After reading the recent article in FH “Fake Stone, Real Appeal” I want to try it. I’m doing a gradual remodel on my home and have an area around the garage doors I think would look good with this on it. But, I have the typical caviar taste and soda cracker budget. Has anyone tried making their own fake stone. I thought of trying to make my own using a few of those concrete pathway forms and some concrete stain or colorant. I do have access to a small electric mixer. Total area would be @ 230 s.f. Any thoughts?
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Why use a form? Get a piece of thick plywood, wax the surface real well, mix up the mortar, and drop a blob on the plywood. that makes the back flat to adhere to the wall, and you can shape the front to look like a stone. BTW I didn't read the article so I might be way off base.
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Don't make the back smooth or you won't
get a good bond.
bubble wrap would make a good texture for the backI'd use the stamping forms or something though.Not me actually - I'd buy the real fake stones!;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I experimented with this kind of thing thirty years ago - see, I was before my time, mr Hardy!
;)
Some things you need to pay attention to are weight and shrinkage.
Too much water and the pieces will have shrinkage cracks.
Too much heat on one side and the pieces will warp, so not in the sun for curing.
The makers use some sort of light weight fillers like styrafoam or perlite. Too heavy and it will try to slide off the wall and not bond good.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
My thought is that it would be a heck of a lot of work to save not many bucks. And it wouldn't look as good, and probably wouldn't work as well, as the "real" fake stuff.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Well your a gloomy little cloud aren't ya. I agree tho... Just in a more cheery sort of way!
"Well your a gloomy little cloud aren't ya."
Heck no. Buck cheered me all up talkin' about strippers! ;-)
Still, fake stone can be had so cheaply, I just can't see how you'd save enough money to cover your costs in DIY'ing it, let alone your time. And the fake stone companies have put a lot of thought into such features as color, texture, weight, corner systems, etc. -- don't think you could make you own that would come close to the "store bought", and you'd spend a bunch of bucks tryin'.
There's ways to save $$$, and then there's ways you can't save $$$. This strikes me as the latter.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
"Still, fake stone can be had so cheaply, I just can't see how you'd save enough money to cover your costs"Which is why I never became a world famous concrete fakir!
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
stone companies have put a lot of thought into such features
Actually the number one item they provide is corner pieces, inside and outside.
These are the least remembered first-project item, too.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Thanks to everyone for your input. I will definitely take it in consideration. I certainly have enough to do without going into the rock business.
I priced the real fakes at my local big box and a brick supplier. Both priced out at @ $1500.00 just for stones. Is there anywhere I could get them direct from a manufacturer for less and have them shipped direct to me?
"Both priced out at @ $1500.00 just for stones."
Seems a tad high -- IIRC, my local supplier has faux rock for around $3.50/sq ft. Did you cipher how much it would cost to make 'em yourself? The difference between the DIY price and the store-bought price is what you should focus on to determine if it would be worth it.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
There are silicone molds for fake stone so I don't think it's going to save anything by using flatwork patterns. If you want to make your own molds it's easy enough to purchase the stuff and copy a few rocks.
Having said that there are a larger number of rocks than would meet the eye to have the results come out looking random. Depends on how detailed you are.
Personally, I'd copy some real fake stones since they are sized to look right together and fit better than true random stones. The corner pieces especially would be good to copy. Ask anyone who has leftover stones from a completed project and they would probably give you the extras.
From what I've seen, the surface color is what makes or breaks a good looking concrete rock and by the time you get the feel for that you might as well have either hand picked real stones, or simply worked a little extra to buy the stuff you want. There's a lot of labor involved in all this.
I'd also be the first one to say go ahead and give it a good wirl.....
:-)
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
Why not just collect some real rocks?
If it's a gradual remodel, you ought to be able to find them eventually.
Or are you in a rock free zone? Lots of them here, come on over, I'll load you up.
Joe H