Thread: Cemetary Columns

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So I am going to be building some cemetery columns this year for my haunt. I have the design. Now I was just going to use osb board for the walls. However, I see a lot of people using foam boards. Are the foam boards sturdy enough to handle wear and tear of sitting outside for 4 weeks? Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks A Lot!

Short answer? No, foamcore isn't strong enough to last by itself. I built a mausoleum out of foamcore over 1x2 supports, and it was too light and easily ripped apart by wind (thunderstorms or gusty rains ripped the roof off EVERY year ) We retired it last year, after we got hit by a major storm that bent it into a parallelogram and we had to cut the bent screws off with snips to dismantle it completely.

Using foamcore as a skin over OSB or other heavier base structures will mean your hard work won't go down the drain when a rainstorm or worse comes through. You can still get the ability to carve it up any way you want, but the stability and weight of the OSB sub-structure will make sure it lasts more than one season.

Frankie's Girl is correct, it's all about durability. Of course, the stronger and more solid you make the columns, the heavier they are. I think starting with a sturdy sub-structure is crucial. Like Frankie's Girl said, if you start with a shape build out of good structure, and skin that with something like OSB, you're going to have a very sturdy and solid base.

You can even add to that by creating a pocket in the base where you can add weight, like bricks or a bag of sand. This will provide additional stability during wind (and the tipsy ToT).

Once your base structure is set, you can then either build up detail with dense styrofoam or just continue with wood trim.

Here's an excellent album that shows a quality column build.

Yeah, I looked at that tutorial, and another one that used foam over boards. I was thinking of just using the osb boards by themselves. Does it look tacky by using only osb board. I was going to smear some plaster on it to give it a little chipped cement texture, paint it gray and call it good. Will it work and is there something I am not thinking of?

Originally Posted by magnusius

Yeah, I looked at that tutorial, and another one that used foam over boards. I was thinking of just using the osb boards by themselves. Does it look tacky by using only osb board. I was going to smear some plaster on it to give it a little chipped cement texture, paint it gray and call it good. Will it work and is there something I am not thinking of?

You can use osb or as in my case, 1/8 inch plywood over 2x2 framing. Here are a few pics of mine. I added some wood moulding and foam plaques and top pieces for detail but they are quite heavy and sturdy. I painted them with two coats of gray DryLok and then washed them with a diluted black for some streaks.

Jdubbya, that is almost the exact blueprint I was going to use. Very nice. I also love the middle frame that adds a little "spice" to the pillar, breaking up the monotony. Very cool. Thanks for the pics.

I think alot depends on the look you are going for If you are looking for old and worn, just using the OSB leaves alot to be desired. Mine are now for the very reason the foam alone was just too light to withstand any harsh weather and I live in Arizona. But I have to say I am not crazy about them. They are covered with Drylock and sturdy but having foam over them gives you the option to have more of a old chipped away aged look which I really like.
Here are mine:

Originally Posted by Dark Star

I think alot depends on the look you are going for If you are looking for old and worn, just using the OSB leaves alot to be desired. Mine are now for the very reason the foam alone was just too light to withstand any harsh weather and I live in Arizona. But I have to say I am not crazy about them. They are covered with Drylock and sturdy but having foam over them gives you the option to have more of a old chipped away aged look which I really like.
Here are mine:

So are these one's covered with foam? They look awesome!!! Also, where did you get the finials for your fence, if that is a home made fence. Thanks a lot.

Also, where did you get the finials for your fence, if that is a home made fence.

I found these online:


http://www.kingmetals.com/Catalog/It...ogDetailId=817

I haven't found a lower price for these, and if you buy in quantities of 500 or more, they're only 20 cents each. I will be buying a number of these for my cemetery fence, and I'm considering buying a large quantity, and selling what I don't need (at cost) to anyone interested.

Thanks Pumpkinhead625. That is a good find. What is the most effective way to get the square finial over the round pvc? Muchos Gracias.