Build a haunted house

This project should be reserved for expert climbing pets only. Lizards such as geckos or green anoles are much better climbers than bearded dragons or especially a uromastyx. The tarantula family would be ideal seeing as how they are expert climbers, as well as being very appropriate for the theme of a haunted house design. This would be a good gecko habitat seeing as how it incorporates a basking spot, climbing opportunities, and a "hide".

The techniques to make this homemade haunted house are essentially the same as all of the other projects on this website. They only difference is the use of balsa wood for the "boarded up windows". Check out the video below on how to build a haunted house!

And don't forget part two...

The roof measures 13 3/4" wide by 6 1/2 inches tall by 10 inches deep. When put together, the entire haunted house project is 14 inches tall. This potential gecko habitat was made so that it would not be too tall so as to create a safety hazard where a pet might fall. As with all of the other projects on this site, I used polystyrene sheets purchased at a hardware store to build up the structure. The pieces are glued together with a product called Loctite power grab, although any type of adhesive will work. The goal with these haunted house plans is to keep the structure together enough so that you can put a few layers of grout on the house, which is actually what holds the sculpture together.

For great haunted house ideas do a search on the Internet by typing in "haunted house" into a search engine and going to the images results. In your attempts to try and build a haunted house, you'll need haunted house pictures and otherwise related images depicting old houses, condemned houses and other similar ideas.

The haunted house decorating ideas I went with were rather traditional. Including a house with a very weathered look with a decrepit -peeling paint job. I also wanted to incorporate an "old Timey" classic Victorian -turn of the 20th century look by creating a center tower. Another classic haunted house feature is a front porch, whether it be small or large and elaborate.

But, I think one of the most synonymous haunted house ideas is that of "boarded up windows". This really gets across the condemned -no one in their right mind would want to live here- look. I ended up using balsa wood for the boards, but an easier route would have been to use popsicle sticks. Be sure and watch the video above on how to build a haunted house.

After gluing together the base and roof section, you'll want to put at least three layers of non-sanded grout on the structure. This potential gecko habitat needs to be strong, for the pet lizard or tarantula, and especially to guard against you -the most likely creature to possibly damage your homemade haunted house! These techniques for your haunted house design can end up making the sculpture look stronger than it actually is, so you'll want to be very careful when moving the house so as not to bump into anything.

An optional stage is to board up the windows to make it look condemned. As I stated earlier -popsicle sticks is the easiest and safest method of doing this. The last stage is to seal it with a non-toxic sealant. I mention a couple I've used in the FAQ page, along with all of the other materials to create these fake rock structures. You want to put at least four layers of sealant on your haunted house design. As the last layer is drying, sprinkle some fine grain colored sand on the sculpture. This will give a creature traction, and eliminate some of that "shiny" look created by the sealer.