This is exactly what I'm looking for as I'm planning to build a small water feature. Subscribed so I don't miss an episode, will likely have questions at the end of it all. Thanks for all the effort Steve, it's appreciated.
Back around 2010, I took a course called "Art in the Garden" from my local University. The Sculpture professor was teaching the course. One of the things we did was take large pieces of foam, sculpt them, then covered them with concrete lath (like what you're doing here) which we pinned in place with some type of heavy-duty wire, then covered the same with concrete. My project was to build a type of "tori gate-like butterfly fountain that could also be used as a seat", which I was going to put in my "Zen" garden. Unfortunately, the "Zen garden" has only come into existence now, 13 years later! (😸) In the meantime, in some places, the pieces of lath that were attached to the foam came lose and fell off with the concrete. Lesson learned from that was to make sure the concrete is at least 1 inch thick when applying to lath, chicken wire, or whatever. So now I have to repair it. (😿) Since then I've been making "fake rocks" using those blasted foam containers you get when buying meat or fish. While I haven't had too much problem with them because they're small (only about 4 to 6 inches wide by maybe 12 inches long and only about 1.5 inches thick), covering both sides with concrete can take up to 2 days because I have to do one side, wait until it's dry, then flip it over and do the other side. I found if I make them too thick, the concrete doesn't really stick to the foam very well. Since then, I've been researching a perhaps better way to do this and I may have found a method that will allow me to make these "rocks" bigger without the need for lath and pinning etc. (I'm still experimenting.) The method is one that the American Sculptor Muriel Castanis used back in the 1960/70s to make those huge figure sculptures on that building in San Francisco (Corporate Goddesses was what the sculpture was called. www.atlasobscura.com/places/corporate-goddess-sculptures). What she did was to dip fabric in the medium (in her case a kind of epoxy resin) and then drape it over the form so that when it dried, it kept the shape of form. I'm going to try dipping fabric pieces into a slurry of mortar mix and then drape it over the foam rock "form". After it dries, I should be able to continue to add concrete on top to build up the form so it looks like the way I want the "rock" to look. What do you think? Think this will work?
Yes this would work. Try dipping burlap into mortar thinned with water reducers and drape this over a wire armature. It should support your sculpting mix layers. Professional rock sculptors like the kind you see in resorts or in Vegas use 10mm rebar armatures backed with galvanized stucco lathe and fronted with 2" wire and also chicken wire. So from front to back, chicken wire, 2" wire, 10mm rebar armature, stucco lathe. The mud when applied passes through all layers and even partially through the lathe layer. This both backs the form well, but more importantly allows for encapsulation of the rebar armature. Whatever you do if you plan to have this bear any weight or be climbed on then having strong steel encapsulated in concrete would be a primary concern.
@@creatingconcrete No weight on the rocks. They will be under bushes and other plants and only the really large ones will actually be seen. I'm trying to replicate a "Japanese Zen garden".
I am so thrilled to find these awesome videos. They are so well done too. It was exactly what I need to learn, as a person seeking info as a sculptor (applying the method to structures other than rocks, like figures, etc). As I watched, some possible ideas came to me of alternative methods to try in order to get the lath secure on the styrofoam, instead of so many nails, I'm thinking of trying to section the styrofoam, so each side is a thin sheet, & then use galvanized steel wire to sort of 'sew' the lathe onto the styrofoam... & then recombine all the lathed styrofoam sides- maybe by wrapping wire around them too; or maybe use a scrap wood inner armature to attach all the outer styrofoam sheets. I think a roll of wire would be less expensive then all those nails?? & could hold the lathe secure. what do you think, in light of your experience?
I use rolls or mechanic / rebar tie wire and it is less expensive, but I prefer the grab of the roofing nails, and being they are galvanized steel they will not rust and bleed through like the tie wire. There are likely many variations you can try to arrive to similar results, but if cost is the problem, people sell half boxes of left over roofing nails all the time. Pick some up at a garage sale for $5 and it will last you a year or two.
If you want to delete the wire lath just use polymer modified cement mixed with fibreglass fibres and just spray it on It would be light enough it could float however it won’t stand up to the abuse of a more traditional stucco finish it is more versatile in its uses
I can't imagine the final product would be strong enough. Unless you went crazy with the thickness but without any support for climbing the vertical surfaces it would be challenging to do so. The lathe in this case provides so much strength and resistance to cracking / movement of hairline cracks. I mean it is all relative to what you expect the artificial rocks to be in terms of strength, longevity etc. but the ones I build are strong enough for physical abuse, direct sun, freeze and thaw etc.
Oh this is it, I have a very large retaining wall put in my yard back from the fifties. I have worked on that monster wall and nearly killed myself moving the massive weight rock to straighten out the stones. Ugh. Ended up in the hospital. Yeah, that heavy. The wall still needs work and filled in, this will work never thought of doing this. Excellent work, somehow I ended up watching your last video first so I will save for later and begin this task after I visit some construction sites. There's one right down the road. Seems like we live in the same type area weather wise. Mountainous terrain where I live and cold as all get out in the winter.
Perfect for the plans I have of making fountain birdbaths. With styrofoam I could make any size or shape so the water can fall the way I'd like it too. Thanks for sharing.😊👍
You can use a different type of lathe that’s much easier to work with. Spider lathe. It comes in different types and sizes. Most vertical concrete artists use it. I’m working on a log right now and am actually using a GFRC backer coat for my scratch coat.
I have worked with fiberglass lathe before...not my favorite stuff. Probably just because I am old and set in my ways and have been using galvanized steel lathe for so long. I also like that hardware stores sell lathe at a discount when it is bent. Traditional stucco jobs using lathe need it straight and flat, so when the sheets get messed up they sell them for half price. Which works just fine for me. Can not remember the last time I paid full price for lathe. Thanks for commenting. Great info about the lathe alternative. Cheers.
You just saved me a TON of money, and my back! Do you think if I applied a couple of thin layers of mud along with the 2 coats of sealer it would hold up "around" a pond/water feature?
I would definitely not. Cardboard will break down, mold and rot. It is not meant for even damp environments and even the application of the mortar itself would be enough to cause them to start to break down and degrade. I had never even thought to use boxes until a subcontractor on a jobsite I was on did that for an artificial rock structure. The engineer made them tear it all out and replace with a rebar armature backed with lathe. I would not recommend cardboard.
Yes. Its just a little bit of a pain to work with as you end up with little bits exposed through the mortar more easily. The slightly thicker wire definitely is easier to work with. Sometimes I even use both, which can be helpful for limiting hairline cracking and easier climbing of vertical surfaces with your mud.
