Push Eject's Family's Yard Haunt
Four Days til Haunt and Feelin' Fine!
Posted 10-27-2008 at 11:24 PM by Push Eject
I have literally done nothing for Halloween between my last post and yesterday. Life really got in the way this year. I'll spare you the gory details ( although if they truly were gory I know you'd love it ) and get to the good stuff...
The Boardwalk is Finished
What a great couple of days working on the Haunt! I am re-energized and stoked with our progress. I started by finishing the boardwalk. It took far more lumber than I had counted on, but thankfully I got most of it free or at a reduced price. Did you know your local home improvement store has a "cull lumber" bin? I picked up countless 2x4's for 50 cents each!
Good friend, Penn, showed up yesterday and together we drank some excellent craft beer and built the boardwalk pylons and pier post lantern. I mentioned in my last post how we needed something to help with the viewblock and within a few hours the post was done. I think it came out great. It pulls the eye up and adds so much dimension. I used a red bulb behind orange painted glass in its lamp with a flicker circuit and boy does it set the mood.
Here it is in daylight before I added more rope and dorp to dress it up ( down? ) a little.
Pylon Me This
Used bamboo encircles the boardwalk around its elevated section, but I needed something else for the lower areas through the cemetary and DeadTed's dock pylons were just the thing!
I started with 10" concrete forms and cut them to 2' lengths just like DeadTed. The tops are 2" foam, routed to fit and glued into place. I carved the foam up to look like a bashed-in pylon and several coats of latex paint were slapped on. Grey, brown, black and white. I used zip ties to hold the rope in place just like Ted, but am hoping our Southern California weather does me a sight better than his Florida rain... we'll see.
The Way Out
The last new thing I got to was an exit gate. If you remember my layout plan for 2008, TOTs needed to be diverted from the walkway to the boardwalk. I wanted a simple gate that felt like the rest of the fence and that is exactly what I built. It has a spring to keep it closed, but opens easily for those ready to move on to the next candy-trove.
Overall I am STILL optimistic about getting everything done in time for Friday night (!). We'll see. Keep your fingers crossed, friends. Check out my 2008 Album and don't be shy about posting your comments here!
Cheers,
Push E.
The Boardwalk is Finished
What a great couple of days working on the Haunt! I am re-energized and stoked with our progress. I started by finishing the boardwalk. It took far more lumber than I had counted on, but thankfully I got most of it free or at a reduced price. Did you know your local home improvement store has a "cull lumber" bin? I picked up countless 2x4's for 50 cents each!
Good friend, Penn, showed up yesterday and together we drank some excellent craft beer and built the boardwalk pylons and pier post lantern. I mentioned in my last post how we needed something to help with the viewblock and within a few hours the post was done. I think it came out great. It pulls the eye up and adds so much dimension. I used a red bulb behind orange painted glass in its lamp with a flicker circuit and boy does it set the mood.
Here it is in daylight before I added more rope and dorp to dress it up ( down? ) a little.
Pylon Me This
Used bamboo encircles the boardwalk around its elevated section, but I needed something else for the lower areas through the cemetary and DeadTed's dock pylons were just the thing!
I started with 10" concrete forms and cut them to 2' lengths just like DeadTed. The tops are 2" foam, routed to fit and glued into place. I carved the foam up to look like a bashed-in pylon and several coats of latex paint were slapped on. Grey, brown, black and white. I used zip ties to hold the rope in place just like Ted, but am hoping our Southern California weather does me a sight better than his Florida rain... we'll see.
The Way Out
The last new thing I got to was an exit gate. If you remember my layout plan for 2008, TOTs needed to be diverted from the walkway to the boardwalk. I wanted a simple gate that felt like the rest of the fence and that is exactly what I built. It has a spring to keep it closed, but opens easily for those ready to move on to the next candy-trove.
Overall I am STILL optimistic about getting everything done in time for Friday night (!). We'll see. Keep your fingers crossed, friends. Check out my 2008 Album and don't be shy about posting your comments here!
Cheers,
Push E.
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