Great rocks:) Thanks for sharing, you are a very good instructor! The faux rocks at the stores are not as nice as your rocks and I love that you can make the color to blend in with your own area. The money the store ask for them is not in my budget. THANKS AGAIN!!!!!!
Excellent tutorials...and great ideas! I'm particularly interested not just because of the expense of natural stone...but because of the weight of large decorative boulders. You've definitely got me thinking about the possibilities!
Question...Did you make your waterfall all in one piece, or out of several rocks then glued together?
@chainduck The "rocks" on the pond are actually monolithic. The whole thing is one integrated piece of concrete with each rock individually shaped by adding chunks of polystyrene and concrete. No need to glue them together, thus there are also no seams to produce potential leaks.
This is great- I researched cost for these rocks and WOW..What I needed was faux rocks for my Well Head and Septic covers--so I used craft wire(like chicken wire) and used pieces of Wood from stakes and used a staple gun to make the forms -in the underneath of the form I sprayed 3m glue to weed stopper sheets and glued to the wire. Then I followed your recipe---Turn out very nice!! Thanks.
@JanetKay58 I'm glad you found the technique useful. I'd love to see pictures of what you've created. Private message me so we can exchange email addresses and pictures.
By all means, anything can be used to take up space. For very large rocks, try filling plastic trash bags with all sorts of things (except dead bodies). I personally like empty capped plastic bottles for their compressibility for preventing damage due to freeze/thaw cycles.
If you want to waterproof the rock for use under water or for waterproofing the fake rock walls of a pond, make a slurry mixture of cement and 1:1 acrylic and water and paint on a couple of coats, as you would in waterproofing a basement wall. Then put on a texture/color coat of sand/cement mortar (with acrylic water mixture). The two coats of "paint" keeps water from penetrating into the structure of the rock. It's an additional step that makes the rock waterproof.
really helps me a lot, i usually use natural rocks for my waterfalls projects, but its so hard to use it as it is so heavy. now that i know how to do artiifcial stone it is easy for me to do want kind of shapes and size for my waterfalls design. thanks don for your time and effort
What a great tutorial. Really enjoyed it. Could you provide the product name of the final sealer you used for underwater structures. (I think you said xylene or silane base.) I'm planning a project to create a stream / waterfalls to my embankment pond and want to be certain I don't endanger my fish. Also, does your mix handle freeze thaw cycles well?
The sealer has as its solvent, xylene, as opposed to water-based. There are many brands. I just bought one at Farm and Fleet made by Thompson's. Just check the labels. Once the sealer cures, it is not a threat to the fish. One of the characteristics of styrofoam based concrete is its excellent performance in freeze-thaw situations. It is better than air-entrained concrete. The fiber also aids in preventing and minimizing cracking.
THANK YOU! You're truly a prince for sharing this with all of us. I'm already well versed in faux painting and faux boi, faux marbling. I just learned faux stained glass this summer. I can't wait to take on faux boulders! My house is the house Faux built-lol
Just watched all 6 videos. Thank you so much for taking the time to make these tutorials! I need to make some faux rocks for a film set fireplace and I think your recipe will be perfect. They need to move as though the have some weight (they have to fall) while not being a danger to the actor in the scene. Thanks again!
It's Don, not Dave, but that's OK. It is not a koi pond, though it could be used as such. It is a turtle and goldfish pond and varies from two feet deep to four feet deep. It is 9 feet wide and 17 feet long. Good luck with your pond remodel.
Fantastic Series. Thankyou for including all the detail you have and for demonstrating the process so well. I look forward to more videos possibly showing the creation of hollow rocks. You are an artist!
Thank you for a very informative lesson. I will be trying some artificial rocks with this method. I have a question regarding the strength of the rocks as my children will like to walk and sit on the larger ones created. Will they hold up to my children and others walking on them?
Great rocks:) Thanks for sharing, you are a very good instructor! The faux rocks at the stores are not as nice as your rocks and I love that you can make the color to blend in with your own area. The money the store ask for them is not in my budget. THANKS AGAIN!!!!!!
awhat1234 1 month ago
Excellent tutorials...and great ideas! I'm particularly interested not just because of the expense of natural stone...but because of the weight of large decorative boulders. You've definitely got me thinking about the possibilities!
Question...Did you make your waterfall all in one piece, or out of several rocks then glued together?
chainduck 6 months ago
@chainduck The "rocks" on the pond are actually monolithic. The whole thing is one integrated piece of concrete with each rock individually shaped by adding chunks of polystyrene and concrete. No need to glue them together, thus there are also no seams to produce potential leaks.
dperry428 6 months ago
Wow Thanx !! great job please keep the videos coming!!
dulsecielo 10 months ago
very informative, details and creative video. Thank for creating this video and share with every one.
caodon 1 year ago
This is great- I researched cost for these rocks and WOW..What I needed was faux rocks for my Well Head and Septic covers--so I used craft wire(like chicken wire) and used pieces of Wood from stakes and used a staple gun to make the forms -in the underneath of the form I sprayed 3m glue to weed stopper sheets and glued to the wire. Then I followed your recipe---Turn out very nice!! Thanks.
JanetKay58 1 year ago
@JanetKay58 I'm glad you found the technique useful. I'd love to see pictures of what you've created. Private message me so we can exchange email addresses and pictures.
dperry428 1 year ago
can I use Xylene based sealer to waterproof real stone?
SemiTall 1 year ago
@SemiTall I don't know why not, but, then again, why would you need to do that to natural rock?
dperry428 1 year ago
@dperry428 natural rock is pourous- this is a sandstone type rock we have in a water feature around a saltwater pool. Its a long story
SemiTall 1 year ago
@SemiTall It should seal it, but it might take more than one coat.
dperry428 1 year ago
Very interesting video, tnks 4 sharing all this tips.
raulgrave 1 year ago
I appreciate the comments.
By all means, anything can be used to take up space. For very large rocks, try filling plastic trash bags with all sorts of things (except dead bodies). I personally like empty capped plastic bottles for their compressibility for preventing damage due to freeze/thaw cycles.
dperry428 2 years ago
If you want to waterproof the rock for use under water or for waterproofing the fake rock walls of a pond, make a slurry mixture of cement and 1:1 acrylic and water and paint on a couple of coats, as you would in waterproofing a basement wall. Then put on a texture/color coat of sand/cement mortar (with acrylic water mixture). The two coats of "paint" keeps water from penetrating into the structure of the rock. It's an additional step that makes the rock waterproof.
dperry428 2 years ago
That is, if I am following your description -- you got it right. Hope it works out as well for you as it did for my projects.
dperry428 2 years ago
really helps me a lot, i usually use natural rocks for my waterfalls projects, but its so hard to use it as it is so heavy. now that i know how to do artiifcial stone it is easy for me to do want kind of shapes and size for my waterfalls design. thanks don for your time and effort
gen151725 2 years ago
excellent creation of rocks.
i wish you had the video zoomed in on the subject while you were working on it. it was way to far to see you work.
apauln 2 years ago
What a great tutorial. Really enjoyed it. Could you provide the product name of the final sealer you used for underwater structures. (I think you said xylene or silane base.) I'm planning a project to create a stream / waterfalls to my embankment pond and want to be certain I don't endanger my fish. Also, does your mix handle freeze thaw cycles well?
EChipukaizer 2 years ago
The sealer has as its solvent, xylene, as opposed to water-based. There are many brands. I just bought one at Farm and Fleet made by Thompson's. Just check the labels. Once the sealer cures, it is not a threat to the fish. One of the characteristics of styrofoam based concrete is its excellent performance in freeze-thaw situations. It is better than air-entrained concrete. The fiber also aids in preventing and minimizing cracking.
dperry428 2 years ago
THANK YOU! You're truly a prince for sharing this with all of us. I'm already well versed in faux painting and faux boi, faux marbling. I just learned faux stained glass this summer. I can't wait to take on faux boulders! My house is the house Faux built-lol
lancetop 2 years ago
Thank you for the VERY HELPFUL and INSIGHTFUL videos. I just might have to try this.
tidalturfdotcom 2 years ago
Just watched all 6 videos. Thank you so much for taking the time to make these tutorials! I need to make some faux rocks for a film set fireplace and I think your recipe will be perfect. They need to move as though the have some weight (they have to fall) while not being a danger to the actor in the scene. Thanks again!
TheSignSeeker 2 years ago
Excellent! Thanks for your time and effort!
sarcheman 2 years ago
It's Don, not Dave, but that's OK. It is not a koi pond, though it could be used as such. It is a turtle and goldfish pond and varies from two feet deep to four feet deep. It is 9 feet wide and 17 feet long. Good luck with your pond remodel.
dperry428 2 years ago
I watched all 6 parts, and I learn lots, thank you very much
kuroshjapan 2 years ago
Dude. You're the freaking Michelangelo of rocks.
Amazing. As you zoom in at no point is the illusion revealed.
cosmasindico 2 years ago
Thanks for taking the time to do this project for us.
Z389X 2 years ago
very nice. great garden and pond, too.
MTEXX2 2 years ago
Fantastic Series. Thankyou for including all the detail you have and for demonstrating the process so well. I look forward to more videos possibly showing the creation of hollow rocks. You are an artist!
Darchala 2 years ago
Great instructional series. I want to do a project at the corner of our deck, and this has really inspired me.
krob63 2 years ago
Thank you for the kind remarks. I hope you find the same enjoyment in this as I.
dperry428 3 years ago
Thank you for a very informative lesson. I will be trying some artificial rocks with this method. I have a question regarding the strength of the rocks as my children will like to walk and sit on the larger ones created. Will they hold up to my children and others walking on them?
Krystar2112 3 years ago
Definitely
dperry428 3 years ago