I thought I would show off my latest crazy idea. I am building a small waterfall out of styrofoam and cement. This is the first one I have built and it looks fairly good so far. It should look quite a bit different with moss and plants on it not to mention the water. The square piece will be a pond and the tall piece will sit in it and drip water down. It should be ready to add water tomorrow.
This message was edited Nov 19, 2005 4:56 PM
Here is a picture of the foam I got. For years I have looked for a good source. These pieces should do great. I hope to try many different looks for waterfalls and terrarium like pieces.
I thought I would share a bit on how I built the rocks. I have seen a lot of crazy ideas and some good a lot of them are aweful LOL. Get your foam and a propane torch. You do not have to be very artistic at making rocks for this to work just a decent idea of what you want the styrofoam does not really burn but melts back. After playing around with a piece for a bit you will get the hang of it once done you should coat it. I suggest cement if it is going to go outside or be in the enviorment. If in a terraium and you want to keep the delicate look of some of the smaller structures on the rock I would suggest acrylic spray paint. It turns fairly hard and usually has a good look of rock once dry. You do not have to get every angle of the rock with the cement or acrylic paint. The parts that are still white will turn green in a humid setting. What I like to do is mix fish emulshion and milk together and a few of my favorite mosses. Then I paint the waterfall with that mixture. Once out in the greenhouse after a few weeks it will have moss all over it and look like its a hundred years old. After that put in the plants and longfiber moss and your done. I will post more pics as I finish.
That looks so interesting, please post more information. Have you completed any pieces?
Brian,
That is way cool! You never cease to amaze us! Although, if you really want to make a mess, carving the styrofoam is much more fun! You will never get the bits off you unless you use fabric softener sheets in the shower. I have heard about that moss trick a while ago. Just make sure no one decides to have themselves a smoothie. Healthy I am sure, but not very tasty unless you are a seal! Also, you could mix styrofoam pellets into concrete and pour that into a mold that you can then carve easily as well...
Regards, - Ana
I must confess that I am a bit confused about how the final waterfall will look but am VERY interested. I happen to have my own stack of large styrofoam blocks which were used as packing around furniture. I need to dispose of them, but have had trouble getting over the nagging feeling that they should be useful for something other than to fill up the local landfill. I would love to hear more about your project.
Ana, excellent idea! I am also inundated with the styrofoam peanuts. Thanks for the idea. I just knew there had to be a use for this stuff.
Neato.....have you ever checked in on the hypertufa forum? They do some interesting stuff...
Wow, you are so talented! I can't wait to see the finished product.
Cool idea! Can't wait to see the finished products!
:) Donna
This looks like an excellent idea bwilliams! Like the others...I can't wait to see the finished results! Please do post them....Marcia
more pics almost finished
another pic
Looken' good....
How do you put concrete on it? I love these and you have done a great job!! Thanks for sharing...
Connie
I use a brush with a mixture of sand and concrete it gets hard but if pushed on or punched I am sure it would cause damage and need to be cemented again.
The garden art forum would love to see this!
You should post this over there, too.
:0)
Hi BWilliams. I am just up the road from you. I am in Henry County, just on the Shelby County line, so we are neighbors, of a sort. That is a nice looking fountain. Have you made any rocks? I have been fooling around trying to make rocks. Haven't hit on the right combination yet. I sort of do it like papier mache, with newspaper, old rags, to make the rock form, then coat it with quickrete. It is a start, but needs fine tuning. Where do you get the styrofoam? Lots of questions, but, I need to find the foam before I can do anything else.
defoecat, try the Hypertufa Forum and get some input on making rocks ;-)
http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/hypertufa/
Brian, that's a great creation. Really excited to see it with moss and water. Good idea for using some styrofoam, and the torch trick is a big help. What do you use for the cement wash ? Portland and sand, or ready-crete or ?
hey brian, How is your project coming along? This is very interesting.
Brian,How did your project finish up,with the aged and water added?
Update photo? Please......................
Yes, I would like to see more photos please!
Same here!!!
I am sorry to say I did not do much with this project after this and it really looks just about the same. The base did not hold water well and used it as a pot for tropical plants. I used the tall waterfall in another rock bowl for sometime then after it got clogged a few times I turned it off. It is still sitting in the greenhouse now. I do however have some nice photos of the one I first saw that modivated me to build the ones I did. This was at a friends garden nursery he built it out of sytrofoam as well and used a acrylic spray paint instread of cement.
I went back to visit last year and he had built this whole miniture display.
Wow, that is such an inspiration! Thanks for the pics!
Oh wow, Brian! Thanks for posting those. Sorry to hear yours didn't work out though.
Sorry yours did not work out! The others are truly an inspiration!
Mine worked well but I lost track during the spring and summer rush. I will probably put it back together and have it running this summer. If so I will show more pics.
Very clever! I love the look of it, like a grown over ancient ruin! Your friends miniature display is great! Is the castle made of styrofoam, as well?
Yes all of it is styrofoam the huge block one fooled me so well. I asked how he could sell such a piece of granite like that then he told me to pick it up. I could lift it fairly easy. I was totally shocked once I realized what it was.
