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The Cheap Stone Wall

We always want to hear how you have improved or changed our projects. Here's a great idea for the Stone Wall. Howard shows how he used one of the basic ideas here to produce a very simple, useable wall. Thanks, Scary Guy!

Check out Howard Kennedy's version of Stone Walls!

The Cheap Stone Wall (pt. 1)

Here's a great way to build durable, inexpensive rock or brick walls for caverns or dungeons
(my favorite places).

Materials:

Wall base (plywood, styrofoam or sheetrock panels with framing support)
Sheetrock/gypsum board joint compound (in the 5gal bucket)
Paint (1-2gal. -the cheaper the better)
Cement walkway form (around $20 from Home Depot).
4"-6" paint scraper.
Paint roller and/or brush
Cleanup rags, water

The Process:

Decide on what finish you want up front - this determines the form you buy (brick or stone) and the colors of paint you will buy:
black and white paint for a rock finish;
red, white, and black paint for a brick finish.
OR -just use whatever paint is lying around and experiment!

A pic of a Crypt facade that I'm building

Stone Finsh

I'll talk about the stone finish first:

Paint the base (I used plywood) with thinned black paint to seal the plywood and to show the seams between the 'rocks'.
Mix black paint into the joint compound. (I used a paint mixer with a drill to help the mixing). Keep mixing and adding paint until the joint compound is a dark grey color.
Use the paint scraper (or trowel) and liberally spread the joint compound over the entire surface - IMPORTANT NOTE: don't be skimpy! the sloppier/thicker it is the better!.
Use the cement form and press/wiggle it into the joint compound until it is firmly seated against the plywood (squeezing out the compound), then remove it. Turn the form around until it matches the edge on the wall, the repeat. Keep going until the entire wall has the pattern.

Using the Concrete Form to press the stones into the joint compound

Scrape the edge of the paint scraper along each line to accent the edge, or use a small piece of wood. The idea is to reveal the black paint underneath. You can slop on more joint compound as think you'll need. Dont worry about being neat!
Wipe the flat side of the scraper against the wall to add texture to the 'rocks'. Let it dry.
After drying, use a small brush with a bit of thinned black paint to add detailing: accent edges, add/accent shadows, accent seams, etc. Age the stones with a bit of dark green paint applied with a stippling brush (or a rag).

Brick Finish

Now, for a brick finish:

Paint the base with thinned white paint mixed with just a little black to simulate a mortar look. Adding any 'beige' color will work too. Experiment!

Then paint to seal the plywood and to show the seams between the 'bricks'.

Mix red paint with a little black paint into the joint compound for a red brick color - remember the joint compound will be a bit lighter when it dries. (I used a paint mixer with a drill to help the mixing). Keep mixing and adding paint until the joint compound is a medium to dark red color.

Use the paint scraper (or trowel) and liberally spread the joint compound over the entire surface - IMPORTANT NOTE: don't be skimpy! the sloppier/thicker it is the better!.

Use the brick form and press/wiggle it into the joint compound until it is firmly seated against the plywood (squeezing out the compound), then remove it. Turn the form around until it matches the edge on the wall, the repeat. Keep going until the entire wall has the pattern.

Use a small piece of wood about the size of the mortar seam to scrape away the brick color. The idea is to reveal the mortar-colored paint underneath. You need to be just a bit neater than stone for a brick finish - but not a whole lot!

Wipe the flat side of the scraper against the wall to smooth texture to the 'bricks'. Let it dry. Age the bricks with a bit of dark green paint applied with a stippling brush or rag (like the stone finish). Add detailing with off-white/yellow thin 'streaks' in the brick if you want!

Ta da! portable stone or brick walls. Use a light along the side to accent the pattern, it looks great! The walls can be assembled side-by-side either straight or on angles. The seam between the panels may be ignored if it is real dark in the haunt (no kidding, they just 'seam' to disappear...), or you can add a styrofoam post painted dark brown to simulate a support for a mine shaft.

I've got several of these and they're very durable and look great!

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