# Skeletal sonotube columns



## Frankie's Girl

Those look so wonderful! Really different look for columns - so creative! 
Looks really easy to follow too - which is great.

I love the patina!


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## Terra

Uhhhhh...._*WOW!*_ Super cool idea.


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## The Pod

The look great. Nice idea....


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## markk96

Nice Idea. I love it.


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## Cerberus

Thats a really cool idea and being able to use them as storage is a bonus. good times


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## Ghost of Spookie

Nice columns Effie. Man you've had some great projects so far this year and am looking forward to seeing your yard next month. When do you set up? 

I could see making columns for an Egyptian theme I'd like to do and really like the idea of multipurposing it for storage--an eternal problem for haunters. How tall are yours? also do you remember how much the sonotube ran? It would be nice to have a price point. Another question is did you need to prep the tubes before painting with a primer? 

The pipe insulation at the top and bottom, a stroke of genius. 

Thanks.


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## JohnnyAppleseed

Very nice, love the idea and these are too cool!


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## halloween_sucks_in_the_uk

Brilliant idea, thanks for the tutorial.


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## Effie

Ghost of Spookie said:


> Nice columns Effie. Man you've had some great projects so far this year and am looking forward to seeing your yard next month. When do you set up?
> 
> I could see making columns for an Egyptian theme I'd like to do and really like the idea of multipurposing it for storage--an eternal problem for haunters. How tall are yours? also do you remember how much the sonotube ran? It would be nice to have a price point. Another question is did you need to prep the tubes before painting with a primer?
> 
> The pipe insulation at the top and bottom, a stroke of genius.
> 
> Thanks.


Thanks! I'm still trying to decide when to set up -- since these columns are cardboard, I wouldn't want to leave them out in the rain, although I am planning to try to waterproof them as best I can. We usually start putting out the styrofoam tombstones a couple of weeks before Halloween, although I'm thinking about starting earlier this year! 

The tubes are 4 feet tall and 10 inches wide -- my husband said they were $7.00 each. I think they may also come in 8 and 12 foot lengths?

I was racking my brains trying to figure out what to use for the detailing on the tubes, and I was happy when I remembered the pipe insulation -- it was very easy to cut and apply. I had also checked out wallpaper borders online, some of them were very textured and would add some interest to the tube. The columns do look kind of Egyptian, don't they? 

Although I like the skeletons on them, in retrospect, I think they might have looked better plain -- when I put the gargoyles on top of them, it was a bit much with the skeleton and the gargoyle and I think a simpler column would have had a more dramatic effect. But, hey, it's Halloween, so what the heck!


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## litemareb4xmas

that's a cool idea! Nicely done.


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## Ghost of Spookie

Effie said:


> ....The tubes are 4 feet tall and 10 inches wide -- my husband said they were $7.00 each. I think they may also come in 8 and 12 foot lengths....



I'm surprised. That's very reasonable! I see these columns in my future.... Thanks for the info.


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## samadhi

These are really amazing. Nice and original and they looks great! Might make something similar for near my front door...maybe next year


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## BeforeDawn

I am soooooo stealing this idea. I was going to make some columns out of wood but this is way cheaper and original. My last ones were chicken wire and great stuff foam with assorted body parts etc but the never really looked very good.


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## LairMistress

That is too cool! If I had flat spaces to put these in, I would make some too.


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## SpookyMuFu

I like that green-ish one best and a Bucky would put it over the top!


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## brombones

Pure awesome! I'm so stealing that idea! I'll not use skeleton's though, but maybe gargoyles on the top. That is really easy looking though. Thanks a lot!


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## Not-so-sunny-lane

After seeing this I knew I had to try it. I bought my tubes and now I'm getting ready to paint them. Mine won't be as elaborate as yours and I'll either put gargoyles or skulls on top but thank you so much for the inspiration!! Keep up the great work.


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## Effie

Thanks so much for the nice compliments everyone -- I hope if you make these you post your pictures here, too -- I'm sure there are many possible variations and I would love to see what everyone comes up with!


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## Batgirl

These are awesome. Easy directions. Thanks for the great tutorial...I'm thinking of giving them a try!


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## sbell2547

Very, very cool. Great idea!


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## kjenn332

Hmm... I like how your posts turned out, and it allows me to mull further a similar project I started working on this summer. I'm thinking it would be possible to add a couple of LED lights and a battery from inside the tube (taped), and make the skeleton eyes glow... Maybe even add it to a remote switch or PIR, and have the eyes light if someone leans in "too" close to take another look?


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## eyellbrakeu

I love this idea, but instead of using the pressboard bulletin boards,is there anything else i can use for the tops and bottoms, i live in texas so there is always a storm around the corner


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## Brimstonewitch

Eyellbrakeu ... I bet you could find/use a small round table top or maybe even just a plain piece of plywood cut to size. It might cost a few $$ but would give you a little weight in the bottom. Thats a total guess on my part though.


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## Effie

Brimstonewitch said:


> Eyellbrakeu ... I bet you could find/use a small round table top or maybe even just a plain piece of plywood cut to size. It might cost a few $$ but would give you a little weight in the bottom. Thats a total guess on my part though.


That's a GREAT idea! I left mine out in the rain and the cardboard base on one warped a bit, even though I had tried to waterproof them. . . I think plywood would be perfect.


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## Brimstonewitch

LOL thanks Effie, I really hadn't even thought about the water issues with a cardboard bottom. Here in my area of AZ, water is always welcome props or no props.


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## Cab

Wow! My wife and I absolutely love this idea.
The suggestion for LED's is excellent.
I would like to mount a light weight speaker inside the tube for music/sound effects playback.
Thanks for posting this idea.

Cab


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## thalius Darkrune

*Love this*

This is a great Idea, and well executed!! very inspiring


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## BunnyMummy

Great idea. I like the patina on the columns. Where did you get the paint for it?


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## HalloweenDan

LOVE them .....great job !!!


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## MissMandy

These are just awesome. I like them with the skeletons. I may just try and make these myself!


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## Spookilicious mama

*Oh my word!!!! I HAVE to I MUST there is NO WAY I am not making those for my haunt this year!!! thanks for posting such a great idea*


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## Trex

Very well done Effie, I would love to add something like this to our graveyard. I really need to start prioritizing projects....


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## ctarpey

that is sooo cool!!!!


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## Terror Tom

Wow! Those came out great!!!! Awesome idea and cheap too.


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## Ghouliet

Great minds think alike. When someone on the list posted their skeleton fountain, I commented they would make great columns. My thought was to combine the tubes with the actual column ends from Lowes, make a base on them like the headstone I saw in show us your stones and top them with gargoyles or a prop I saw that looks like a bowl with a flame rising from it. So far I have purchased the tubes and column ends but since I did not have the bones I needed, I was waiting until someone stocked up some in the stores here in AZ. I wanted to actually see them before buying them. We just started making props and we have other headstones we are working on as well as a cemetery sign and fencing, so our columns are on the back burner for now. I also thought it might be fun to have a skeleton climbing up the back of the column over the other bones.

Nice job on your columns. I love the patina you put on them. I would never have thought on the pipe insulation for top that is a brilliant idea my column bases were 30$ ea.


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## bobzilla

Very nice!


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## halloween71

Love them!!!


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## whichypoo

Those are great! But I think Im gonna steel your idea but make them mummy's for my mummy theme. Thank you!


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## hollowscreamer

wow these are awesome!!!!!!!!
yet another MUST do added to my To-Do-List......halloween is how far away??? lol there is no way i can do everything i want in such a short time, it will take yrs. to get it all done! 
i really need to prioritize lol


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## alucard

I am always skeptical about using bluckys because they normally don't look very realistic in a scene; however, you've come up with a great way to make them look totally awesome!


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## deathstaste

*thanks*

great inspiration


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## deoblo

simply!!!!!!!awsome.......love the marble look great job


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## BeaconSamurai

Pretty neat idea and great execution.


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## sarahtigr

I am absolutely making these! I have been looking for some cheap, easy columns to do and these are PERFECT! I have some ideas to make them my own. Can't wait to make them and post pictures. I hope you'll like it! Thanks so much for the inspiration!!!


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## killa283

*Question*

I might have missed it but how did you attach the column to the bottom piece of the plywood?


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## MissMandy

killa283 said:


> I might have missed it but how did you attach the column to the bottom piece of the plywood?


I believe it was hot glue that was used


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## 22606

Very neat, Effie


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## chef

Great work and thanks for sharing the detailed photos!


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## dionicia

Those look really nice. They look like they would work indoor our outdoors. So many possibilities. Must...resist...starting...another project!


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## clnkblank

They are awesome....do you have a picture with the gargoyles on top or did I just miss it! Great idea. Thank you very much for sharing!


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## HallowSusieBoo

*WOW!! SO Glad this thread has moved into 2011 from it's original post date! What a great idea and just in time as we are building new facets to our graveyard - trying to "kick it up a notch!" I'm thinking silk flames blowing out of the top of the columns would be cool too! Thanks for re-posting!*


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## kallie

Those are awesome. They kinda look like they're watching you walk by and then they would magically turn 3D and grab you!


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## jpbaily1

Excellent thread!


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## spyderqueen

Love it..... I have been thinking about a tombstone with a skeleton on it and then dip strips in M.M. to decopauge over it so it looks like it was carved into the stone. but I may do it on columns instead....


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## gooosehunter

They look great. If they were made from the longer sono-tube, you could even put a cemetary sign across the top.

Dave S.
Norfolk, VA


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## GodOfThunder

Cool thread and great handiwork!

I've been looking for a suitable entry to my cemetery at the based of my sidewalk. I'm going ot lack the time to do the more elaborate square columns that I've seen here (although that's my preference) and am also a little lean on storage space. Using Sonotubes would be a good way to have a stately, spooky entrance and not be too awfully time intensive. Hope Home Depot will have them--I've not seen them lately.


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## GodOfThunder

FYI: the 8" diameter, 4' tall concrete tubes at about $7 at Lowe's. 

Will update with pics on my columns, but I bought the raw materials over the weekend. This is the last project I can do this year! My eyes are too big for my stomach with all the prop building!


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## MarkOf13

I did something a little different with the tubes...


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## dionicia

Very cool.


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## SCATALIE

Wow this is awesome I can totally use this idea at my house thank you!!


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## Langolier

Very nice. And I have wanted something for my entrance to my graveyard but haven't had time to buy all the wood and go that route. This idea is easy, quick and $$$ cheap, which fits my personality :>)

I am stealing this idea as well-what do they say-imitation is the highest form of flatery.


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## MonsterBoss

Wow! Thank you for this great idea! I built a cemetery arch this year but ran out of time for the columns. I'm going to use this tutorial to finish my cemetery gates for 2012! Thanks!


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## krnlmustrd

Thanks for the sonotube idea. I used it on my cemetery columns. I wanted to do the skeleton too, but ran out of time. I used the 12 inch tube for the entry columns and the smaller one (8 inch?) for the others. I made the column tops out of plywood and 2x4s. It just sits over the tube. The bottom is a bit more substantial with the tube going through one "layer" and the second "layer" holding a concrete paver for weight. I was then able to screw u-shaped brackets to the top and bottom 2x4s to clamp over the fence's end posts and archway poles to hold everything in place. The whole thing was very sturdy. 

























Overall, it cost way more than I was anticipating, though. 
I bought:
5 8" Sonotubes at about $7 each
2 12" Sonotubes at about $10 each
7 2x4s at about $3 each
1 piece of scrap plywood at about $3
5 pieces of 2'x3' plywood-like boards (I don't have a truck, so I had to buy would I could fit.) at about $6 each
2 bags of u-shaped brackets (those things to hold conduit pipe) at about $2 each(?)
1 box of screws (plus many I already had) at about $9
1 can of primer which I already had
7 cans of stone texture spray paint (using Michael's 50% coupons) at about $6 each
1 create-your-own sign at about $5
Column Cost for 2 larger/5 smaller columns: $169.00

The pieces to create the pvc fence cost:
30(??) pieces of 10' 1/2 pvc at about $2 each
Lots of pipe connection pieces at about $35
10 pieces of 1x2 wood at about $1 each
1 can of black exterior paint at about $20
2 cans of black spray paint at about $1 each
125 (realized I only needed 85) finials with shipping at about $45
1 special set of hole boring bits which I won't count in the total but cost about $50
1 heat gun which I won't count in the total but cost about $15
Fence Cost for 5 8' sections: $172

Total Fence/Column cost: About $341.


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## jpbaily1

That is one of the best sets that I have seen (and will copy....)!!!!


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## Katster

Effie said:


> I wanted to make some columns for my graveyard and found a great thread here where it was suggested that you could use cardboard concrete forms to make columns! So I had my husband get me a couple at Home Cheapo yesterday and I started them today -- they're 4' high and 10" wide -- I thought just the plain tubes might be kind of boring looking but couldn't think of any ideas to perk them up until this afternoon when I was watching "The Brothers Grimm" on TV and saw a scene where there was a skeleton kind of stuck into a stone outcropping and suddenly I remembered that I had a couple of small plastic skeletons up in the attic that I got last year on sale after Halloween -- so I decided to try to incorporate them into the pillars as if they were a part of them.
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These are a work of art, great job! Pinned them so I wouldn't loose them!


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## Oak Lane Cemetery

I used to make those tubes at the plant I worked at before transferring to the paper mill I'm at now. Your welcome. lol


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## CHEFJULI

Saw this on Pinterest! I'm definitely going to use the tubes!! Great post!


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