# Skin the house?



## GrimleeFeindish (Jan 23, 2009)

Ok, need some ideas, this wont be easy and I am not sure that it can be done really. What I want to do is create a fascia or 'skin' for my house, its just too damn cheery looking and I want to give it an old haunted look. I dont want to create any permanent damage to the house, what with the wife and all I dont think that would fly, so it has to be a temporary thing that can be taken down.

I dont think its possible to do what I really want but just curious if anyone has done this, what I was thinking was that I would somehow use foam board, made to look like old wood over the faux wood stuff that covers my house (see my gallery for pic of house). The problem is how to fix the boards to the house without F-ing up the paint and without putting tons of holes in the boards. 

This project is probably too expensive, impossible and would create a problem with storage, I guess its just on my dream prop list. Any comments would help and are greatly appreciated, I dont expect to actually be able to do this, but you never know. Has anyone else done anything similar? Maybe just adding some gothic/victorian architectural elements to the house would be a good way to go.


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## Allen H (Feb 13, 2010)

You have several practical options
#1 make foam panels the way you want them to look that go in front of the house, simple and fairly easy, they can bolt and wing nut together like theater flats and if you slot them then they can be held against the house with ratchet straps
#2 You could nuy a roll of tyvek and unroll it around the house stapling it on up top and securing the bottom with a furring strip and scenic paint the hous the way you want it to look, then roll it up and store it for next year, its pretty durable stuff
#3 and possibly the cheapest- project the way you want yoyur house to look onto it, take a photo from where the projector will go (possibly hidden inside of a pillar) and adjust the picture in photoshop to be as dingy/ destroyed as you want you could do "zones" so you didnt need a super powered projector, instead you could use three smaller ones. with a bit of work you could even animate something on it like crawling roaches or gremlins or a flying bat ocassionally


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## GrimleeFeindish (Jan 23, 2009)

Damn Allen, thats what Im talking about, Thanks man. sounds good, it actually might be do-able. One quick question, where do you live and what kind of beer do you drink? Im not sure I am picturing how the ratchet straps would be secured to the house. Can you explain option number one a little more, what do you mean 'slot' them? 

Option 2 sounds very practical and could be really convincing. The tyvek sounds like a good idea ( i had to look up what it is), I just would have to staple it to the house though, that might be a problem, but I might be able to do that cheaper than buying all that foam board, plus the board would be a pain in the ass to store, expensive, and breaks easy. I know that from making boards for my windows, its pretty flimsy. Sorry for all the questions, this is good though, and the idea of crawling roaches on the house is too freaking sweet. 

I really was in a post halloween malaise until recently, I was just going to not even think about Halloween until well after Christmas, thanks dude. I got the idea from looking at Darkrose Manor, they have the lower half of their house made to look like a witches shack, by using pallets. It really gives it a cool look because it no longer looks like a regular house with stuff in the front yard, it looks like a real witches shack.

Thanks again, I knew I should have been in theater back in the day...


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## robp790 (Jan 8, 2008)

I saw them do wide format banner printing on HGTV Halloween block party, it looked really cool. Until I found out the price its like $600 a 8'X12' panel and they did three panels do like like an old church. I too place this on the dream list.

Building Tyvek house wrap and a projector? What a novel thought...


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## Allen H (Feb 13, 2010)

you would frame out the wall panel the same way you would if it were a plywood wall panel, but instead of plywood you use blue foam board (its available 3/4 of an inch thick). and use 2x4s on edge to frame the panel (normally i use 2x2). 
The 2x4s on edge can have a slot cut in them that the straps can be put through, that way the ratchet straps can hold the panels against the house with fewer attachment points than attaching each panel to the house, you can even pad between the house and panels with funoodles so no marks are left.
If you go with option 2 then seecure just a few boards to the house and staple to them, If you keep the tyvek tight then you should only need a few.


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## Allen H (Feb 13, 2010)

I used tyvek to make my movie theater screen the year I my trail was all black and white, It worked great, the guests were shocked when they walked through it and when monsters jumped through slits in the screen.


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## Allen H (Feb 13, 2010)

And Grimlee...
Im in Dallas TX, and Im more of a Mike's hard lemonade kinda guy lol.


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## Dead Things (Apr 4, 2009)

this guy lives in a city i visit for work. He had an ad up in a Halloween store so I went by and it was a bungalow, went back the next week and he had a freaking two story castle. I talked to him and it is just OSB, painted to look like stone
http://saskatoonhalloweenhouse.blogspot.com/
The city is Saskatoon (we have some strenge place names here)


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## GrimleeFeindish (Jan 23, 2009)

Thanks for the help guys, lots of good stuff to ponder. Here is a link to a cool fascade.

http://www.thehorrordome.com/haunted-ghost-house-animated-haunted-house-facade.aspx


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

I'm still not able to post pics of what I do. I wrap everything but the body of my house in burlap or matte black plastic (roll of plastic tablecloth). Columns. porch skirting, side of steps, railings. To make the porch gloomier, I block incoming side light with fabric. Yes, I use staples, but I staple everything to the undersides of my porch decking, railings & columns. I would love to to OSB and hide the body of the house, but I have neither the $$ or the balance to put it up. I'd fall off the roof.


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## pagan (Sep 9, 2009)

I have seen double sided stick-um used for hanging removable 3m hooks. It holds well and comes off without damaging paint. You could use that to stick up 1/2" foam that you have painted/carved... Don't know what the cost would be.


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Those 3M hooks, while being a pricey investment, at least can be reused with new tape each year. The problem I've found with those is that you need to buy such big hooks to carry larger loads...the bigger the hook, the more it projects out from the surface, which isn't a good thing when you want to lash a flat surface/panel over the top of it. I find the hooks don't have a lot of resistence to side-to-side shearing in the wind, either (when a panel is lashed to it). Plus, since it's a hook and not a closed loop, it's hard to keep whatever you have tied to it from just slipping up & off the hook in the wind. (I tried hanging very lightweight shutters from the hooks..no go.). And if you are adhering them to siding on the house, the siding has to be very clean. They won't adhere to self-cleaning old aluminum siding or powdery paint. You need to watch the weight limits they can hold and somehow pad your item from flopping back & forth in the wind. I LOVE my hooks for lighter weight duty..I use clear, small hooks that I leave up year round for holding up Ween fabric panels & then Xmas lights. They also have velcro picture hanger tapes that lay flat against each other.Target usually puts a large supply of 3M hooks on clearance in post-school-supply sales. I've also seen them after Christmas VERY cheaply..they are the dark green wreath hanger ones, which I think hold 5 pounds.


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