Thread: Cheap wall panels for a haunted house?

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We have the walls framed and covered them in black plastic sheeting last year. Worked great. This year, we're doing a hospital-theme, so I really need some white tile walls going on.

I have no problems with painting high gloss white tiles and detailing the grout lines myself. But I am at a loss as to what to paint on. I need a LOT of panels, about 8-10' high, maybe 4' wide (or more). Something lightweight to secure to wood framing. We're also on a tigh budget (less than $1K for the WHOLE haunt), so it needs to be beyond cheap. But still look good!

The only thing I could think of is go with white plastic sheeting, but paint won't adhere to that very well.

Ideas?

Stacy

Go to Lowes...they have some 4' x 8' gloss white tile panels usually located on a lower shelf in the area where their "finished" wood and crown molding are. All you'ld need to do is paint the grout lines that are already in place. I don't know the cost though. If that's too expensive, then I recommend going with sheetrock or 5/16" plywood...although that'll add a lot of weight.

Originally Posted by Scatterbrains

Go to Lowes...they have some 4' x 8' gloss white tile panels usually located on a lower shelf in the area where their "finished" wood and crown molding are. All you'ld need to do is paint the grout lines that are already in place. I don't know the cost though. If that's too expensive, then I recommend going with sheetrock or 5/16" plywood...although that'll add a lot of weight.

Those glossy white tile boards are about $21.00 a sheet.
The 5/16 ply wood would be ok not super heavy.
Sheet rock (drywall) would add a lot of weight and could not get wet. maybe go to a ware house and get some skid sheets 48"x48" cardboard but they cant get wet either. Maybe a white sheet pulled tight and stapled and airbrush grout lines on that. Good luck!

Cardboard sounds like a good way to go. On the other hand I would consider investing in something reusable. If this is something you do every year, you spend some money now on something you can paint over each year then the investment will definitely save you money in the long run. I might consider 1/4" MDF. Its fairly light weight and I am sure you could seal it with some sort of varnish if water is a concern. On the other hand, with 1/4" there is a chance to punch wholes through it. You can go thicker, but its going to cost more and weigh heavier.

Go to Lowes and talk to the receiving dept. The Lowes delivery trucks that come from their distribution center come with a large flat piece of cardboard across the back of the truck. THe cardbord is thicker then traditional cardboard and comes in 4x8 and 8x8 sheets. I use this for all of my haunt walls. I secure it to studs with roofing button nails.

I ran a haunted hose in the past that was built in side a 40' x 60' circus type tent. I always used 1/8' Hardboard or masonite mas it is sometimes called. It is the same board they use for peg board, but without the holes. Tried to use 4x8 sheets of dbl.sided corrigated, but it really curles up when painted. The hardboard comes in 2'x4' or 4'x8' sizes and the 4'x'8 run between $5.95-$9.00 but will last many.many yaers. I framed mine with .99 cent pine 1"x2" furring strips. Good Luck.

Don't forget good old-fashioned theatrical flats. Build frames out of 1x3's and triangles of 1/4" plywood, stretch & staple muslin to one side (wrapped around), and paint it. They are cheap, light-weight, easy to store, re-usable, and durable (especially after several uses and several coats of paint). Muslin is still the cheapest fabric around at about $1.50/yard for 60" wide.

The only thing they're NOT is indestructable. Guests CAN damage them if they hit them too hard. In high-scare areas, reinforce with a sheet of plywood behind it.

Homestead Haunt - that's exactly what I was looking for. We called around today and 2 of the 4 Lowes said no problem and they'll set them aside for us. They expect 1-2 a week, which is a start. We're hoping to have them painted and in place by late March (May-Sept we can't work inside the haunt much, it's way too hot). I'm also checking Freecycle locally to see if anyone's looking to ditch some panels. Thanks everyone for the suggestions - if I can do this for free, that really frees up the money for the props, which is what counts. Oh, and blood. Lots of blood.

Stacy.

Glad I could help...........

As for trying to make cheap tile, I'd say yes go and get the faux tile walls at Lowes. I bought them for our RV since their lightweight. Another tip is you can get white used sheets from any laundry service. They sell their used sheets (rips or tears in them, or stains) for really really cheap. I got around 50 sheets, $1- 2 sheet. I'm also doing an insane asylum this year and for some of the walls you can use foggy plastic as see through but not really walls. As for tile, use cardboard (go to your recycling center or Craigslist) and paint white, then use tape for the grout lines, cutting the tape to skinney widths. Just a thought, good luck!