Thread: Cave Tunnel--need ideas

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I'm looking to construct an easy-to-break-down cave tunnel. I thought I could use the halloween metal arch that I bought from Target a few years back as the frame work for one end of the tunnel, add a second one for the other entrance/exit and lash pvc pipe to it for supports at the top and side. I would then cover the tunnel with either black plastic or black landscaping fabric and add lights through the top or sides where necessary using the pvc pipe as support to tie onto. Complete it with vines, spiders, bats, etc, and add audio of cave sounds. Thinking I might also try directing a small tube of low lying fog into it near the entrance for a spookier look. If I have time might construct a cave like facade to the entrance using carved foam panels.

Has anyone done anything like this before? Love to see pics if you have. Any problems you guys can foresee? Since wind can be a problem at this time of year in the evening, how do I make it structurally sound so as to avoid the wind from knocking it over and onto the kids going through? We have rock hard ground come fall and it's pretty impossible to anchor anything into the ground at that point in time.

There was a great one on here at one time.
PM me and I'll see if I made a word file for my "I want to do this someday " files...LOL

I tried to this using only PVC arches as the frame covered in plastic over my 2 car driveway. I had string supporting it between my house and the neighbors to keep it stable. My only comment to you is that plastic is heavier than you think and catches the wind very easily.

By the end of the night this past year it was half collapsed in my driveway and looked pretty bad.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Grouf

I tried to this using only PVC arches as the frame covered in plastic over my 2 car driveway. I had string supporting it between my house and the neighbors to keep it stable. My only comment to you is that plastic is heavier than you think and catches the wind very easily.

By the end of the night this past year it was half collapsed in my driveway and looked pretty bad.

Good luck!

That is so what I'm afraid of happening. I will have the metal arches at each end and I'm thinking of buying some plywood and anchoring the metal arches to the plywood base. I'm concerned the covering however will make it like a big sail to blow on.

I did a catacombs cave last year. I used 4 of those "wedding" arches form Michaels/Hobby Lobby/JoAnn's. We drove bit T-posts into the ground and zip-tied at least two legs per arch to the posts. Then we covered the whole structure in two giant tarps that we hooked together and staked these down.

Then we covered the inside of the tunnel with shredded burlap, erosion control fabric, beef-netting spider webs and put a few corpses in there, a fog machine and some rope lights to mark a path.

it was pretty awesome, but unfortunately, I didn't get any really good pictures of it.
This was inside the cave:




And we live in Kansas, so wind was a MAJOR worry but somehow the thing held up!

That looked awesome! and I'm glad to know yours held up in the wind. Thanks for the pics, info and inspiration.

I actually had to look up what a t-post was and I know I've seen them in Home Depot and such. Also found an eHow.Com website telling how to install one. I wonder if we could rent a driver should I go that route. I'm still unsure if anything will be able to be driven into our rock-hard clay soil as we get closer to halloween.

Originally Posted by Ghost of Spookie

I'm still unsure if anything will be able to be driven into our rock-hard clay soil as we get closer to halloween.

Try watering the soil just before halloween to soften it. Use a paddle bit and a drill as an auger! Put a pvc coupling in a coffee can full of cement for the anchor points!

If you go with pvc maybe these will help. They are up to 2 inch. So you could make a heavy duty frame.


http://www.formufit.com/

i had built a cave once all you need to get is some chicken wire bend it so the shape you want and spray foam it it works wonders