[Mordessa]

It seems to me that no matter how spookily I do the graveyard in my front lawn, or how I put up the scary death head figure on the overhang above my front door, my house is just not very scary looking.

Most of the house is a pale sandy brown almost orange kind of color. It's brick. Also, there is a section above the front door that is white siding.

I would really like to put a facade up this year that would mask the bright, unhaunting colors of my house. Also, I would like to make the area by the front door look like a turret kind of thing, like the Addam's Family house, that big tall part. The section above the front door is sort of a half hexagon, where the nook in our kitchen is, so I think that if it weren't white, I could probably incorporate it's shape in pretty easily to what I'm trying to do.

However, I am uncertain how I should go about doing this facade in general. The end of October here is rarely very gentle weather-wise, so I will need something that can stand up to snow and rain and some wind.

I'm thinking of making walls to box in the part that is under the overhang of the front door, and putting a gate kind of door there. Then, I'd like to put gargoyles at the corners on of the top of the overhang. I think that would make the half-hexagon thing above look rather naturally like a turret. However, I need a way to cover the bright white of that siding... and perhaps give the windows a more arched shape too.

So, I guess my question is, does anybody know how to make a good facade that can cover the outside of the house without ruining the house for the rest of the year?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[erie_pa_halloween_guy]

Insulation foam board+ velcro carved out to fit your needs?

 

[Iffy49]

Mordessa,
Initial question would be is 'how big is your house?' Something like the White House, or a small fisherman's cottage?

My biggest concern would be fixing whatever you decide to the house. You must ensure that the facade could not come away and fall on someone. This may be especially difficult if the weather is bad. This may also compromise your need to not damage your house.

One suggestion would be to use 8' x 4' canvas 'flats' as they do in theatres. These could then be fixed together, and fixed to your house using existing fittings, or maybe some temporary battens or hooks which could be removed with little damage after Halloween. Advantage of these is that you can repaint them year after year, and change the look of your house for little additional cost. Disadvantages are the weight, and securely fixing to the house, so that they can weather your Swedish weather. If the flats are made with 1" x 1" timber, this will reduce weight, but would be offset by a tendency to 'fly away' with the wind and would not be so rigid.

Another alternative, would be using 2" foam insulation boards. This could be carved to look like stonework, or anything else. Advantage is weight, if one fell off, not so risky as the flats. Disadvantage is that it would always look like the original carving.

Another possibility, would be to use drapes. A large canvas curtain that could painted and hung in front of the house. Depending how robust your drainpipes are (do you have them on Swedish houses?), you could use the existing fittings to attach the drape to, or put battens under the eaves of your house, then just anchor the bottom and middle of the drap to prevent billowing. Advantage, cost, weight and could be reused (repainted), disadvantage; less robust, may not be as effective, if it can be seen moving in the wind.

Never used any of these, but have considered them, as I have the same not at all scary house!

Hope it helps, even if it gets others thinking.

 

[yardhauntjunkie]

How to build a Cathedral Façade

It doesn't have to be a cathedral, you can make it anything you want, but it gives you an idea of what you could do.

 

[TK421]

YardHauntJunkie's link is a good one.

I see you hail from Sweden. My question is what materials are available to you?

I build a "haunted tower" onto the front of my house for Halloween. I built the whole thing out of 2x4 studs and 1/2 inch roof sheathing. The roof sheathing is very inexpensive (about $6 for a 4x8 sheet) and its sturdy stuff. I secure the tower to the house with some braces and 4 inch screws. I painted the whole thing with exterior house paint.

This method has survived three Halloween seasons in all types of weather.

 

[meltdown211]

Here is my suggestion which is easy to install and remove after Halloween. 1) Go to home depot or any hardware store. Pick up the thinnest painters cloth you can find (its just large sheets of thin plastic. Get a staple gun or tacks and place long sheets on each side of windows and doors. NOW, "TEAR" not cut, and RIP the hell out of these sheets of plastic. All different directions....the result looks like a cross between ripped drapes and old house falling apart. You can add some black and green spray paint to make it look older.

This only costs about $5.00 to do and it make a very dramatic effect. Use some green floods to light the house and it looks great. It looks even better when the wind blows it as it looks like slow motion ghosts....look at my video...the first one I didnt add alot, but you get the idea...just makes everything look ....old.

YouTube - Halloween 2007

This second one I just put the plastic sheeting in front of my FCG. I have some smaller stuff on the corners of the house but its hard to see...

YouTube - The Haunting of Plum Creek.wmv

 

[Ugly Joe]

Perhaps you could just camouflage the house with jute netting and lots of dead branches and vines.

Here's a link to some netting:
EarthAid USA - Jute Netting

So, you could attach lengths of this to your roofline, letting it hang down (perhaps shredding it a bit and perhaps painting some green, brown and black blotches on it to break up the color), and then fasten branches and vines...with and without leaves - whatever you can get a hold of.

Do this for the entire front of your house (lots of work, I know), and it may end up looking like the edge of some dark, decrepit forest at night.

As a bonus, it may give you some space between the jute and your house to hide some surprises for ToT'ers...jump out and send them running!!

 

[squatdaddy]

this is what I did with foam board and 1/4 inch ply...

 

[Junit]

I really like the foam board stone look.

 

[meltdown211]

HOLY CRAP squatdaddy! That foamboard is awesome!

 

[dixie]

Yeah, when I think Facade, I think Davis Graveyard first and foremost, only because I have seen and admired it so much. Squatdaddy, that is one helluva facade you have going as well.

We are considering a facade this year, if only to cover the very front brick portion of our house, because I feel the same way you do - no matter how detailed you get in the yard, it still has that feel of a buncha stuff thrown in the yard in front of a house in suburbia - not too scary in the big picture.

 

[Deadna]

YardHauntJunkie's link is a good one.

I see you hail from Sweden. My question is what materials are available to you?

I build a "haunted tower" onto the front of my house for Halloween. I built the whole thing out of 2x4 studs and 1/2 inch roof sheathing. The roof sheathing is very inexpensive (about $6 for a 4x8 sheet) and its sturdy stuff. I secure the tower to the house with some braces and 4 inch screws. I painted the whole thing with exterior house paint.

This method has survived three Halloween seasons in all types of weather.

What a cute house...love the green! Is this built over your garage door?

 

[rockplayson]

I'd love to facades one day but there's just not enough time. I tip I got was to take Black sheets and cover the enitre front side of the house. For lighting I was told to use diffrent colored flood lights to reflect. So basically Im going to have a lit up cemetary as a facade.

 

[MsMeeple]

Here is my suggestion which is easy to install and remove after Halloween. 1) Go to home depot or any hardware store. Pick up the thinnest painters cloth you can find (its just large sheets of thin plastic. Get a staple gun or tacks and place long sheets on each side of windows and doors. NOW, "TEAR" not cut, and RIP the hell out of these sheets of plastic. All different directions....the result looks like a cross between ripped drapes and old house falling apart. You can add some black and green spray paint to make it look older.

This only costs about $5.00 to do and it make a very dramatic effect. Use some green floods to light the house and it looks great. It looks even better when the wind blows it as it looks like slow motion ghosts....look at my video...the first one I didnt add alot, but you get the idea...just makes everything look ....old.

Wow meltdown, great videos! Did you make that moving ground breaker thing?

MsM

 

[LV Scott T]

I have built my share of large-scale facades, and each one was built completely different.

Our first one (Haunted House) was made from steel framing (like 2x4's only metal) covered in cardboard cut to look like shingle siding.

The next year's (Pirate Ship) was a massive project! It also had a metal framing support wall, but it was mostly to have something to attach the ship's "ribs" to. The covering was muslin saturated in a paint/glue mixture, laid out to dry flat, then stapled to the ribs.

Last year's facade (Castle) was the most solid. At one point during the construction we all climbed to the top and shook it. Rock solid. It was made from 2x4's and pallets. Note: if you use this technique, build it in small sections. Pallets can get VERY HEAVY!

In all 3 designs, I used a push-pull technique to support them. I used 2x4 braces with 6"x8" plywood plates screwed to the ends (to protect the house) fastened to the support wall as the "push" and metal banding straps from the support wall to the inside edges of the garage door as the "pull". The bottom of the wall was stabalized by drilling some 1/8" holes into the driveway on both the front and back edges and tapping in nails.

This year, we'll go back to the 2006 design again but with a few extra pieces thrown in...

 

[MLuther]

if you make foam boards look like wood boards you could use them to board up your window.

 

[TK421]

this is what I did with foam board and 1/4 inch ply...

That is some FINE stonework! Really impressive. What was your paint/sealing method?

 

[squatdaddy]

close up...
I did the whole dremmel, then wet then blow torch the thing then multiple washes using a $5 bucket of oops paint from home depot and some reqular acrylic paint thinned with water, brush on wipe off... hot glued some stuff on the surface (moss and such)... between the blow torching and the paint, it sealed fine even through major weather...

 

[TK421]

What a cute house...love the green! Is this built over your garage door?

Yup! I built the tower facade so that I could still open and close the garage door. On Halloween, we leave the garage door up and the front half of the garage is decorated as a witches apothecary. It's a real fun time. Last year, I had a friend dress as a witch and act as the shop keeper. She gives a great cackle for the kiddies.

Here's a picture of more of the house. This is an old shot from when I was setting up in 2007.

 

[TK421]

I did the whole dremmel, then wet then blow torch the thing then multiple washes using a $5 bucket of oops paint from home depot and some reqular acrylic paint thinned with water, brush on wipe off... hot glued some stuff on the surface (moss and such)... between the blow torching and the paint, it sealed fine even through major weather...
[

It looks great! Thanks for posting the close-up pics. I'll try your techniques on the mausoleum I'm building out of 1" styro.