Forget The Candy . . . And RUN!: Columns for the fence are underway

Building on Lisa's idea to extend the fence to include the driveway, I am we'll underway in fabricating two columns to support the fence ends and create an opening to allow trick or treaters to brave the graveyard. I wanted them to be sturdy enough to not fall over if they were bumped by retreating kids and also to prevent the faux rock from breaking. To accomplish this, I used 2x4s as the main structure and a laminate board for the top. I also included a removable panel to allow the addition of lighting or other electronics in the future. The two horizontal 2x4's visible will hold the 1x2 that extends outside the box to mount the fence to. I also used magnets and plates to hold the removable panel in place.

Then I glued foam boards onto the three fixed sides and the removable panel using gorilla glue that includes foam on the list of compatible materials. Once attached, I used a Sharpie to sketch out the design for the fake stones. Again, Lisa had some great suggestions on making sure the "stones" weren't too even or squared off.

You will hopefully notice that there is a fair amount of texture on the columns. This was added by hitting the foam randomly with different parts of the back of a utility knife. I thought about different tools but found this had a perfect range of shapes all built into one device which allowed me to achieve a random look.

After adding the texture and sketching out both columns, I proceeded to melt the "grout" lines. I initially tried using the low-temp tools I purchased specifically for these fabrication projects but it would have taken forever since the tool only melted a thin line with each pass. Then I switched to a higher temperature electronics soldering tool and it worked great! I held it at a very shallow angle and dragged it quickly back and forth to minimize any lines.