# Inexpensive plywood.



## Spookkid (Dec 27, 2005)

What is the least expensive kind of plywood? Thanks.


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## hawkchucker (Oct 5, 2007)

Lowes has 3/8 sheathing for 12.00 a sheet. Because it is so thin you can back this up with 1 by 2 to make it stiffer for free standing.

What are you using it for?


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## Spookkid (Dec 27, 2005)

Walls, for a haunted house...


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## hawkchucker (Oct 5, 2007)

Well that is the cheapest way then with wood, but have you thought of using a simle 1 by 2 frame and getting some cheap sheets from wallyworld or salvation army, or even freecycle, and painting them and streatching them over the frame?

Could be cheaper and lighter.


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## HalloweenRick (Nov 25, 2005)

7/16 OSB (Oriented Strand Board) 4x8 sheets for $6.69 a sheet. Its the stuff that looks like little chips glued together.


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## Spookkid (Dec 27, 2005)

HalloweenRick said:


> 7/16 OSB (Oriented Strand Board) 4x8 sheets for $6.69 a sheet. Its the stuff that looks like little chips glued together.


Do they sell it at home depot?


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## Abunai (Oct 28, 2007)

Spookkid said:


> Do they sell it at home depot?


Yes, Home Depot sells it.

We built panels for our Halloween Maze using these OSB panels and 2x4s for frames. The frames were held together with bolts.


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## DarkShadows (Feb 6, 2006)

I would suggest not using that OSB board. I have it used for the back wall in the haunt and it chips really bad. Home depot sells this stuff, I got for 6.98 - 8 dollars a sheet. It's 4 x 8, and I used it for the rest of the walls in the haunt. It held up very well with the 1200 people we got.


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## Front Yard Fright (Dec 23, 2005)

OSB should be fine if you're inside.
If not, I suggest plywood. I found plywood for 10 bucks a sheet at Menards, It's really thin, but it worked just fine.
And I would suggest building your frames out of either 2x4s or 2x3s.
If any smaller, you might have a problem screwing them together and they may be more likely to fall over if someone bumps into them.
Good luck!
.


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## CreepyCanmore (Mar 27, 2007)

I have used thick cardboard painted black in areas that I don't suspect people will be bumping into. If your haunt is dark, you won't be able to tell the difference (if it's painted black). Best part is that it's free from recycling depots and you can put back when you're done. It helps keep the cost down from all wood.


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## buggybuilder (Jan 23, 2007)

We built our entire Haunt with 7/16 OSB....no problems here. We used 2x3's for the frame as to keep them somewhat light. We don;t have the luxury of leaving our Haunt up all year so we have to lug the over 100 walls our House uses to the site and back home every year....yeah it chips easier, but it adds to the effect. We also had alot of rain this year and our ticket booth was drenched on several occasions and it was made from the same OSB and it is still in decent shape....just my .02........


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## CreepyCanmore (Mar 27, 2007)

If I have to buy more panels this year, I think I'll go with the 7/16 OSB as I agree with Buggybuilder (nice art on the front page of your website by the way)


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## The Haunter (Apr 7, 2007)

How about paneling i talked to my lumberyard about it and they said they could get factory thirds for 1.50 to 3.00 a sheet.


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## CreepyCanmore (Mar 27, 2007)

Funny you should mention that. I have sent my minions out to see if they could find cheap paneling as it's light and easy to store. I'll likely use the OSB unless I find some cheap stuff like you mentioned. And seconds sound great as you'll paint it anyways.


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

I built a band stage out of OSB and no one went through it lol so it seems like it would be plenty strong... I mean it's used for sub floors, and the pro prop shop I worked in over the summer used it as main flooring in an elevator prop that was designed to hold like 20 people. What you want to watch out for is when you're moving the sheets around... don't let the weight rest on the floor on one corner and drag or rotate the sheet around, the stuff will crumble apart when you stress it like that.

I had heard on another (pro) haunt board that it's a fire hazard... I went websearching for info on that and it turns out to be no more flammable than plywood, it just doesn't hold up as well because it has a shorter burn-through time (the chips come apart sooner than the plywood layers). Remember... only YOU can prevent haunt fires.


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## The Haunter (Apr 7, 2007)

we have a lumber yard that sells seconds anyway so he has the hookup


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