Thread: Rain

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Hi,

I've set up a graveyard in my front yard the last two Halloweens. So far, I've been lucky because it hasn't rained. This year, I've added a significant number of new props and I don't want rain to spoil it.

My question is, what are some of your ideas for dealing with rain? Note that I do NOT want to spend tons of money on solving this problem!

So far, my ideas include getting a canopy kit from All4canopy or Canopy Masters. The kits have all the parts except for the tubing, which you can get from Home Depot. Both kit suppliers suggest using EMT although PVC would be quite a bit cheaper. Any advice on PVC vs EMT?

well the foam tombstones do support alot of rain (believe me lol) but the high winds

i cover up my life size props and animation with plastic bags (like the large ones the cleaners use to protect your clothes after dry cleaning) , so the neibourghs think i am a little nut when it is gonna rain and they see me cover up half my stuff lol....i have a tombstone peeper that i paid alot of money 2 years ago and he is still running , i just dont let the animated props that have electronics at the base soak in water , i put something underneat it then cover them up with those large clear plastic bag .....

but if you want to cover a hole area , well , some tent canopy should do i guess...

If it was me, I'd just grab the stuff that would get damaged and leave up the rest. Setting up a huge canopy would be a pain, and you'd almost have to set it up before the day, and what if it's clear then?

Two years ago, we got rain right as we were setting up the finishing touches. I took everything in that was electronic, and left out the foam/plastic stuff. Not our best year, but if it's raining, I'm not risking ruining my electronic stuff.

We still had a decent graveyard and the water dripping off of the spiderwebbing looked fantastic, and the jack o lanterns stayed lit strangely enough. We rearranged the lights so that they were protected on our porch so we still had strobes and such, just not the best locations for them.

Good luck, and hope it doesn't rain!

We get rain and wind quite frequently on or around Halloween, so I've just been making things out of weather proof materials. All my stuff is static. If I ever get anything to move, well then I'll have to be out there covering it up with plastic I guess.

Due to rain and snow...I have had to resort to window displays!

Last year we has some heavy rains hit more than once. I tried covering my monster in a box w/ plastic bags, but there was so much moisture it started to condense on the inside of the plastic. Not a huge loss for me, I just have to replace the motor, but I definitely recommend bringing the more damageable props in if it's raining too heavily or for too many days in a row.

Hope we all have better this year!!!

In Colorado its snowes alot on halloween. So what my family does is make slip covers. I'll post pics when I get them out. All you need to do is get the plastic roll from wal-mart or whereever (used for covering windows when broken) and cut it to the size of your props. You can then staple the sides and put on over. So easy and quick.

Great suggestions all around. Thanks!

I think I might order one of the canopy kits, which comes with everything except the tube (which is probably close to half the cost of the canopy). Then, when I see the weather forecast for Halloween, I'll buy the tube if rain is on the menu. On the other hand, if it's clear, I won't buy the tube and I'll go topless instead. In a sense, the canopy kit will be an insurance policy. I'd rather spend that money on more props but I don't want to be disappointed if it rains.

Originally Posted by cinders

We get rain and wind quite frequently on or around Halloween, so I've just been making things out of weather proof materials. All my stuff is static. If I ever get anything to move, well then I'll have to be out there covering it up with plastic I guess.

Another Chicagoan here. Pretty much all static items as well. I will cover up items with large plastic bags for rain. With the high winds we get I tend to bring items in and put them back out the next day. Have found my tombstones down the street before.

My anitmated items only come out on the day of.

There's never a year here where it's not windy and doesn't rain at least a few times when displays are out.

I only make props that can be rained on. We still have Hurricane season going on in October and have even had them. So my stuff may get wet, but it is okay. I don't put any lighting or electronics out that isn't indoor/outdoor except for during our party and then on Halloween night.

I don't stuff things with newspaper very often because of this, or wads of plastic. Plastic will hold water in the pockets and folds and cause weight.

I like a lot of the props lately at the big stores, but almost all of them have that heavy paper as a liner to hold the prop's shape. I can only imagine what would happen to that in the rain.