# Oh My God



## Spartan005 (Mar 13, 2007)

Ok for those of you who don't know, I wasn't planning on doing another haunt until I got out of college, BUT for my first year I'm staying here so my dad said that he'd be willing to give it another shot. Now its not official but I think my parents are starting to enjoy the holiday as much as me so its pretty much a gaurantee that Darkness Rising will be having another go. But the only thing is, he said that it absolutely cannot come into the house (because I practically destroyed it last year) so basically the plan is to make it shorter but more detailed and a lot scarier. 

Alright on to the questions... weather has been a huge issue for the past two years because apparently haunted houses attract 60 mph gusts of wind, so I need to figure out a cheap way to build the haunt. Last year the only thing we built outside was the Mine/train tunnel which was made out of about 20 or so 2x4s that were made into 10 A shaped frames and cross braced by a bunch of 2x3s. It was very last minute and probably wasn't the best design even though my dad insists on using it again... except this time using more wood and staking it to the ground. The plan isn't really to make a maze (unless there's a dirt cheap way of doing so) its more of getting the visitors from one side of the yard to the other, so I was wondering if anyone can give some advice on how to build the structure without spending a ridiculous amount of money


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## Front Yard Fright (Dec 23, 2005)

Congrats on giving it another go!

And as far as the maze goes...
What are you using for walls?
Wood or plastic?
How much can you spend? 
How long of a distance is your haunt?


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## Spartan005 (Mar 13, 2007)

Thanks! 

Ok plastic is obviously cheaper but this is where the whole structural suppport issue comes into play. Wood would (?) obviously work better but I don't know how much it would cost. I'm guessing I could keep the 2x4 frame and use OSB but something tells me thats not so cheap either. I don't really have a set budget right now because I have no idea what else I'll be buying so... can we not take that into account for now so I can just see what options I have? The distance (besides the outdoor parts that won't be enclosed) is about 100 feet across the yard, but thats really not big at all so I was thinking about making the structure into two sections that would be on a 90 degree angle to add space.


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## BudMan (Mar 6, 2007)

How about using a couple of 10 x 20 awnings. you can usually get them on sale at Pep Boys for about $79 each. Then you can use pvc inside to support whatever the walls will be made of, sheets or plastic. Or if you are going to use wood for the walls, at least you have something to attach them to to make it stand. It also gives you a way to run wiring overhead for speakers, lights, etc. When all is said and done, maybe you could sell them, people here are always looking. Remember, they don't have to all be connected, as you can have indoor AND outdoor "rooms".


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## Frighteners Entertainment (Jan 24, 2006)

I prefer wood, but this would only depend on how many nights and how many guests you would have going through your haunt.
If it's 1 night with 400 being the most, plastic would be the best choice. Storage won't be a terrible issue either.


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## naberhoodhaunts (Mar 29, 2008)

Here is an idea but i never used it. Since you already have the 2x4s drive them into ground, and use wood pallets as your walls. just drive behind any stores or malls, pallets are every where. just ask if you can have them.screw them to the 2x4s. use the black plastic over them.check on utube maybe there u might find ideas.


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## RookieSpooker (Jul 23, 2007)

One more "concieved but not tested" idea. Find all the bed sheets from your house, family and friends houses, etc. Put them in a big pot of hot water in your back yard. Put them in some brown RIT dye for an hour. Let them dry. After that, fold each sheet "accordian style" in 8 inch increments.Then, dip the edge (folds) into a pot of BLACK dye for a few minutes, then the the other edge. When opened, this may or may not give the appearance of boards lined up side by side. If not, chuck em' in the garbage.


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## Verno77 (Apr 6, 2008)

Using some sort of cloth would be a good. Have support columns every few feet and to make it tight have some sort of weight at the bottom of each “section” to keep it from blowing violently. You would probably need to know how to sew or know someone who does to attach all the cloths together depending on there size. It’s also a lot easier to remove and reuse. When I did my own haunt, I just used fake brick Halloween wall covers (I think they were called scene setters or something) to enclose the path to my porch. I can’t remember if it worked well, but If I still did my house, I would probably go with something heavier like maybe tarp or something.


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## beelce (Jul 21, 2007)

I like that sheet dying idea Rookie...that could look nice...might be worth a try


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## IshWitch (May 31, 2006)

Pallets are free, and if you start now, you could acquire a good number of them. Just start stacking them somewhere. Then you could make the wall with them but they are only about 4 feet high generally. But you could save money by creating pvc arches over the pallets in areas and full walls in others and even a few canopy/awnings mixed in. This would create different rooms with different feelings and help add to your design.
Here is a cheaper option for the canopy
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=412274


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