I use 4 and 6 mil black sheeting behind my Scene Setters and with vertical support (only on the inside) every two feet or so, it can withstand pretty heavy winds.

Are you saying that you've been able to paint that plastic and the paint does not chip or break? Will you be able to roll it up to store it or will it need to be stored flat?

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LT.. For your scene setters are you simply stringing them up and supporting them via PVC?

I found an article someplace about wallpaper pasting them to 1/4 plywood for stability.. I wonder if i would need to varnish them to keep them in good shape after storage etc?

Storage is a big issue for me. I start with 4-6 mil plastic rolls from Home depot. I cut the plastic over oversized ... 6-12 inches larger than the surface to be seen. Spray 3M adhesive on the black and lay the scene setters on in the center. I use 1" x 2" lengths of wood, or 3/4 sched 40 PVC depending on the location, to roll up the top and bottom of the wall. In the case of the wood, I attach to 2"x4" framework we screw together each year.

Then more 3M and another sheet of Scene Setters for the interior. We have some PVC sprayed rusty (primer) with black and some silver areas that pass as old pipes. Place short rebar in the ground just inside and next to the wall. One end of the PVC slips over the rebar and the other slips into a T fitting and a perpendicular "pipe" that is screwed to the 1"x2". We do this on all interior walls and it withstands our considerable, mountain, Santa Ana winds that ALWAYS manifest at least once and frequently 2 or 3 times during our H'Ween Season. Our Haunt is under construction from the last week of Sep thru Oct.

Deconstruction includes rolling up the walls into tight, long bundles that are stored in the top of my garage.

BTW, last year, for the first time we added a roof of the 4-6 mil (Don't recall which) black plastic. We had extremely strong Santa Anas that even brought fire around three sides of our (large) neighborhood. Most importantly, no homes were lost in our neighborhood. Secondarily, the haunt was ok.

As I stood on a small front balcony with a water hose at the ready, I watched the black plastic roof flop up and down with the surging wind. The hose was a waste because even though I was only 6-8 feet from the plastic, at full pressure the water could not reach the plastic. Fortunately no embers landed on the plastic and other than some stretched plastic, no dammage. Lots and lots of soot however ... for weeks.

Damn I'm wordy.

Oh yeah, I think varnish might "eat" the Scene Setters. I have to be careful not to use too much 3M or they start to shrivel - very thin plastic sheeting.

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Looks to me like you need to build a series of flats. We use flats on stage to build all kinds of walls and structures. A flat is a light weight frame made of 1X4 with muslin stretched and glued over the frame. The muslin is painted with standard latex paint and you end up with a light weight, very portable, very storable wall unit that can be used for anything. You can make them in any shape of size you want and use them for walls, doors, etc. I'm sure you could find instructions online (for general info see this Wikipedia link on flats).

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Speaking of flats, once I saw this posted and explored their website, realizing they were flats, it's something I think I'm going to do this year - pretty compact idea for a lot of space to cover.

As a bonus for me, I'm building flats for my church for a Christmas play, so I get to do that this month as good practice!

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Just wanted to add ..don't count out cardboard so quickly.

They are making houses and bridges out of the stuff now a days.

In advertising cardboard signs have been used for years and that's outdoor use!! I have a sign from a building contractor that did work on my house that is printed on cardboard and sat outside for more than a year with no visible deterioration.

I would love to know how they weather/waterproof the stuff.....If anyone finds out, please let us know.

Are you sure that's not that plastic corregated board? Very light weight and waterproof, but I'm not sure how you would paint it, or where you could get enough of it for a House front.

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If you painted the cardboard and left no open spaces, it seems it could last the 3 weeks they put it up (who knows how much it rained for them). Also remember that it's not just painted cardboard boxes sitting out there. They have frames they're attached to, so little warping is only going to bend/bow the middle and even then it probably adds to the effect.

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LT Scare you're right. I looked at the sign more closely and It is corrugated plastic board. They actually print directly onto it using a wide format inkjet printer with special ink.

I would think that there has to be someway to make regular cardboard waterproof. I know you can fiberglass it (expensive!)...but any cheaper ideas?

maybe Waterbased Polyurethane?

Part of me hates them that they get to do that! That looks...idk...amazing! Cardborad probly not a good idea. When I used to have cardboard tombstone (like 5 years ago) They could NEVER go in the rain. even alight mist would make them sag. your best bet is to go with foam board or particle board.

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