[scorpio]

I need some help/ and or ideas of how to make walls for my maze in my haunted house. In years past I have used appliance boxes and then black tarped them. I need something more sturdy the boxes allowed for flexibility but some were always getting knocked down.....HELP!!!!

 

[Tombstonebilly]

If you get some hard foam pieces(shipping foam) sand them down to shape and size and glue them on a piece of plywood any size plywood will work MAKE SURE YOU HAND PAINT FOAM - spraying may dissolve foam, just make what size and color you want.

Did you try putting a two by four inside boxes longways (cut little holes in the sides to fit 2x4) in the middle against the front and then weigh down bottom, maybe make a brace (heavy cardboard) that fits over top of boxes and slides down over sides in a little slot and ties several boxes together. What seems to help is if you can secure several boxes together to make a strong wall. Best Of Luck.

 

[Shilo341]

Before my haunted trail I used a 40'x60' tent. I use to make my walls by taking a piece of 4x8 1/8" hardboard( Masonite) about $6 a sheet. I would take a 1/2" piece of the cheap white foam board and liquid nail it to the masonite. I would then take a plastic form, used for pouring couble stone walks, and use it to trace the different shaped stones. After I had filled out the entire sheet I would take my dremmel tool and carve out the lines ( morter). Then jusy paint the entire thing with latex paint. I also went back and painted the lines I carved out with a darker paint. On the walls on one side of the tent where the wind hit pretty hard, I put 1x3's on the back of the masonite as a frame. Rick

 

[CookieMonster]

What I did for two years was Get 8foot (maybe 10, I think 8 tho) high pieces of skinny wood from home depo or Lowes for about $1.00 each. Hammered them into the ground about two feet then took tarp and made my walls this way. Sorry I'm having a horrible morning so i can't explain it all into depth but here are some pictures:

You can also use black tarp(painters tarp). Which is found in roles at home depo or Lowes for about 30$ which SHOULD cover your whole haunt. It did for mine, and then some.

 

[Mainelyelectric]

How about pallets i use them they seem to work good and they have a eery look at night to them!!


Thanks Ben

 

[Haunty]

I do a haunted maze & I use panels, wooden doors, & recycled scraps of wood & plywood. Thank goodness for "Spring & Fall Cleanup Days"! We have 6x6 panels framed with 2x2x8s & 1/2 in Osb plywood. For extra support we use 1 in. galv "L" brackets in the inside four corners & center bracing.

For a more economical method....
that's lighter / smaller use hard board (peg board's cousin w/o holes) & frame with 2x2x8's. Can make many 4x8 panels cheaply & either single or double sided. One downside to using hardboard is that it warps somewhat. Better off getting the thicker size vs the cheapest thin size. It'll hold up better & take the abuse of patrons every year. Make sure to paint the panels with a exterior latex paint to protect them from the weather.

We use 1 5/8 in drywall phillips head screws to make the panels & 2 1/2 in square head screws to attach panels together. The square head screws don't strip out like other screws do. We've had to learn this the hard way!

 

[creepyhomemaker]

How about pallets i use them they seem to work good and they have a eery look at night to them!!


Thanks Ben

I agree. I think one of the best cheap materials are pallets. You can get them for free and some of them are very sturdy, especially the ones for concrete and such. Stack them one on the other and form walls like that. You might have to run a couple of braces along the top. I have a barn that I have turned into a permanant haunted house. I use 2- 4x4 pallets stacked on top of each other for alot of the walls. I also use walls that are framed 4x8 plywood covered. I personally love the look of pallets. The first year I only had pallet walls and I made a maze out of 244 of them inside the barn. I started building it at the end of Sept. so I didn't have time to decorate. So that year I just let it be a maze.

The pallets looked almost like the barn walls. So with a little fog and the right lighting it was very creepy and way too confusing. I thought I was NEVER going to get people through it. Because of the way they functioned I started building all my walls 4x8. Almost everything inside is built divisible by that dimension. That way I can completely change the layout with just a few minor adjustments to the walls. I like it to be rerouted every year. And I can turn an area into room in no time.

Here's the plan this year. It's a little confusing to look at because the upper right is exterior. When you're inside it it looks like you're still in the barn but you're actually outside. We had to do it this way because of the exhaust from the chainsaw. Most of my walls are wood painted to look like stone etc. now, but pallets are the best in a pinch. If you don't like the look of them, cover the wall with black plastic. It works great.