Home Made Switch Mat (2001)

Here is a post from my old EarthSands Halloween website. It is a little dated and the pictures aren’t that great… but I thought it would be worth posting on this website.

A switch mat is simple switch that takes on the look and feel of a doormat and is triggered when stepped on. My inspiration comes from a poster board switch mat from Allen's Halloween Page. Other good source...How to Make a Simple Mat Switch By bavetta.

The following pictures and text demonstrate building a switch mat out of more durable materials than the aforementioned "poster board" switch mat. The materials are a little more expensive, but could be well worth it.

For the mat, I used a clear plastic car mat set purchased at Menards  for ~ $5.00. I was able to create two mats, one from the front floor mats and one from the rear seat floor mats. You basically use the same size mat as one switch mat, marrying the two together, sandwitching the components between the two mats. As you would expect, the front floor mats are larger and longer than the rear seat ones.

For the conductor (between the mat sides), I used aluminum duct tape (used for sheet metal duct work), also from Menards for ~ $5.00. The tape is simply aluminum foil with a sticky side.  For the nonconductor or separator material, I used a thin Styrofoam  insulation tape/strip/protector. It is used to separate the wood frame from the masonry block on new home foundations. I'm not sure what the official name of the tape is, but it is about 4 inches wide and is blue and is similar to a foam material.

Two conductor round phone wire was used to complete the circuit from both sides of the mat to the power/relay. I suggest using speaker wire, it is flatter and easier to work with. A 12 VDC to 120 VAC relay was used to allow the switch mat to trigger a 120 VAC connection to power whatever effect I planned to use. The power supply to the relay is an old 12 VDC transformer. I housed the relay and AC input/output in standard home construction electrical boxes.