Houses were not built with bathroom facilities until the late Victorian era. If there was a toilet room, it would be more convenient and less stinky to locate it in the garden, where waste disposal (typically by council-run dung carts) would be easier to handle. The house needs to be at least 50 years old for it to be considered an "old house." The term "outhouse" is still used today to describe a structure for providing relief to people who live in remote areas without nearby bathrooms. The original outhouses were simply holes in the ground with a cover over them. Today's outhouses can be as simple or sophisticated as you want to make them. Some even have lights and heaters attached to keep your toes warm in the winter and your hands cool in the summer. Not all old houses have these outdoor toilets. Many early American homes had indoor plumbing with no separate room for storing urine or feces. Instead, they disposed of their waste by burying it in backyard pits called "night soils." These practices ended up giving rise to words like "indoor" and "outdoor" furniture. So, toilets weren't easy to come by back then, and if you wanted one you'd better like the idea of doing your business outdoors!