like a "restomod" of an old car.

Thanks for your reply Bill, the outhouse is and always was a lawn orgiment used as a small storage shed. Now that were clean and clear on that, i like the idea sawing off a couple of feet on the bottom and attaching on top of cinder block fire box. Any other suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Braz]

But I think the average visitor to your home would find it highly unappetizing. And if you don't "advertise" the fact it was once an outhouse, but that reality slowly dawned on them, I think it could make for a very unpleasant exchange.

The thread title indicates it is a "new" outhouse.

 

[Chef Rocks]

The thread title indicates it is a "new" outhouse.

It was never intended to be used as an outhouse, but i can see how people might think otherwise. I think with all the alternations needed to convert it to a smoker. One may never speculate.

 

[Steve H]

Thanks for your reply Bill, the outhouse is and always was a lawn orgiment used as a small storage shed. Now that were clean and clear on that, i like the idea sawing off a couple of feet on the bottom and attaching on top of cinder block fire box. Any other suggestions are appreciated.

I was hoping you'd "clear the smoke" On whether it was used or not! I think it is a neat idea!

 

[Hawging It]

As a young boy, I spent a month every summer with my great grandmother at her house in Ferriday, Louisiana. (Home town of Jerry Lee Lewis) She had a big ole farm house with no bathroom. Even though I was a young boy the first time I had to go to the outhouse, I still remember the smell. As I write this, I can vividly remember the smell of the old outhouse. I don't know if the smoke would ever get the smell out of the virgin pine walls of granny's outhouse . Interesting concept though.

 

[bill1]

I think I should get an award for most creative misunderstanding of a blog post. :-)
I saw the word "new" and figured any truly new outhouse was made of fiberglass so since ChefRocks defined it as pine, it had to be just "new to you". And so I proceeded to "work with you Brother" because no one likes to hear their ideas shot down all at once and I figured there was plenty of poopy talk bound to come in this thread. But now that you have 3 posts under your belt we can stop treating you nice! :-)
I too recall the smell of actual outhouses but believe most of that stench was coming from the hole in the ground, not the wood of the walls.

 

[bill1]

...Now that were clean and clear on that...

Ah, but it has the little moon in the upper part of the door, just as I imagined it! Dreams really do come true!
Seriously, the door fit indicates the thing has probably shifted a bit on it's current "foundation" so a level cinder block base should help that out.
Existing shingles will get warm and soft in use but I doubt they'll outgas much. You may want to ensure the inner roof is continuous and not just lathes.
And you probably want to verify there's no moss or mold/mildew on the inner side and back walls, esp down low. That might give an odor as hard to remove as....never mind.

 

[ga/smoker]

Like this? I have thought about putting a moon on the door

 

[JLeonard]

I love the idea. I have a Masterbuilt Gashouse vault smoker and when I get my forever home I want to built a "smokehouse" around it much like what your thinking of doing. I'll be watching to see what you do.
Jim

 

[gmc2003]

I'd leave the seat in it - just for $hit$ and giggles.

Chris

 

[bill1]

Like this? I have thought about putting a moon on the door

Why not try a little masonite or plywood cutout of a moon and see how folks react? Easier to undo than a cutout.

 

[ga/smoker]

Why not try a little masonite or plywood cutout of a moon and see how folks react? Easier to undo than a cutout.

I was going to use some of the leftover food-grade aluminum I lined it with actually