Wall Construction

[VSneader2]

I'm trying to come up with a budget and would like to know what type of wall to build. I have attached a photo showing 4 different methods, what style of wall would be the best. I know # 3 would be the strongest but is it really necessary. I have seen walls built like all shown. Also would 2x2 be strong enough or should we go with 2x3 or 2x4? If you have any other ideas please share.

[FEAR ASYLUM]

Why not do an 8x8 ft wall.2x2 seems to be the way to go when building haunt walls though

[Front Yard Fright]

We build our walls with two 48" boards (one on top and bottom), one 45" in the middle, and 93" on each side. I've found this to be the most stable way - but others may object.

As far as 2x2s vs 2x3s or 2x4s, I think it depends on whether your haunt is indoors or outdoors. I personally use 2x4s for my outdoor haunts and 2x3s for the haunt in my garage. I don't think 2x2s give you enough space to put in your screws - but again, others may object on that as well!
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[xxxdirk]

We use 2x3s with one down the middle going top to bottom compared to going across. I suggest 2x3s because when we have gotten 2x2's from home depot or menards I would say 30% are warped or just junk. I know some will say that you just have to select the boards, but when you are building say 100 walls, that is 400 boards and personally, I just do not have the time or desire to hand pick 400 boards. LOL. As fas as the actual construction, originally, we screwed everything with drivers. But again, if you are doing say 100 walls, that is a lot of battery power and time you will waste. Instead, we now use a nail gun to do the frames and then screw the plywood skins down. If you have the right work stations and the wood precut and the right crew, and the right tunes cranked, you can easily do one wall done every 50 seconds or so...
Hope that helps....

[Nightgore]

By the picture you attached... I would suggest #2, with 2x3's. 2x4's will make your walls thicker and heavier without adding much more strength than the 2x3's.

Also, on perimeter walls and walls in tight maze areas (high stress)... it'd be wise to add another brace to the middle of the wall... but going vertically up the middle, not horizontally.

When screwing your walls together... BE SURE to make sure EVERYTHING is LEVEL and SQUARE!! Also, we use six screws per joining of two walls... 3 on each. You want the screws to grip the braces from both directions... if you only screw panels together in one direction, they WILL come apart!!

Also, when bracing overhead... DO NOT brace walls that are straight across from each other. Instead, use a longer brace and go to the next wall. You'll see that your forming triangles on top of your haunt... this is the same method trusses use and why they're stronger.

Although you built the walls using 2x3's... use 2x4's for overhead bracing. This will add ALOT of strength to the walls and better support of weight/stress for lights, effects, sound equipment... etc.

Hope this helps. -Tyler

PS: DO NOT USE OSB!!! I know it may be cheaper but it's harder to paint, maintain and not as strong as plywood. Spend the money now and keep from paying more later! USE PLYWOOD!!!

[VSneader2]

Thanks for the replies so far. whatever way we choose we are going to make a templete first so its just a matter of throwing the boards down and screwing them together. we figure with this method we can knock them out pretty quickly and everything will be square. Would you reccomend 1/4"or 3/8"plywood?

[MindWerxKMG]

3/8" thick