Thread: Keeping cemetery columns from tipping over?

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Heya everybody,
I am eager to get started on next year's haunt already, and one of the projects I'd like to do for next year is make new columns for my cemetery. The columns I made a few years ago are not only very amateurish, they are starting to break apart now because they keep falling over all the time during the haunt. The area that we have to put the columns on is uneven ground, and on top of that, people seem to think they can lean against them, which sends them toppling over.

So, I'd like to make some really sturdy columns this year, and I'm thinking I'll even attach some spooky lanterns to them, but before I can do the design, I really need some advice on how to keep the columns standing in the yard. lol I will actually be placing them a bit further into the yard next year, so there won't be as much of a chance of people leaning against them anymore, hopefully, but still, I don't want to have to worry about them falling over.

Is there anything other than making the bottom heavy that I should think about? I was originally planning to have some sort of rebar in the ground to lower the columns onto, but I wanted to check with you experts to see if there's any better ideas for stability that I haven't thought about.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me!

Hi Mordessa. This photo shows columns I'd made that are about 8 feet high (not including the gargoyles) and also serve as fence supports. You can definitely lean on them. They're in two pieces. The lower section has 1/2-inch PVC anchored to the inside of each wall. I hammer 1/2-inch rebar through the PVC guides into our ground to anchor the column base (after first making sure the base is level by removing some ground as needed - the grass grows back ). Then I slip the taller upper section of each column into the lower section and lock them together with wood and screws inside the columns (via a closeable access panel on the upper column). Wind, rain, and people have never caused them to fall or even lean. And removing the columns is not as difficult as you may think. If this sounds of interest to you, let me know and I can take some photos that probably will explain it much better. Good luck with whatever method you end up using!

Love the columns!!!

I left the bottom section of the columns open and secured a board across the opening. I then insert several concrete block in the bottom, it holds the columns down well, even with some high winds we experienced one october. Easy to install and remove, you can add more weight if necessary yet the columns are easy to move when the blocks are removed.

Hey guys, thanks for responding so quickly! Both of those are good ideas. Demon Dog, the way you are doing it is pretty much along the same lines I was thinking of doing it before. If you could post more pictures showing how you did it, I'd really appreciate that! Thanks!

I built my cemetery columns using Raven Manor's design also. They are hollow and I put shelving inside them to use as storage during the off-season.
To mount mine, I dig a hole about two feet deep using a post hole digger. Then put a five foot long 4 X 4 post in the hole (the post has two short horizontal boards screwed to the front of it) and wedge sections of 2 X 4s and scrap wood in there to make the post tight in the hole. Then add the remaining dirt and hammer it all down.
Pull the inside front face of the cloumn up flush with the post and use several long wood screws to mount the horizontal boards to the thick sections of wood that make up the frame of the column.
It's probably overkill, but I used to use 2 X 4s, but someone tried to push them over a few years ago. With the 4 X 4s, nobody has been able to budge them (if they even tried).

Exactly how I set mine. I put 2x4s in the groung and my columns I lift over and set on top of these. When done, lift them off and pull out the 2x4s. Simple and sturdy! The wind hasn't blown them over yet.

Originally Posted by Mordessa

Hey guys, thanks for responding so quickly! Both of those are good ideas. Demon Dog, the way you are doing it is pretty much along the same lines I was thinking of doing it before. If you could post more pictures showing how you did it, I'd really appreciate that! Thanks!

No problem. I'll get my camera and take some pictures for you in the morning (column sections are stored in the attic and garage now). Sounds like you have several good options, which is always nice.

Thanks for the compliment, halloween71!

I've got big columns like those shown. I took a 12" 2*x4 and used a circular saw to taper one end to a point. I position my columns and use a hammer to drive the wooden stakes tightly on either side of of the column base. I level the column (my yard slopes) and drive 3" screws thru the stakes and into the base. I spray paint the stakes flat black. Columns won't budge fer nuthin'. ;-)

Okay, first up is the column base with the 1/2-inch PVC shown attached via metal conduit straps to the inside walls of the column. What is not shown are the two 2x4 boards I attach the underside of each column base that broaden the contact area the base has with the ground for added stability. These two boards extend about 8 inches longer than the column base is deep and are made of pressure treated wood to deter termites and better stand direct contact with the sometimes wet ground. I usually hide these boards with pine needles. The remaining lumber I used is not pressure treated. The bases are framed with 2x4's and are heavy for their size, but are still easy to be carried by one person. As I'd mentioned before, after these column bases are positioned and leveled, I use a sledge hammer and drive in 1/2-inch rebar through the PVC guides and into the ground until their tops are just below the top of the column base. The rebar is driven about 12 inches into the ground (you'll want to know where you're sprinkler lines are ). If you're soil is sandy, you may need to use longer rebar.


The next photo shows the upper section of the columns, as they are stored upside down in my garage. They're framed with 2x2's and skinned with 1/4-inch thick plywood. The frame extensions of these upper column pieces slide into the column bases and are secured together with screws. If I had to make these over again, I'd probably consider using seperate pieces of wood to lock the two sections of column together - just to make the upper column sections a little easier to store. Even though these upper sections are large, they're lightweight for their size and I can carry them with one arm (mostly when goofing around and doing a He-Man impression for my wife).


The next photo shows the access panel removed from one of the upper column sections (again, upside down as stored in my garage). These openings are on the backside of the columns and have a simple panel that screws on to the upper column frame when I want to button it all up after securing the column sections together.


To take everything down after Halloween, I unscrew and lift off the upper column sections, then just lift straight up on the column bases leaving the rebar still in the ground. I then kick the rebar near the ground a few times in different directions just to loosen it from our soil (which has a fair amount of clay). Then I can pull up on the rebar and remove it. It really isn't hard - or if it is, you haven't kicked the rebar enough

As others have shown, there are several ways to secure columns. The method I use has been very robust and the two columns are able to be aligned to one another very well before you anchor the bases to the ground, which is nice in case you want to add a cemetery arch between them as I hope to finally do this coming year. Good luck with your columns!