# Making a haunted garage. Need tips, advice.



## EverydayisHalloween311 (Oct 14, 2011)

First let me say Hi! I'm a noob. Second let me say i have seen some really cool idea's thanks to this awesome forum. I was wondering if anyone that has experience/knowledge in building a haunt out of your garage could give me some pointers. This year i got some 3.5 mil black sheeting, lots of 2x4's and made a maze in my garage. My garage is a small one car but it ended up being a decent maze that i think kids and adults could enjoy. I'll be honest i'm not sure what kind of advice i am looking for haha but i figured i would ask. Does the sheeting usually get ripped easily? What kind of lighting works best? What would be a better way, while staying within a cheap budget, to make the walls sturdier. I'm also gonna post pictures here. One cool prop i made was a dummy wrapped in spiderweb hanging upside down then spray painted pink like a cotton candy pod person (I have a few scary clowns in my haunt) Anyway thanks for any advice on a garage build. Also what's a good way to advertise it or should i just see if people show up. I live in a really small town so we only have a few hundred trick r treaters or so.


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## Yeeha (Oct 19, 2010)

We do a yard haunt and the only advertisement has been word of mouth. Our community is pretty small but each year we get more and more ToT'ers (160 last yr). We have never done a maze so I can't help you there. Good luck and enjoy the forum!


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## jamesd7 (Sep 21, 2011)

Hey,

I have done a garage/yard haunt for the past 5 years & have grown every year, first year started with one tent & now we do the patio, 2 tents, 2 hallways & the garage.

The plastic sheeting is very easy to tear if pulled on (especially with a low mil) best advice to keep it strongest is to double layer the ends where it will be stapled to the 2x4's so that it's going through 2 layers and wont rip through as easily.

I haven't done any advertising besides people that spread the word and come back each year.

over everything just have fun!

good luck.


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## EverydayisHalloween311 (Oct 14, 2011)

Very cool. Thanks for the replies. James would suggest using osb board or something or just sticking with the stronger mil plastic/layered where it's stapled? And if you have any pictures of your garage haunt would love to see em. I enjoy seeing what others have done.


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## TRICKorTERROR311 (Oct 14, 2011)

Our first year is going to be pretty fun indeed! I hope everyone comes out to "trick or terror" in our town!


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## jamesd7 (Sep 21, 2011)

EverydayisHalloween311 said:


> Very cool. Thanks for the replies. James would suggest using osb board or something or just sticking with the stronger mil plastic/layered where it's stapled? And if you have any pictures of your garage haunt would love to see em. I enjoy seeing what others have done.


Yeah I also used OSB (the thicker kind, pretty sure 7/16th's because the thin one is useless) and a combination of black paper, the OSB is obviously alot sturdier but cost's about 7x's as much, so really its all up to your budget and space.


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## jamesd7 (Sep 21, 2011)

Also,

I'll try and get some pic's done tomorrow, the wind is crazy today and my camera probably wouldn't even stay still on the tri-pod.


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## EverydayisHalloween311 (Oct 14, 2011)

Cool. Thanks James. Yeah the wind has been hectic here too. I've also found in my area Home depot seems to be a bit cheaper than Lowes when it comes to purchasing wood. I got 2x4's for 1.85. I'll see how this year goes with just using the black sheeting but i'm already planning next year to make my haunt bigger and sturdier with osb boards


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## jamesd7 (Sep 21, 2011)

EverydayisHalloween311 said:


> Cool. Thanks James. Yeah the wind has been hectic here too. I've also found in my area Home depot seems to be a bit cheaper than Lowes when it comes to purchasing wood. I got 2x4's for 1.85. I'll see how this year goes with just using the black sheeting but i'm already planning next year to make my haunt bigger and sturdier with osb boards


Yeah that sounds pretty good, mine were $1.97 this year, but man that wind was horrible today, blew a bunch of stuff around but all the outdoor plastic held up so I guess the technique is working out somewhat well.

Gotta get those pictures this weekend !


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## melanie (Aug 28, 2010)

hey 
i also had a single car garage didnt do a maze but i made a alien autopsy room complete with old xrays and a heart machine scared the s!!!! out of the t&t lol


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## jamesd7 (Sep 21, 2011)

Ok I finally got some quick pictures,

Here is the entrance way, minus the sign up top that is being finished.









A up-close shot of the warning sign









The outside patio structure & cornstalk row, half of the tent & hallway.









The swamp room / work space as you can see.









Theres a lot more to show I didn't want to post too much in this thread, I'll post the full haunt when completed and lit.

-James


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## EverydayisHalloween311 (Oct 14, 2011)

Right on James. Looking good!


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## Vlad (Aug 2, 2005)

On a more serious note, and something I always warn about, is the fire danger of using plastic for walls. An inside garage maze is even more so. Make sure you have emergency lighting and fire extinguishers at hand, and people that know how to use them.


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## sluggo (Jun 16, 2010)

My wife came up with a novel approach when I was talking to her about how to make walls. She suggested using black felt and attaching it using velcro. I used 6-foot wide pieces of felt. I stapled 2-inch wide strips of velcro to various places in the rafters of the garage, and she sewed the opposite piece of velcro to the top of the felt. Very quick to put up and take down, no tools are required, and all my walls fit into a large box when they're not needed. I've used them for 5 years and haven't had any significant problems with them. I think I've only had one incident where someone ripped a wall down accidentally, but all they did was pull the velcro apart, so I was able to put it back up in about 30 seconds.


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## SpankyBaby (Oct 6, 2011)

sluggo said:


> My wife came up with a novel approach when I was talking to her about how to make walls. She suggested using black felt and attaching it using velcro. I used 6-foot wide pieces of felt. I stapled 2-inch wide strips of velcro to various places in the rafters of the garage, and she sewed the opposite piece of velcro to the top of the felt. Very quick to put up and take down, no tools are required, and all my walls fit into a large box when they're not needed. I've used them for 5 years and haven't had any significant problems with them. I think I've only had one incident where someone ripped a wall down accidentally, but all they did was pull the velcro apart, so I was able to put it back up in about 30 seconds.


 awesome idea, kuddos to the wifey..felt is also flame retardant....now i know how im gonna cover my walls next year....u can brush them with a brustle brush too to make it fuzzy and distressed, ooooo the wheels in muh head r turnin!!!!


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## dasjman (Sep 10, 2008)

I've been doing the garage for 4 years now. I like that felt idea! Right now, I'm using a system of PVC, which is cemented into buckets and large tarps as walls. I have no way to store actual wooden walls. Other than wind when I try to put it all together, I have always had good success with my tarp walls. I also use a couple large pieces of particle board to cover all of the garage entrance other than the actual enter and exit points to the maze. It's not much, but I think I made good use of the space. I think next year I will explore the felt option.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Part of the challenge for most haunters is storing the props, walls, and equipment during the offseason.
Maybe kids are different in Illinois, but teens and many of the older kids seem to have a destructive streak in them. The plastic walls wouldn't last the first couple of hours of exposure here.
Everyday, is what you are creating a true maze or a labyrinth?
A maze has false turns and pockets, a labyrinth doesn't. It's just a more circuitous route to the destination.
Will the maze or labyrinth take them to the center of the room, or through the haunt to the exit?


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## ruafraid (Jan 3, 2006)

I started out with black plastic first year it was a disaster but we got through it. The next year I did walls I used 2X2 frame and cardboard they worked better. The next year I did the same and added some 2x2 frame and luan they are light and get the job done. I rip 2X4 with a table saw to make the 2X2 goes farther and cheaper. If I have a wall that I know will get hit hard its 2X4 frame and plywood or OSB which is heavy as heck. I tried pallet walls way too heavy and difficult to deal with. I store walls stacked up off the ground on top of 2 pallets on ground and covered with a good tarp and blocks on top the walls don't get wet and re-used every year as needed. I don't have anything that would cause a fire nor does anyone go in with lighters or smoking but I have fire extinguishers on-hand. Good luck with your first year I am guessing your going crazy about now I know I was.


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## EverydayisHalloween311 (Oct 14, 2011)

Mines just a walk through. Not so much a maze. Also the only lighting that i have going on that could cause a fire (but not really cause a fire) is 2 strobe lights. I dont have black lights or any other lights. The only electrical use is my computer speakers i hooked up at the top of my garage ceiling connected to my Ipod hidden atop it to play the haunted music. Like i said i was on a limited budget. Next week after Halloween i will post the link to my haunted house page on facebook so u can all check out the pictures. Right now here in Illinois i'm fighting wind. It sucks! (GO CARDS) LOL


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## GOT (Apr 17, 2007)

One quick-and-easy thing I used to do for my early garage haunts was to hang one of those noise-activated dropping spiders at a prime spot then put bubble wrap down on the floor. People would step on the bubble wrap and the resulting pop would send the spider down. The obvious downside is that you would have to replace the sheets of bubble wrap several times a night (and some kids would stomp out an entire sheet by themselves). It was an effective and easy low-tech scare.


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