# Help/idea 2012 outside haunted house wall



## samhayne (Jul 3, 2008)

Now that Halloween 2011 is over i need to start planning my 2012 season.
Next year i want to go from frontyard display to walkthrough haunted house.

The plan is to keep my front yard display and to do the haunted house in my backyard. Kid would go in the garage and exit through backdoor to gain access to the haunted house in the backyard.

My back yard is 45 wide by 36 deep. The only obstacle i have is a 12X12 shed in a corner. 

I really need your idea and opinion on what wall system would be the fit for outside. The only idea i came up with is 44 or so pannels (2x3 frame with plywood pannel (8X4) )but it would take a lot of space to store +expensive +heavy.

Also, what would be the minimum width of the corridors ?

Thanks for your help and suggestion.


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## stick (Jan 21, 2009)

The corridors should be at least 48" for a wheelchair by Government standards I do think.


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## hauntedyardofdoom (Nov 6, 2008)

I don't think he has to worry about government standards for a home haunt. I use two by fours and black plastic for my walk through. Easy enough to store, but I do end up doing repairs a few times a night because it's not as sturdy (get a few people getting scared through a plastic wall every year). But repairs are easy - a staple here or a screw there and it's good to go.


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## walterb (Jul 27, 2010)

2x3 walls with 1x3 top piece and black plastic works indoor. Outdoor wind conditions can require cardboard to avoid damage


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

I think that part of your equation for hall width needs to be what will be in your haunt. Narrow halls are great for isolating TOTs but they tend to get more abuse by them too. They also limit what you put in or move through them while building and operating your haunt. You don't have to keep your hall width consistent either, building rooms, hiding holes, etc., allows you to keep some variety and also means less walls (and materials) than just building it like a Labyrinth. You need to be able to control the crowd within your haunt, and do it with the personnel you have.
If you are building walls you want people to touch then do narrow walkways/halls, if they aren't supposed to touch them then make them wider. If the halls are not lit then people tend to put one or both hands on the walls to guide them, if the walls are fragile then you are just begging for problems, if the halls are narrow too then they (the walls) will live a fairly short life.
Will there be a roof/ceiling on the haunt or will it be open air?
Will this be on dirt, grass, cement, or...?
I know it's a lot to think about, but you are going at this the right way, thinking it out early lets you eliminate the issues before they can cause you problems.


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## Vlad (Aug 2, 2005)

Hi Sam. Indeed thinking it through first is the best thing you could do. 
The first thing I can tell you, is that once you go walk through vs display you can never go back, lol. The people won't let you and it's a more intense experience as a haunter than you'll believe till you do it. I warned my good friend Joiseygal, and now she's crazy hooked on it also.
Having said that, keep in mind the first three rules of building a walk through. Safety safety and safety. 
The walls have to be sturdy enough to stand up against a big guy or crowd in a panic. Through the hole in the actors room this year I saw a group of four teen girls locked arm in arm ram and then fall against the tunnel entrance, black light room intersection. The whole structure shook, foam or plastic, or unsupported walls would have given way. In this case the tunnel frame had pipe supports hammered deep into the ground.
I don't do plastic walls. I'm making a haunt, not a TOTer laminating machine, lol. I still think of the great adventure fires here in the 70s that killed 6 or 7. And I have many full size extinguishers on hand just in case anyway. When you build, think to yourself, can I get into the heart of it and back out if there's fire, or no light, or trouble? If the answer is no, then rethink the design. I also go with wheelchair and gurney width hallways. Not only in case of trouble, but I've had people in full leg casts go through in wheelchairs.
Do you have to think about building standards? Oh hell yes you better. Every year home haunts get shut down because of safety reasons. I'm not setting it all up just to have some inspector show up out of the blue and close me down Halloween night.
I use 2x4 framing throughout, and on the bottom board I drill through and hammer threaded rod into the ground and bolt them down tight. Also your wall designs will dictate what you can do in the way of power and lighting out there. You should have any house current on ground fault circuits. Think it all through first and enjoy, it's a blast.


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## stagehand1975 (Feb 22, 2010)

I would incorporate the shed into the setup, even if you don't use the inside of it. I wouldn't use plastic or cardboard. Build a few fee kinds of wall panels. Panels made with 2 x4s, and other panels made with 2x3s, and a few 2 ft by 8ft panels made with 2x3 laid flat. Use plywood for all panels.

There are of few articles somewhere about building rooms and halls in a triangular shape and it becomes self supporting. It was written to also save space and material. It had a name and I don't remember where I saw it.


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## BrotherMysterio (Nov 25, 2011)

stick said:


> The corridors should be at least 48" for a wheelchair by Government standards I do think.


Technically, I think 36" is the minimum. Your usual triangular grid system, using 4'x8' wall panels, renders 42" (3.5') halls.

Btw, either 2x3's or 2x4's should work if you lay them flat instead of on end when you frame out the wall panels. Then your panels are only 2.5" thick, vs. 4.5" thick. At 44 panels, that's just over 4'x8'x9' in cubic feet of storage. Not bad for what is a good sized haunt. You can also make use of large graveyard scenes and whatnot to cut down on needed panels.

There is one guy in Sachse who does an excellent Home Haunt in his drive way each year. People enter and exact from the same area, making their way to the back thru his side gate, which he also utilizes.

You might not want to make full wall plywood wall panels, but perhaps go halfway, utilizing cardboard in some instances.

More later.

BM


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## Bascombe (May 18, 2010)

First of all, the shed would make a great mausoleum.

Second, why not build theatre flats instead of 2X4 walls with 3/4" plywood.

Hard flats use 1X3 pine and 3/16" Luan. They are about three times lighter, more than half the price (probably more like a third the price), sturdy, workable, durable, and you can screw them together at 90 degrees so you don't have to brace them. They triangulate themselves. If they are going outside, which you say they are, you will need to seal them and waterproof proof them no matter what you build it out of. Here's a link to a guy from Canada demonstrating how to build the flat. It's really quite good. I've built more of these than I can remember in my career. If my walls have to get set up and taken down and stored alot, I substitute screws for staples, especially on the skin.


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## Drago (Sep 5, 2011)

Using the 1x3" pine (in video) it's gonna get costly compare to using 1x3" finger jointed.


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## Bascombe (May 18, 2010)

Not nearly as costly as using 2x3 as a frame which is what Samhayne is contemplating.


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## Haunted Spider (Sep 6, 2010)

I agree with Vlad that plastic is a no no unless you buy the fireproof kind which they make but is pricey. As well the wind will tear it apart more times than not and drive you up a wall. 

As for the panels, luan board will be more expensive than 5/16th plywood which is all you need for walls. You will find that on sale at lowes/ home depot for less than 6 dollars a sheet at times. Back it with whatever supports you want weather 2x4s or 1x3s. it is your call. 

Also, to save some room but make an awesome addition to the maze, create a spiderweb section of the walkthrough. Frame in panels out of 2x4s and tie 1/4 nylon in a web between the panels. This makes a see throug section of the maze you can't get through fast. At the end of the season, just take the frame apart and lay it flat. 

Good luck with the home haunt. The only other thing I would suggest is talk to your city inspector about your plan or you may find yourself shut down before you know it. If you give them a heads up, they will tell you what codes you need to follow and which fire marshal to touch base with.


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## psyko99 (Jan 11, 2008)

Bascombe said:


> Second, why not build theatre flats instead of 2X4 walls with 3/4" plywood.


I would also recommend theatre flats (having built a ton myself). The ones he is building in the video are considered Hollywood flats, with the 1x3 on edge. you can also build Broadway flats which are built with the 1x3's flat. They can also be skinned with muslin or canvass and painted. The one good thing about Broadway flats is that they take up less space for storage.

We've also built what we call "speed flats" using 1x3 furring strips overlapping the rails onto the stiles then stapling landscape fabric along the stiles.


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Can't you build flats the old fashioned way with canvas??


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## Bascombe (May 18, 2010)

Oh yeah, you can still build the old muslin flats. They're not durable outside though. They are also not durable with people who haven't been directed. In otherwords some patron walking through your haunt could more easily vandalize a muslin flat than a hard flat. Muslin flats would work if they were only near your people as backgrounds, not the public.


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## BrotherMysterio (Nov 25, 2011)

Bascombe said:


> Oh yeah, you can still build the old muslin flats. They're not durable outside though. They are also not durable with people who haven't been directed. In otherwords some patron walking through your haunt could more easily vandalize a muslin flat than a hard flat. Muslin flats would work if they were only near your people as backgrounds, not the public.


Which begs the question, "how many vandalistic, pyromaniacal, knuckleheaded punks do you have in your neighborhood?"


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## psyko99 (Jan 11, 2008)

I've also used recycled paneling to skin flats. Just put the smooth face out.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

BrotherMysterio said:


> Which begs the question, "how many vandalistic, pyromaniacal, knuckleheaded punks do you have in your neighborhood?"


One of the big problems is that if your haunt is good, you will attract more and more of them.

Something to keep in mind for a walkthrough compared to a display is that the walkthrough takes a whole lot more staff to man and protect it, and if you are going to have both the display and the walk through then it's two areas you have to protect from the crowds. I'm not trying to scare you away from doing one, but you need to be realistic in what the demands will be, and as it was stated earlier, it's hard to go back to just having a display once you've done a walkthrough.

Something we've used in several pro haunts is scaffolding for creating support for walls, buildings/rooms. We've used a mix of door skins, gatorboard, and alumalite or Dbond panels to cover most of the exterior on them. Using nylon wire ties let us fasten panels or sections of walls easily. We used the more durable materials where the walls were within reach, then went to the lighter materials when they were out of physical reach. Scaffolding can be rented by the week, month, etc. for not a huge amount of money, and someone else gets to store it in the off season.
The exterior panels can be painted to look like anything.


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## walterb (Jul 27, 2010)

Let me suggest u do the haunt in your garage. I almost lost a year when I did the walk thru outside do to wind. Rain can cause the same problem, or this year snow.


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## BrotherMysterio (Nov 25, 2011)

fontgeek said:


> One of the big problems is that if your haunt is good, you will attract more and more of them.
> 
> Something to keep in mind for a walkthrough compared to a display is that the walkthrough takes a whole lot more staff to man and protect it, and if you are going to have both the display and the walk through then it's two areas you have to protect from the crowds.


A walkthrough display that can be easily monitored, perhaps?


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Monitored is great, but you have to be able to have people (your people) on the spot in a second or two if or when the emergency happens (fights, taggers, wind or weather issues, panicky people tearing down walls, curious and destructive kids, etc.), and that's on top of the people being able to get to your display. You can't be in both places at the same time.
Whatever you think you will need in numbers of workers, double it. People flake out, get sick, bored, car breakdowns, family emergencies, etc. And people need to take a break once in a while too.


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## walterb (Jul 27, 2010)

Just make it a guided walk thru tour, then you only need one person to man the queue and one for the tour


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## BrotherMysterio (Nov 25, 2011)

walterb said:


> Just make it a guided walk thru tour, then you only need one person to man the queue and one for the tour


Good call.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

That's typically true if your group is only four or five people, and they are well behaved, however,if and when your group straggles or splits up you are in trouble. And if your tour is more than a few minutes long then you end up with frustrated crowds waiting, and it only gets worse as time goes on. Have at least three people who can act as guides and or chaisers. That gives you a way for a person to take a break and still leave your show covered for personnel. IF your tour is more than two minutes you need to double the numbers.


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## walterb (Jul 27, 2010)

I only take three at a time now. We have a script and the props are remote triggered as I walk the people thru. Nobody wants to run off or they will miss the next prop. I used to do larger groups, but I found that only half of them could see the scares in action, so now the group is four including me. We have a small neighborhood (only 75 houses) so the line is never long. You could do two tour guides if u used pir's to trigger things. We have about 60 separate effects so timing is important. We use 3 to 4 foot walkways with vizqueen walls. I think the vizqueen is safer if u really need to get out. If u use wood walls u r forced thru the maze which is bad if there is a fire.


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## EverydayisHalloween311 (Oct 14, 2011)

These are all good idea's.


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## samhayne (Jul 3, 2008)

Wow, thanks a lot everyone for all the great suggestions.
I will have a serious look it and come back with a plan.

Thanks again


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## halloweenfan5 (Aug 29, 2012)

samhayne said:


> Wow, thanks a lot everyone for all the great suggestions.
> I will have a serious look it and come back with a plan.


Hey Samhayne: Any update on the plans? I plan on adding an outdoor maze to our two floor haunt in Niagara Falls, NY this fall. I have been hunting and hunting on the best way to do this. So many people warn not to use pallets to make the walls but I plan on totally blowing off this advice and going for it!! HAHA!! We have a budget of exactly $0.00 (okay maybe a little better than that, but you know what i'm saying) - so free pallets sounds like it will fit the bill.

I will do my best to document how we put this together for future generations of haunters. There seems to be a lot of discussion about this but not a lot of detail. Hopefully I can put together a how-to on it. By screwing the sections together with long nails and also cross bracing the top often, I think it will work well. We need something cheep and durable because its going to be huge. Pray to the monster gods for me because my crew and I are in over our head on this one (once again).

Like someone said on here previously - once you go with a walk-through haunt, you can never ever go back.

I'd love you hear more of your plans now that we're getting down to D-Day (decorate day?) - message me if you'd like. Happy Haunting!! :jol:


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## samhayne (Jul 3, 2008)

Sorry HF, havent been around for a while.

I had to pass on the walkthrough for this year. less free time with kids now.
This year we just went for normal addition to our display.

I should go full blown in a couple of year. in the mean time i would love to know how it turn out on your side. I saw a video ( like 60) of a haunt that use pallet on youtube. it look great. 

Me i was planning on using 2X3 framing with plywood (not the actual plywood but the one with glued wood chip - sorry i dont know the english word for it).


Happy haunting too you as well.!!


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## samhayne (Jul 3, 2008)

BTW - every year home depot sponsor me for like 250.00 - so for the second year in a row i got 10 sheet. I use them in my display but i built them in 8X4 section that i will e able use later in my walkT. Maybe you can look at that avenue.

THX


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