Making a stone with your own hands is not so difficult if you familiarize yourself with the technology, acquire everything you need and show a little imagination. Using foam plastic, concrete and coloring pigments, you can create boulders that will decorate a corner of the garden, imitate rock or masonry, and also make tiles for wall decoration.
The production of decorative stones can be done using foam plastic, concrete and coloring pigments.
Artificial boulders in the landscape
Artificial boulders are used to add interest to an existing landscape or when creating a new one. With their help you can diversify dense vegetation.
And, of course, synthetic stones are used in the construction of artificial waterfalls, rocks and other structures when the use of natural material is not economically feasible. Boulder stone is an indispensable attribute of modern landscape design. And since naturalness and naturalness prevail in design today, boulders are a great way to decorate a garden in a natural style.
The artificial material used in the landscape looks as if it was not placed here by a skillful designer's hand, but has been there for a long time.
The boulder stone is lighter than its natural counterpart, but it is no less durable and can easily withstand human weight. In addition, artificial stone is difficult to distinguish from natural slate, quartzite, granite, dolomite, limestone, sandstone, etc. This similarity is achieved through the use of special imitations technologies, special dyes and pigments.
The main advantages of artificial stone:
- Strength;Low weight;Environmental safety;Resistance to weather conditions;High similarity to natural material;Variety of shades and textures.
How to make an artificial boulder with your own hands
It is very easy to buy decorative material for the garden, but you can make an artificial boulder with your own hands. For the simplest method, you will need a wire mesh, a solution of cement and sand (1:3), for filling - polystyrene foam and old bags. First of all, it is necessary to make the frame of the future stone from the mesh.
The second stage is filling the frame with polystyrene foam and plastic bags. This move lightens the weight of the future boulder and reduces the volume of required solution. In addition, filling will prevent the cement mortar from falling through.
Now you need to prepare the solution. To do this, 1 part of cement is mixed with three parts of sand.
Enough water is added so that the solution is not liquid and does not slide down the frame. It is better to apply the solution to the frame in small “cakes”. After the first layer is applied, it needs to dry a little.
Next, you need to prepare a more liquid solution, which you need to coat the future stone with. This can be done with a spatula or by hand, forming natural depressions and bulges. The product is covered with a film for the solution and left to harden, after which it is turned over and the bottom is formed in the same way.
If you are interested in how to make an artificial boulder more natural, then you can use special pigments for these purposes. The best pigments for stone imitations are warm toned pigments and black for color fixation. It is better to purchase more expensive dyes, since cheap analogues can fade in just a few months.
For small stones, a mixture of sand and cement is poured on top, and for large ones, a solution is used.
First, the stone is sprinkled with light pigment, then black. The surface is sprayed with water and the pigment is fixed with brush movements. This way you can alternate between warm and black shades several times to achieve the desired color.
After final drying, it is recommended to apply a sealant intended for interior concrete work to the resulting surface. Thanks to this, the boulder stone will be protected from bad weather, which in turn will make it more durable.
Installation of artificial stone: the experience of professionals
Installing artificial stone is much simpler if you compare it with laying natural stone.
It will not require serious physical effort, however, in order for the cladding to serve for a long time and not require repairs, certain technologies will have to be followed during installation.
Violating them can result in the surface being uneven, unsightly, warping after a while, and causing other unpleasant phenomena.
Laying artificial stone
Using a trowel, apply an adhesive layer to the back side of the cladding element for installation of masonry with a thickness of 0.5-1 cm. The solution should cover the entire surface.
Press the facing element firmly against the wall. To get the best fit, move it lightly from side to side. After such manipulation, the solution should protrude along the sides of the installed element.
When using seamless masonry, pay special attention to the fact that the end connections of the cladding elements must be filled with mortar in the form of a thin layer.
In this case it is necessary :
- completely cover the back side of the cladding element with the solution so that when installing, its excess is squeezed out along the edges;
- remove excess mortar using a trowel immediately after installation, leaving only a thin layer of it on the ends of the tiles; in addition, you can apply a thin layer of mortar to the ends using a bag filled with mortar.
When installing the cladding on a very dry surface, as well as when installing in hot and dry weather, it is recommended to pre-moisten the installation elements and the base surface using a paint brush or spray. Carry out installation, as in other situations, from top to bottom, in small sections from 0.3 to 0.6 sq.m. With this installation method, smudges of the adhesive solution will hardly stain the decorative surface.
Joining
One of the most important stages of laying decorative stone is jointing. When doing this, ensure that the surface is thoroughly sealed. This will prevent moisture from getting under the cladding. In this way, you will protect the cladding from cracking of elements during the cold season and destruction of the entire masonry in the future.
The jointing is carried out using a construction syringe gun. You can also use a special bag (bag) that allows you to fill the seams with solution.
It’s not difficult to make it yourself: just cut off the corner of a medium-sized thick plastic bag so that the diameter of the outlet hole is slightly less than the width of the seams, i.e.
spaces between cladding elements.
Fill the bag with the solution and, slowly squeezing it through the hole, fill the seams with it. You will have to be extremely careful and attentive, since the solution should not get on the lining. If this does happen, the grout should be removed from the surface of the stone immediately.
After the mortar has set, smooth out the joints using a pressing motion with a spatula, then remove the excess. Do not process seams immediately after filling them. The solution that has not yet set will leave dirty marks on the lining. The surface can be completely cleaned using a stiff, but not metal, brush.
Water repellent for protection
It is necessary to treat the masonry with a water-repellent compound after it has dried for special protection. Thanks to the water repellent, a silicone, elastic, vapor-permeable film is formed that completely protects the stone:
- from exposure to moisture and dirt,
- acid rain,
- the appearance of efflorescence,
- exposure to solar radiation,
- stone damage by fungi and mold.
By following all these rules, you can avoid unpleasant mistakes when creating facing surfaces.
Source: https://RemontHome.com/montazh-iskusstvennogo-kamnya-opyt-professionalov
How to make a hollow artificial boulder
Before you make boulders with your own hands, you need to take care of the frame. To do this, you can purchase a ready-made form or make it yourself.
One option is cardboard, which must be folded so that the shape resembles natural stone. The resulting frame is wrapped in construction mesh. The solution used is a mixture of one part Portland cement and 3 parts sand.
The solution should have a thick consistency.
The resulting solution is applied with sliding movements over the entire surface of the future cobblestone. The thickness of the concrete wall must be at least 2 cm. After the form is ready, it is necessary to cover it with film and leave it for a day.
Next, mix a tablespoon of coloring pigment and a glass of Portland cement and dilute it with water. The resulting composition is applied to the stone as the main layer. You can sprinkle with cement, sand or a mixture with dye.
You can also use concrete paint and apply it both over the entire surface and in individual areas. After the mold has completely dried, you can take out the cardboard - the hollow stone-boulder is ready.
Technology for creating artificial boulders with your own hands on video:
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This was my first attempt to make an artificial stone, I wanted to replicate them and decorate the garden. In this instruction I will tell you how I did it. And as you can see in the photo, I still succeeded :) I prefer to learn everything myself, so I made a few mistakes along the way, which I will also try to tell you about. Let's go! To make a stone, we will need a lot of corrugated cardboard, so it's time to get some balcony old cardboard boxes.
You can fill the insides of the stone with anything, I used old newspapers and wire. You will also need to mix some cement, which means you need a bucket, a spatula, water, cement, sand or a ready-made concrete mixture. A cardboard box served as the main body, to which I glued rounded pieces of cardboard and even some foam plastic using PVA. I filled the gaps between the cardboard ribs with old newspapers and leftover polystyrene foam. It doesn’t really matter what you fill the insides of the stone with. Then I wrapped the “stone” with wire to securely hold the newspaper and foam together. Following the instructions on the package, I mixed the solution: 3 parts sand, 1 part cement, and as much water as needed to obtain the desired consistency Using a spatula, I applied the solution evenly over the entire surface of the stone.
This is easiest to do if you have a turntable like I do. There are no special recommendations here, we just apply the solution, in some places you can try to draw / engrave something, or slightly modify the landscape of the stone. Closer to lunch the next day, the cement set and I finalized some details - small cracks, gaps and places where the wire stuck out. Then I painted the stone ocher. In principle, the pigment could be added directly to the solution, and it would probably even be easier. We could stop there and consider the stone ready.
But I will give one more piece of advice - in order to prevent cement from the harmful effects of the environment, in particular humidity, it is advisable to apply mastic to the surface of the stone to seal the concrete. It will increase the life of the stone. I took the stone out into the fresh air so that it would dry out and acquire its own texture, which will be given to it by wind, rain and other weather conditions. This is something like what it looks like in the garden. I like! How about you? Find out about the most interesting instructions once a week, share yours and take part in sweepstakes! Home→Gardening Forum→Garden and Vegetable Garden→Articles→“Stone” made of polystyrene foamOksana-nik09/04/2017 03:04 Making a decorative stone from polystyrene foam is actually not possible such a difficult job as it may seem at first. To do this, you need to stock up on a little patience, imagination and a set of simple tools and materials, including: the foam itself; soldering iron; paint or coloring pigment; concrete; chain-link mesh; putty knife; sand.
In some cases, you may need wire, wire cutters, stationery tape and plastic bags. The list of tools used depends on what exactly you want to end up with: imitation brickwork or a huge decorative stone for installation in the garden. To make your own decorative stone for installation in the garden will need a chain-link mesh with small cells. The frame of the future cobblestone or rock fragment will be made from this material. The resulting form must be filled with pieces of polystyrene foam. To avoid large voids, the size of these pieces should be no more than 2-3 centimeters.
The bottom of the frame of the future stone should be tightened with thin wire or sealed with stationery tape. Construction tape is not suitable for these purposes. The next step is to prepare a concrete mixture. Portland cement in combination with river sand is best suited for these purposes. The proportions of these materials in the mixture should be approximately equal to the ratio of one to three.
The resulting mixture should then be diluted with water, mixed thoroughly, left for 7-10 minutes and mixed again. To make the mixture homogeneous, you can mix it using the cutting method. That is, cut off a small piece of concrete from the edges, move them to the center of the container, mix and repeat this operation over and over again. The output should be a mixture whose consistency resembles dough. The cement should not flow from the spatula, but fall off in large pieces.
Then the finished mixture is applied to the surface of the stone in a layer about 15-20 millimeters thick. After that, the workpiece is moistened with a spray bottle and covered with plastic film for a day. You can also wrap the future stone in an ordinary bag from the nearest supermarket, if it is the right size. After 24 hours, you can begin to prepare the surface of the cobblestone or rock for painting. Preparation for painting decorative stone is usually carried out using a coloring pigment.
One level tablespoon of this substance of a suitable color in combination with a faceted glass of Portland cement is diluted with ordinary water to the consistency of thick sour cream. This mixture is applied to the surface of the product being manufactured using hands dressed in rubber gloves. As soon as the stone coating begins to dry, you need to use a spatula to give the stone a natural look: add chips, scratches and notches. Foam plastic is easily processed using a knife and scissors. This can also be done using a soldering iron.
The heated metal tip of the tool will leave behind uneven and asymmetrical marks, which is what is required. The surface should not be perfectly flat. In some places it should be thicker, in others thinner. This effect can be achieved using sandpaper. To consolidate the effect, make several punctures in different places, cover the stones with film and leave to dry until completely dry.
The product, dry and ready for painting, is painted using the same mixture as at the preparatory stage. The main task at the moment is not so much decoration as tinting and giving a natural color to the stone. The product should not look artificial. The coloring composition is applied with a brush using the spray method. That is, the decorative stone is not uniformly covered with paint, various inclusions, darker and lighter places appear.
If you don't like the results of your work, you can wash them off with plain water and repeat the last step again. All that remains is to fix the result with a transparent aerosol varnish, which is sold in any auto supply store. Before starting work, you should practice a little on a small piece of polystyrene foam. Article from the dekormyhome website. The question is how to make wall decor under a stone from polystyrene foam with your own hands, today quite relevant. Such decorative panels are used to decorate all kinds of surfaces, from edging on mirrors or windows to the entire wall area. The popularity of the material is explained by the light weight of the structure and ease of installation, which is especially important in apartments located in multi-story buildings where the use of heavy brick is impossible.
Wall decoration with foam stone
Polystyrene foam can make an excellent imitation of masonry, brick walls and other surfaces.
This effect can be achieved in two ways:
- make stones or bricks of future masonry for walls with your own hands separately;
- shape the masonry of entire wall segments on a large piece of foam.
In any case, you will first have to prepare the stones themselves with your own hands. To imitate brick walls, foam is either cut into equal rectangles, or each decorative brick is “turned” onto a large piece of foam. The first method is good because thin pieces of material are suitable for its implementation. In the second, you will have to use a piece of foam plastic of greater thickness.
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Polystyrene foam can be easily processed with your own hands using a knife and scissors. Giving the masonry segments the required geometric shape should not cause any problems. To prevent the coating from looking artificial and taking on the appearance of real brick walls, you should add defects to it: chips, cracks and scratches. This can be done using a soldering iron. The heated metal tip of the tool will leave behind uneven and asymmetrical marks, which, in principle, is what should be achieved.
When heated, polystyrene releases toxic substances into the air. When working with a soldering iron, you should definitely use a respirator, and work should be performed in a well-ventilated area, or better yet, in the open air or on a balcony.
To give the foam wall covering the appearance of wild stone, it would be more advisable to use large and thick pieces of material. Each decorative stone of the masonry is carved separately by hand using a knife, scalpel, spatula and other available tools. Before starting work, you should practice a little on a small piece of foam. To make the stones of future wall masonry look natural, you can draw their outlines with a pencil. And along these same contours, leave a shallow groove 5-15 millimeters wide, which will imitate cement mortar between the stone.
After performing the above operation, the coating should be given volume. Wild stones differ from brickwork not only in the shape and size of the elements, but also in their depth. The surface in profile does not have to be perfectly flat. Somewhere it should be thicker, somewhere thinner. You can achieve this effect using sandpaper.
When imitating wild stone masonry for walls with your own hands, you should remember that each “pebble” must be unique, and not an exact copy of its neighbor.
After the decorative panel is ready, it can be attached to one of the walls using glue or liquid nails. It is recommended to first clean the surface of dust and dirt, otherwise brick or stonework will have every chance of ending up on the floor at one fine and most inopportune moment.
If the materials contain only small fragments of foam, then do not despair. With the help of glue, a stationery knife and cement mortar, you can assemble decorative stone of any size from them.
Painting of new stone or brickwork can be done either using a mixture of pigment and Portland cement, or using regular paint. In this case, uniformity of the coating should be avoided. Various inclusions, stains and other attributes of a novice painter’s work will give the wall a natural appearance. And in conclusion, it remains to debunk the myth about the soundproofing properties of polystyrene foam. This material does not absorb or insulate noise. To ensure silence in your home, you should use mineral wool and other fibrous structures.
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Making your own decor
To make imitation brickwork from foam plastic with your own hands, it is recommended to use fine-grained polyurethane panels, which have good heat resistance and do not crumble.
If it is not possible to purchase such material, you can replace it with ordinary ceiling tiles.
In addition, you need to prepare the following materials and tools in advance:
- stationery knife; electric soldering iron; glue, putty; primer, varnish.
In addition, you can use sheets of construction extruded polystyrene foam, since it has characteristics that are ideal for this purpose.
You can see the comparative physical properties of the materials in the table below.
