Thread: foam panel help

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Greetings friends!

As some of you know...
I run the non-profit haunted maze called "The Maze of Terror" in Southern MN. Last year's theme was something different (Medievel dungeon) & we really had a lot of fun doing it. This year I want to expand on the theme & see what more we can do. I thought making a some foam panel scenes would be a good start. But they need to be not only great to look at but, also sturdy to take the abuse of patrons, & without costing me too many appendages. Ha!

Any thoughts, ideas, & concepts are welcome.

Honestly, foam and abuse do not work well together. I'm not absolutely clear on your intentions, but my best suggestion is glue (Liquid Nails) the foam to thin wood boards, maybe 1/4" thick plywood or something like that to keep the price down. That's what I plan to do when I make my pillars this Spring/Summer. That will make them sturdy, yet the foam will give me the flexibility to detail my pillars. Just a thought. Sorry if I've misunderstood your need though.

I agree with HauntedGhost. I am building a facade that looks like stone walls and I will be gluing the foam to thin plywood. I did something similar last year and it worked out great! I used a dremel to gut the mortar grooves. The rest was textured ti resemble stone. People loved it. I ended up having to make a few repairs along the way. The biggest obstical for me was storage. I plan to cut it down to 4' X 4' and put hinges on it so that I can get it in my attic.

It would be a good idea to glue the foam to plywood. Because the last thing you want is someone falling back from a scare and falling right through the foam. ><

I used blue foam for my pillars and for my entry archway.. i used a quikcrete form for the stone pattern than used a router route out the morter joints..painted the joints blck and the stones grey.. when i get my web page up and running i'll post address so as to check out pic.. all pics are to big to attach..

I forget the name of the material but there is something that is designed to be put over foam to harden it up.

We used it to make stone walls for a pirate show here and it added a lot of strength to the material. It still got damaged from being hauled around but it would hold up to being poked and such by people.

Anyone experimented with vacume molding something like this?

Hot wire foam factory sells foam coat, its appears to basically be a thing mortar like concrete. I have yet to use it but I've been told by others that there are much cheaper products out there, one being a "Sub Coat" by the brand "Stone Masons" . I haven't found it in Canadian home depots but I've been told its available in the states.

You can apply it by thinning it down and using a texture spray gun, the type they use for spackled ceilings.

Like others have said a plywood backing and stone coat may be the way you want to go. Not knowing exactly what you are talking about and not knowing if storage and or weight are issues, you may want to try Monster Mud. I think that would build cool walls.

I've used OSB in the past with a coat of MM Lite (5 gal joint compound w/ 1 quart of latex paint). This thins the mixture and makes it easier to get the MM Lite into all the cracks and crevices and also helps too seal the OSB. It has a cold stone like feel