Thread: storage in shed

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Hello all, very very long time lurker and finaly registered.

In a few days will be getting a 12'x10' wood (2x4 walls, 2x6 floor joists, and shingles on roof) shed installed in the backyard specificaly for my halloween stuff.
All my props and accessories are organized in 121L rubbermaid containers.

What would you recommend NOT putting into the standalone shed? I figure anything animated shouldnt. Any other tips for storage in the shed (live in southern ontario so lots of snow and cold weather in winter).

appreciate suggestions!

Nothing latex. Temp extremes wreak havoc on latex props over time. Certain animation might be ok. Wiper motors and other heavy duty type motors would be fine.

Welcome to the forum, btw! Glad to have you on board!

woohoo another ontarian...where abouts? havent had any major problems with shed storage everything in the containers should take care of any mice problems.

I can relate to your problem first hand ,I store everything in my halloween shed I have the same climate as you even latex props , latex does not like drastic temp changes like going from -30 to + 30 right away, if you keep your halloween things in your shed they will be fine to take out in May or June when the canadian climate allows us to actually work on Props. That being said i havnt run into too many problems with any of my things except fog machines which now I keep indoors. I understand your problem totally -50 to plus 30 celcius ..i can totally relate to that problem

Welcome to the forum!! I'm in Brampton, Ontario so same neck of the woods as you. I keep a lot of stuff in our unheated garage and the rest in the cold storage room in the basement. Both locations get really cold in the winter and really hot in the summer. I haven't had too many problems except for some paint flaking off some of my early paper mache props but those are pushing 7+ years old now so some damage is to be expected. I make sure to take all my paint, glue and other supplies along with fog machines that could be damaged by freezing into the heated basement in the winter but that's about it.

I'm in upstate NY bud - I share your pain.....lots of people from Canada are always here....


Spookmaster

Thankyou everyone. So the fog machines Ill keep inside. the animated props (like butler igor - which are in the kitchen!, and Rosemary) will stay indoors.
Will need to go thru some of the mask bins then to keep the good ones inside and keep no latex props (like shivers?) outside. So part of the halloween supplies can go outside!

we are in the kitchener waterloo area of ontario.

The main thing concerning the storage shed is if you built it up off of the ground away from unneeded dampness. Just a few inches can make a shed much drier than if it is right down on ground level.
Having the eaves of your roof protrude out to carry rain further away from the sides of the shed is also a huge thing for having the shed last longer , looking better all the while.
Cold weather can make latex as hard as a rock, even after it warms up again. There are many different latex formulas though, which one is in your items, who knows?
My Haunted House-The Ravens Grin Inn is open almost every night of the entire year, winter too. I should be a cold-weather testing facility for the haunt props business!
This town, Mount Carroll held the record for many years as the coldest place in Illinois 32 below zero. We are located in the northwestern end of the state.

cbhaunt:

Dexter, NY here.

A bunch of you aren't too far from me, either! I'm about 20 miles north of Detroit.

Luckily all of my props are static, so I don't have to worry about electronics & such. My few latex items and also the cheesy gel window clings all stay inside. Gym's got it right. Keep the totes off the ground, even if you simply have them sitting on 2x4s or an old pallet. I even do that in my cement-floor garage.