How to Build a Crypt

Halloween is coming and you've decided to go all out decorating. The usual headstones and obligatory ghost hanging from a tree limb isn't enough. You want something more. Build a crypt. This eHow will tell you how.

Things You'll Need

• 18 1 by 4 inch boards
• Two 1 by 1 inch boards
• Two large hinges
• Two 1/2 inch diameter lengths of PVC tubing
• One 1 inch diameter length of PVC tubing
• Fasteners: 2-inch wood screws and nails
• 12 L-braces
• Four flat L-braces
• Chop saw
• Five 4-by-8 foot sheets of pink rigid insulation
• 1 gallon flat black paint
• One 29 ounce can flat medium gray paint
• Paint brushes
• Drop cloth or tarp
• Duct tape
• Utility knife
• Rotary cutter or drill
• Black fluorescent light fixture
• Power strip and extension cords

Instructions

1. Sketch your plan for the crypt first so that you know what you are doing. This can be modified as construction commences, but at least you have a plan which you can follow.

2. Frame the left and right walls. Cut four 2 by 4 inch boards into 6 foot lengths, then cut eight more boards into 4 foot lengths. The 6 footers lengths will be the outer upright edges of the walls. Attach the 4 foot lengths to the top and bottom of the walls, making certain they are flush and square with the ends of the uprights. Evenly space the remaining boards to add rigidity to the frames. Use wood screws as your fasteners. Each frame piece will consist of two 6 foot uprights, and four 4 foot cross pieces.

3. Set up the frame of the back wall in the same manner. However, use only one cross piece in the middle of the frame for bracing.

4. Build the front wall in the same manner as above, but do not add any cross pieces. Add one 1 by 4 inch board cut at a 4-foot length next to either the left or right of the frame so that it is flush to one of the uprights. You will attach your hinges to this piece of wood.

5. Create a gate out of the PVC tubing. Use the thicker tubing as the cross pieces, and the thinner tubing as the gate posts. You can design the gate into any configuration you desire. Fit the thinner tubing through the thicker cross pieces by pre-drilling a small hole, then enlarging it into a hole big enough for the tubing to fit through. Lay the framed gate opening on the ground as you do this step, for you want to create a gate that will not be too large for the gate opening. Attach the hinges to the two thick PVC cross pieces.

6. Use L braces to screw the frame together. Make certain the vertical pieces of the frame face outwards. Make all of the sides flush with each other

7. Cut four 1 by 4 inch boards into 4-foot lengths with a chop saw. Cut one end of the boards at a 60-degree angle. Make certain the cut is clean so that when the edges fit together they are flush.

8. Lay two of the angled boards on the ground, forming a 30 degree angle. This will be the ends of the gabled roof. Create a cross piece by cutting a 1 by 4 board to length so that it lies horizontally across the two angled pieces. Screw both ended of the horizontal piece into place. Repeat the process for the other side of the roof. Secure the angled ends with L braces. Make certain they face toward the inside of the roof.

9. Shorten two lengths of 1 by 1 inch board into 46-inch lengths. Set the gable roof ends upright (you may have to prop them with something so that they do not fall over). Screw the 1 by 1 to the cross pieces of the gabled ends, creating one, freestanding structure. If need be, add additional 1 by 1's if the structure does not seem sturdy.

10. Lift the roof structure onto the crypt, and mark the points where the edges of the crypt touch the gabled ends. Cut notches at these points in the gable structure so that the frame of the crypt can slip inside them, thus allowing the gabled pieces to fit snugly. Be certain the roof sits squarely (or not, if that's your intention).

11. Cut the 4 by 8 foot rigid insulation in half to form two sides of the roof. Attach the two pieces together using duct tape. The tape will form a hinge. You may have the tape on the bottom or top of the roof.

12. Create roof runners by cutting smaller pieces of rigid foam. These will hide the notches that were cut in the gables ends.

13. Make the side walls by cutting the rigid foam insulation into 4 by 6 foot pieces. Cut some small notches at the top edges to accommodate the gable roof.

14. Form the back wall by cutting two pieces of foam insulation. The piece has to be wide enough to cover the edges of the side pieces. Create one rigid piece by taping it together with duct tape on the inside of the panels.

15. Set up the front walls with two pieces of 6 foot rigid insulation. Cut two pieces so that an opening is left for the gate. Cut notches for the hinges. Trim a little of the top edges to accommodate the roof runners.

16. Detail the rigid insulation in any manner you like. Score lines in the panels with the utility knife to create the appearance of mortar lines. Paint the panels more than once to completely hide the panels' original color. If you are going for a stone crypt motif, base paint the panels first, inside and out with the black paint, then paint another layer with the gray paint, allowing some of the black to show through.

17. Assemble the crypt by adding the roof and wall panels. Attach them with nails. Be sure not to sink the nails--this could dent the panels as well as possibly crack them. Paint the nails and the exposed wood pieces inside the crypt in the same manner as the walls.

18. Hang the light fixture from the front cross piece of the gable assembly. Set up CD player, the power strip and extension cords, and have fun!

Tips & Warnings

• Use latex paint as it's easier to clean up afterward.

• Add music in the form of a CD player to heighten the effect.

Resources

• Nephilim: Imagineering has an article on building a crypt.
• Flat Rock has an interesting article on various kinds of crypts.