Portable Sanitation Association International

PSAI Association Insight, September 1, 2021 I 5 (continued on page 6) • Even painted, the wood, especially on the inside of the unit could get wet and weaken. Replacing sections of wood was a very common maintenance task. • Molecules containing waste were easily absorbed within the grains of the wood, making odor control inside the units more challenging as time went by. • Splinters could form on the units causing discomfort. Sanding was another common repair. • The tanks, usually about one-third of a 55-gallon drum, had to be coated with paint or stain to prevent rust. • Ventilation was also a challenge. Some units had screens—located either at the top of the unit or near the bottom—while others had none. Vent stacks from the tank to the roof were non-existent in most of the early wood units. In spite of the conditions and hardships listed above, these units provided the highest level of sanitation the public had ever experienced in the environments where portable sanitation is common today. The ad from Pacific Sanitary Company is an excellent example of the quality and high level of service early operators—the trailblazers for our industry—provided. Pride in the workmanship of the units and pride in customer service allowed the industry to grow and to expand. As the 1960s began, wooden units were more and more commonplace on both construction sites and at events around the United States. In Their Own Words Several operator trailblazers in the portable sanitation industry shared their thoughts and experiences with wooden restrooms. They include: Wooden Portable Restroom Units – A Long History (continued from page 4) • Mitch Weiner, recipient of the Andy Gump Award in 2015, from Mr. John/ Russell Reid in New Jersey • Jeff Wolfarth, PSAI President in 2008-09, with Mr. John of Pittsburgh • Elton Tamplin, a 42-year industry veteran, currently with PolyJohn and formerly with Chem Can Portable Toilets in Arlington, Texas. Mitch Weiner "The Mr. John Co. of New Jersey was started in April of 1964. The business was founded by my father, Mort Weiner. After deciding to enter the glamorous world of portable toilets he consulted with the local experts and engaged the services of a master carpenter to help design and build a wooden portable toilet that would look good, efficiently use the materials (no waste wood!), and fit side by side on a truck. The units used a 55-gallon steel drum as the holding tank and a urinal fabricated by a local sheet metal shop. The toilets were painted a dark red color listed in the ConLux catalog as "Oxide Red Enamel." It was determined the dark red color would not easily show dirt, plus the existing competitor in the market, Port-a-San had dark green units. As a child of about nine or ten I remember going to the shop with my dad to "build" units on Saturdays. He would purchase lumber to build 20 units at a time. The lumber yard would deliver 4"X4"s, 2"X3"s, ½"sheets of plywood, hinges, barrel locks, rolls of screen, staples, carriage bolts, nails, vent stacks and screws. My dad built a lumber cutting station with jigs to accurately cut the 4"X4"s, 2"X3"s and plywood sheets. The units were built 10 at a time, two rows of five, from stacks of precut lumber in an assembly line process. The last step was paint. In the beginning, it was a roller and brush. After the first couple of hundred units, they learned about airless spraying and had a giant leap in productivity. In the early years of the business, wood units were the only choice for a toilet operator. The wood units had all sorts of problems especially as they aged. They were heavy, difficult to handle, [and] the steel tanks leaked after a few years (in NJ we used rock salt in the winter). [They] needed a repaint after most jobs ended to control the odor. The Mr. John Company probably built about 2,500 units in-house. As the industry started to mature and become recognized, vendors emerged with new technologies to solve the problems operators had with wood toilets; fiberglass and poly. But that's another story."

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