Mausoleum Doors

In the continuing evolution of my yard display, I have created motorized Mausoleum Doors to enhance the Mausoleum scene from last year. The intent is to hook the doors and FCG to the motion detector already attached to the garage; upon activation a timing circuit will cause the doors to slowly open inward and the FCG/black light/ and ghost sounds will begin.

These pictures show the early construction of the 2 doors.

They are made from 3/4" foam, the "glass" is a piece of cracked glass panel used for lighting fixtures cut to fit in the opening.

I used some chair rail molding as trim for the top opening and to act as a stop for the panel and glass.

Plaster castings of hand hammered nail heads accent the center line.

To make the triangular patterns, I made a design (PDF format) on the computer, printed it out, traced it 3 times in a vertical line to a piece of foam board and then cut the appropriate sections out using an exact-o-knife.

The lower panel is made from 3/4" Wheel molding. The wreath relief pictured was an early trial but I ultimately decided on a raised panel look made from foam board.

For a realistic look, the doors are given a flat black base coat with a paint brush. Then I used Rustoleum's Patina Paint Kit to give the doors that antique copper look. I was able to cover both doors and the handles with one can of the copper base coat included, but just barely.

I found out that you really don't need to completely cover the object with the copper base coat. A light coating and then the patina can give the appropriate finish.

Available Colors:


7986 Dark Patina	7985 Light Patina

The handle is made from 4 main components: 1-1/4" square wooden block, 1/2" PVC, threaded rod and cast lamp finials.

I made a silicone mold of a lamp final and cast 4 copies, carefully drill a hole in the center of each finial and wooden block, a 2" piece of PVC is sandwiched between the finials and blocks and the threaded rod is secured with nuts at both ends.

A hole is pre-drilled in to the back of each block for mounting. A 1" piece of PVC separates the handle from the door and 3" drywall screws are used for securement from the back. I had to trim a 1/4" off the tip of the screw as to not split the blocks.