INCREMENTUM(oak's wall panel business)

[oakhillshaunterTHEFEAR]

Yes we have decided on the name for the haunt industries very own wall panel business, Incrementum. Its the latin word for Growth. Growth of your home haunt, growth of your professional haunt, growth of your business. For the past 3 days I have been building a single sample panel because that is what so many of you have been expecting. The scene I themed it as is abandoned Hotel, not motel. Motels have shitty wall paper, not wood trim and elegant paint jobs. My photographer isn't done with the photoshoot yet so I asked her to give me a couple pictures just so I could get this thread up. I promise to have the rest of the pictures up by the end of tonite. Now this one is a teaser of the finished product.

This panel was constructed with 2x4 pressure treated lumber, simpson strong ties, and was "glued and screwed." The sheating is 5/8" OSB for outdoor use.

My panels will be featured in the 2010 season at a haunt in San Bernardino and I was hoping to be featured in Raycliff Manor's haunt but Kel told me that they were looking for used panels this year. I will have pictures of the haunt up by this February.

If anyone has any questions or comments you can refer to my previous thread or just ask here.

You can contact me anytime by PM me or at my email incrementumfear@hotmail.com

My cell number is 760-221-1029 txting is preferred as I may be inclass and would not be able to take your call.

[oakhillshaunterTHEFEAR]

incrementumfear.com is now registered and under construction. I hope to have the website done very soon!

[oakhillshaunterTHEFEAR]

Okay dokay. After 6 hours of photography the photos have been selected. I've picked my 3 personal favorite pictures depicting the best example of the work you can expect from me on a basic panel.
The first picture is of the panel all by its lonesome. Its a picture of a hallway of the interior of a hotel room. Supposedly set in the late 1800s early 1900s.

The second picture has yours truly me(in the green shirt) and my business partner Richard, better known as psychotichood.

The third and final picture to be posted tonight is of a quick setting to give you guys an idea of the angle at which we approached this project. These paticular items aren't for sale just to make that clear but they definately accentuate the wall panel.

The only regret I have is that you may not be able to see the amazing crackle effect so many people wish to ottain. It is infact very real and very well done if I might say so. The accent trim is simple but real oak wood. I thought it would be appropriate to use oak as to pertain to my unique name.

The photography was done by the very lovely Rachel Hood. She does Photography, Visual Graphics, Paintings(wall murals, canvas, water color).
If you wish to inquire about her services you can contact Rachel at (760) 963-4387 or live.4.art@hotmail.com

If anyone has any questions or comments once again the new email address in incrementumfear@hotmail.com

The website is underconstruction as well as the kickass logo.

[Front Yard Fright]

Just giving my opinion... But the wall looks WAY too clean and new. I would distress them much more and make them look more worn and realistic. The wall you have now looks straight from a Martha Stewart catalog!

[UnDeRTaKer313]

dude! i am so excited that you got your idea off the ground! i knew you could do it.
keep up the good work, your blowing me away right now honestly, your moving so quickly.

[rwrussom]

Nice looking work, but way overkill on the materials. The show is in the dark, so the quality details are lost. the oak is piontless and add to the cost. If it is an old haunted hotel from the 1880s, there are 100 years of built up paint, and patches, and soot, and oils, etc, etc. That looks like a hotel that just got remodeled.

Nice work . . now trash it up.

[oakhillshaunterTHEFEAR]

Thanks Nick coming from you that means alot. I'm dreading the huge amount of work still ahead to get this idea officially off the ground then again I'm looking forward to it.

RW I knew of all people you would be the best one at pointing out what i was dissappointed with. The oak wood trim was just for me kind of like my little signature on the particular piece. The technique I used to crackle the paint worked amazingly well but there were two problems that arose. First there was too much light to see them and two i realised that in the dimmed out lights they werent exageratted enough to make a good point.

I was so dissapointed that I'm already working on fixing this little issue. I'm hoping to have enough money here in the next week to build atleast half of a room. So cross your fingers. Thanks for the comments guys.

[MMManiac]

another suggestion, use 2x2's not 2x4's. It cuts the thickness of the walls down and makes them alot lighter.

[FrightProps]

Advice

Some constructive criticism from a fellow vendor and previous haunt owner (me )...

- Too much labor and overkill on the materials used. Oak? Really?!
- Too heavy, you might want to think about a new design that uses 2x3 and thinner skins. Try to look at wall panels in various existing haunts for ideas
- Not spooky looking at all. Check out photos of the Darness... you can find great example of old hotel look
- They must be treated with fire retardant and you must promote that fact or no professional haunt will buy them.

You need to be able to mass produce these for CHEAP in order to make it a viable business.

I only mean these comments to be helpful in your venture!

Doug.

[shawnc]

Have you thought about how much shipping will be? I think that is one of the reasons so many haunts build their own walls or buy them used from someone not too far away - the shipping can be a killer.

You are looking at a 4x8 pallet at least, and that's exposing the edges of the panel to damage during shipping. Also remember that you will need some padding between panels - you can't just stack 20 of them on a pallet and hope they don't get all scratched up.

Just some things to think about as you move forward.

[oakhillshaunterTHEFEAR]

Lots of comments its awesome! So I'm definately going to address most if not all topics brought up.

First and foremost, I believe in quality of my work, 2x4's are stronger and cheaper then the 2x2's or 2x3s. The problems with the smaller sized lumber is you can't drill conduit lines through the panel which is something I offer and it makes it harder for my connection system. If anyone has any suggestions on how to connect the two panels I would appreciate suggestions and will definately try them out and let you know how they work.

Second I understand that this particular panel did not look so hot and for that am a little embarrassed but I assure you I'm handelling that issue. The muriatic acid is drying as we speak and we eeried the panel up a bit. What you have to remember is that this is one panel with no control on lighting so it is difficult for me to portray its full potential to you. I spilled some acid on it added some rust and some scratch marks and dents and I hope that this new and improved panel can better enhance my business image.

The shipping thing is yes the biggest and still most prevelant issue for my business. I've already addressed that in my previous threads. I have a deal worked out with a delivery company that reduces the shipping costs to each of you drastically. I won't make any of you pay the full price, I will cover most of it. Its usually a small fee per panel delivered. The more panels you order the less I will charge for the shipment.

This particular panel business is mainly aimed at beginner haunters who are just trying to start up a home haunt or trying to make the transition from home haunter to professional haunt. These are the people who are not experts at building panels yet and need some help, with time, quality, and basic assembly. Professional haunts are aimed at a little less. You guys know what you are doing, the only time at which this particular demographic would need my services is if they need an extra hand in building panels because of other time constraints(school, work, family, etc.).

This is the final topic I will address in this particular post is what frightprops mentioned(i think). I understand i need to mass produce these panels and find the least expensive supplies to build these panels and maintain a viable business. The thing is, and this is something that has taken me 3 years to realize, is that I need two things to be successful especially in this industry. I need respect. Respect for the work, industry, and my customers. I'll get that respect by providing a high quality system of wall panels that will last for a long time, not by the size of my profit. The second and this is the most important one. I need patience, patience in the business, patience in attracting customers. This is something all haunters must learn, you can't expect this all to work in one night. Don't expect your first year to be the best. In fact, plan for the worst.

I once again gladly welcome any and all questions and comments on purchasing questions or questions on the panels themselve. You can contact me anytime by PM me or email at incrementumfear@hotmail.com

PS. The acid is drying and hopefully have a picture up tonite maybe tomaro. And all of INCREMENTUM's panels have atleast 3 coats of fire treatment.

[oakhillshaunterTHEFEAR]

The new and improved wall panel from hell. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

This is the wall panel still set in an abandoned haunted hotel from the early 1900s'. Once again I must express with much assurance each and every panel I sell has atleast 3 coatings of Class A fire retardent.

Questions and comments are gladly welcomed! PM me anytime or contact me through email at incrementumfear@hotmail.com or psychotichood@hotmail.com.

[oakhillshaunterTHEFEAR]

We now offer completed rooms with free shipping. Check out the thread on the fright forums.