These pictures show some of the process of installing the Chapel Ruins. Construction pictures may be found Beneath the Hallowed Haunting Grounds from the detail page for the particular effect.
Guests walk up this driveway to reach the door and to continue their tour. It seems like too large and valuable a space to allow to stand empty. Here is how we filled it...
Here is the answer to one of the Frequently Asked Questions... Where do you store this stuff? The Chapel Ruins main wall pieces and columns were stored behind this house and covered with tarps.
After a few years we became pretty good at this setup. The first step is to extract the scenery from storage and carry the pieces out to the front for assembly. Steve is wearing a dust mask because the parts are stored outdoors and they become quite dirty. They were also known to become the home of various critters, who took the phrase "chew the scenery" rather literally. We start with moving the columns because they are stored in front of the wall pieces, even though the wall is installed first.
The wall is built in six foot sections. These are cinema-style "flats" made of a 1"x3" timber frame covered in thin luan plywood. The back of the flat is painted black to make it less visible and to protect the wood from weather. Each flat has an irregular top piece attached to enhance the "ruins" appearance. It also has the "face" piece attached to the back of the flat and covered with black cloth to protect it from the hedge. The black ropes are used to secure the flat to keep it from falling forward in a breeze.
After the flat is assembled it is stood up and prepared to move. That process always involves a discussion on how to get it through the rose bed and up against the hedge.
Once the flat is close to position then the inevitable discussion occurs about the precise location. Also, this is the time that we realize that the wiring for the lights and speakers should really be laid out before we block the access.
Ultimately, Gary makes the position call by locating the holes for the column support posts. Once the flat is in position, it is secured with the ropes and with a 1"x3" brace through the hedge, anchored to a re-bar driven into the ground.
The process continues for each flat, except for the positioning exercise, because each flat connects to the previous one.
As each flat is positioned, it is bolted to the previous one using three 1/4" bolts and wingnuts. That secures and aligns them. Because we have very lttle access to the rear of the wall, we cut holes in the front of the flat to be able to insert and tighten the connecting bolts. Also, when the flat is installed, the wiring to power the light for the face is pulled into position in the wall opening.
The process continues until all six flats are installed and secured. The wall is then adjusted straight and plumb and various trim pieces are installed. Including pieces representing stone columns embedded in the wall. Those covers actually cover the bolt access holes and make the wall joins look better.
After the wall is up, then the columns are installed. We do not have many pictures of that process because we are usually too tired and it is dark. The columns are secured by driving 10-foot pieces of steel pipe into the ground, then setting the columns over the pipes and securing them with u-straps. Each column is then weighted with two or three granite blocks, like this one Gary is carrying. "What, and give up show business?"
The next step is to install the arches. That usually happened the day after the the columns were installed. The arches and other trim pieces were stored in this shed. As usual the packing technique meant that most everything else had to be moved to get to the large arch piece.
Because of the arch design and installed wiring it was difficult to dissasemble the system. While difficult, requiring four people, it was easier to carry the main arches in one piece than to try to reassemble them. A future design might have made this process easier; we will never know. In this picture we head from the back yard to the side of the house.
Continuing the awkward trek, we carry the arches through the yard. Because this space becomes filled with graveyard props, the Chapel Ruins assembly was always the first element of the show to be installed.
Once the arches reach the driveway, they are placed on trash cans to support them above the ground. That allows for the installation of stiffening PVC pipes that extend below the base of the arches and eventually attach to the back of the columns for leverage. Ladders are positioned to reach the tops of the key columns. When all is ready, the arches are lifted into position on the tops of the columns.
Once the arches are lifted into position, they are bolted to the tops of the columns. The stiffers are screwed to the back of the columns and the electrical wiring for lights and speakers is extended and connected.
The foam arches on top of lightweight wooden columns could be a bit wobbly, especially during any breeze. That would tend to spoil the illusion of stone that we were trying to create. For added stability the arches were secured by tying them to the trees and set pieces with black nylon upholstery thread. The thread was one of the staple materials of the Hallowed Haunting Grounds. It is extremely strong and invisible in the dark. This enhanced image shows two pieces of the thread attached to the two full arches. The threads stabilizing the arches extended as much as twenty feet to points of attachment.
The columns are three-sided for access to the interior and for nesting during storage. Some of the columns can be viewed from all sides, and so they must have the third side covered in a manner that makes them look like stacked stones. Here, Steve begins the process by attaching foam panels.
Once the filler panels are installed, the gaps are filled with drywall compound.
Careful attention is paid to making sure the edges blend.
The columns, and all of the materials, receive touch-up paint to blend the new fillets and repair storage and handling damage.
There are always more bits to fix.
... and more paint
Once the columns are installed, our friends and neighbors received thier annual trimming of the vines. Ivy and other long, leafy plants were carefully attached to a set of ropes rigged as a low fence. This kept people from wandering into the graveyard or approaching the wall.
The last major piece of the scene is called the "Seventh Face of Man." It is supposedly the remains of a stained-glass window at the front of the chapel. The Seventh Face is Death, the last stage of life depicted in our sequence. During the show, lightning flashes periodically reveal in the window the image of a skull. The skull is actually a Kodalith transparency sandwiched between two pieces of window screen. The screen behind catches the light, from a fixture located behind and below the skull, and refracts it through the image. The screen in front obscures the transparency from view when it is not illuminated. The garage behind the piece is completely covered with black duvytene cloth to make it disappear at night.
The addition of cornices and capitals, and bunches of spanish moss, and ample darkness at show time, yields a rather foreboding scene.
With the addition of the original driveway pillars and a bunch of lighting and sound wiring, the Chapel Ruins are complete for another season.