# Where To Start



## merebel (Oct 22, 2013)

Simple but not simple in many ways i see from reading.
Where do I start and best way or order to do in?

Info 
Noob to this but not to building and such.
Location Maine
Can be very cold and anything from snow to rain. lol
Yard is open yard facing main road and side street.
Size is about 100 X 100 (but don't want too use that much)
Fairly level area where I would like to setup all grass too.

My idea (and working with family)
a small haunt with an idea of this 
2 10x20 portable garages for the roof and such.
sides i was thinking of some sort of easy setup solid walls.
which could be painted etc for more effect
and a facade of some sort for neat looks and appeal.
also looking to add like outside graveyard for visual effect as well

everything will have to face the roads in one way or the other.

most likely a walk through with a guide. and two rooms with that size.
more for fun for us and some scares for people.

with all the info that is out there not sure as what steps to follow from a-z

Thanks
Keith


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

It sounds like a graveyard scene would do well for you.
First, I'd look at where you want your room(s), then figure out where you want your ingress and egress locations to be. For this, you will need to consider how you will make your solid walls, and where you want the path to go, it can be as straight or convoluted as you want. Keep in mind that you can have walls within the room(s) too. Even if it's something like a crypt that will act as a hiding place, or simply to block the view of one section of the haunt from another. I'm not sure how far/close the roof canvas comes to the horizontal bars, that differs from "garage" to "garage" If it gives a smooth, solid roof from edge to edge, then you need to make sure your solid walls can tuck up inside of them. This keeps you from having rain, etc. from creeping in along the top edges.
If you can put your doors anywhere, then I'd look to see where you can safely have lines of people waiting to go through. I'd build two columns for each doorway, and maybe matching facades for the corners, then maybe do a PVC "Wrought Iron fence" with ivy to hide the solid walls, this helps keep curious hands and eyes from going places they shouldn't be, and helps you to set your scene's mood.
Walk through your room(s) footprint/space, and see how and where you can put props or people. Make sure you have room for a couple of people walking side by side, and if you want the walkway fenced in, include space for the fence too. Build your props with durability, storability, and versatility (for future use) in mind, and go at it.


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## Shier Terror (Jul 17, 2009)

I would start with just a static display first. Build the graveyard first so that it is ready to go even if you don't get the haunt done.

Next, I would get some graph paper and sketch out your haunt. That will give you an idea how many walls you will need to build. 

I'd start small with the build and get the minimum needed to get it going. You can get a good idea of what works and what doesn't and add bigger/better props later.

Also, I don't know where you will be storing everything, but that should also be a consideration. I have a storage shed and I'm building my haunt from the outside-in. That way when I finish building the outside facade, I put it in the shed, then work on the inside. When setup time comes, I pull everything out and build from the inside-out.

Don't forget about lighting and electrical. Make sure your circuit breakers can handle the added power.


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## MotelSixx (Sep 27, 2008)

When I started out I started with just a graveyard. Even today the first thing I put up is fence then gravestones. I could / can and still do add more to the walkthrough and walled areas. But without the graveyard, my guests would see a stone looking wall with some skeleton . Consider it like a piece of property, you have a house that doesn't need a garage, but a garage with no house is out of place.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Shier Terror said:


> I would start with just a static display first. Build the graveyard first so that it is ready to go even if you don't get the haunt done.
> 
> Next, I would get some graph paper and sketch out your haunt. That will give you an idea how many walls you will need to build.
> 
> ...


There's a problem with building from the inside out when you are dealing with canopies. You need to be able to move around to get the canopy frame and canvas set up, and that is typically done over/in the space it will finally occupy. If you set up your inside stuff first, it means you have to climb over or around your props, thus risking damage or injury to you and or your props. Making sure you can store what you are building is very good advice.


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