Thread: Concrete Walls

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Ok so I am already planning next years haunt. I am doing a La Llorona theme and for the mission/funeral scene of the haunt I need the walls to be concrete like old buildings in Mexico. I am planning on using real concrete and a three pass texture technique the only dilemma is what thickness of plywood to use. Usually all my walls are luan but due to the weight of the concrete I need something a little more sturdy. Please give your opinion. Thanks.

Is this an indoor or outdoor haunt? If it is indoor, I would suggest using lightweight drywall compound over 1/2" plywood. You can get a stucco look without the weight. The other option is using monster mud. Real concrete will be extremely heavy and prone to cracking and falling off the plywood. It will not tolerate flexing when being moved. Drywall compound would be easier to work with and much lighter. If doing it outside, you can also use monster mud (lots of info on Google). You would want to seal it with a waterproofer for outside use.

Eric

Make fake foam walls. You can get some very convincing masonry work from 1/2" thick insulating foam, and its lightweight and easy to transport and store.

I think you mean adobe, not concrete. I don't think using real concrete is a good idea, not only because of the weight but because it tends to crack easily and would do so even more as you move the walls around and store them. Foam or monster mud would be the best ways to duplicate the look of adobe.

I would use monster mud but I want this to look at as real as possible and dont want the joint compound to crack like it has the tendency to do. I am only worried about how thick of plywood I should use. I think 3/8 inch plywood would hold the weight of the concrete if it was heavily braced.

Stucco would probably work better than concrete. I think it has slightly more flexibility. You would probably need to use that chicken wire mesh over the plywood to give it something to stick to or you might have large chunks breaking or sliding off.

You should give some thought to storage too. I think if you stored them standing or face up you're probably going to get some warping. They might have to go face down just to keep the plywood from bowing in between braces.

Ok I've come to a conclusion. Walls will be stucco textured with a three pass technique. That is only for the mission scene and the foyer of the mission. The catacombs will be stone prefab fiberglass panels. The carniceria will be wood aged to look old and rotted. The house of La Llorona will be mostly wood but will have some stucco walls. I am using the La Llorona maze at Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood as kind of an outline most of the ideas of the rooms will be the same as hhn's maze but with decor I feel suits the tale of La Llorona. Does anyone use haunts as reference for their haunt?

Here's a behind the scenes that shows some of how they did it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFVJumDWYQg

I've seen that video many times and talked to the Creative Director about that maze. He said they used real concrete.

So, any tips/secrets from the Creative Director???

I could only imagine the weight of a 2 story tall facade made of concrete. Let alone the structure to support it. For a permanent attraction I could see it but for a home haunt...way too much.