Bottomless Pit

Trish's version of the Bottomless Pit

There's been a lot of discussion about inexpensive alternatives to buying two way mirrors. After seeing Larry Lund's page and instructions for his Bottomless Pit, I decided to build one. After finding out that a 2' by 2' two way mirror would cost $55, I wanted to find an effective and less costly alternative. From the posts I had read I saw that some list members had built pits using mirror paint or film on Plexiglas to create their own versions of the Bottomless Pit. Spookdawg had done this and had pictures of the Pit online. After visiting Spookdawg's page, I decided to give it a try. So with many thanks to Larry Lund and Spookdawg for their examples and their invaluable advice, here are pictures of my version of Larry Lund's Bottomless Pit. If you have any questions email me at trishanc@hotmail.com.

Material list: (This is the same list as found on Larry Lund's page with some exceptions. I used 1/2" thick foam and instead of a 2 way mirror I used 1/4" Plexiglas and Privacy Mirror Film.

2 10' 2" x 4" (these must be very straight and will be used for the mirror supports)
1 4' x 8' sheet of 3/8 CDX plywood ( for the walls )
1 2' x 2' mirror (1/8" plate mirror)
1 2' x 2' 2-way mirror*

Alternately:*

Click for alternate instructions on how to use Plexiglas instead of a two way mirror..

2 2' x 8' x 1/2" foam insulating panels (to make fake stones, I used the blue kind from Lowes)
1" X 2" pine for brackets
Screws
1 100W light bulb and socket.
2 tubes of Liquid Nails construction adhesive.
1 Quart latex paint (Paint with solvents can damage the foam)

Tools Required:

Router or table saw to cut the grooves for the mirrors
Screwdriver
Drill and bits
Paint brushes
Band saw or saber saw
A dust mask (Important!)

Click on an image to see a larger one

I have finally completed the exterior of my pit and as a result, I've changed some text and some steps around. The original issue was how well would this pit work without a 2 way mirror and I have plenty of pictures and a separate section to answer that.

Here is the pit completed. I added a lot of touch up to it to make it look like something that's actually been outside for a while. I used a ot of vines and moss on the outside. They can be seen more clearly on the larger picture.

Here's a picture of the unit assembled but still waiting for the exterior stones to be attached. The L brackets were needed to pull the sides in straight and are hidden once the faux rocks are applied. Each corner has 3 brackets.

Click on this picture for details.

This is the 3/8" plywood for the sides and 1/2" extruded foam for what will be the stones. I had intended to use 3/8" foam like Larry's instructions called for but Lowes only had 1/2" so I made do with 2 sheets of that.

The one sheet of plywood was sufficient for all four sides of the pit.