The-Artistic-Garden's Blog

Finding A Store That Sells Perlite Is Not Too Difficult

I received an email from Gabriella asking:

Hi Claudia, I was wondering if your Hypertufa How-To eBook includes sources for supplies? I am having a hard time finding perlite. Thanks, Gabriella

My reply:
Hi Gabriella:
Thanks for contacting me – I can help steer you in the right driection to find perlite.

Perlite is not hard to find if you know where to look. I will assume you live in the USA or Canada. You can find perlite in the indoor gardening area of Home Depot, Lowe’s or even Wal-Mart, as example.

It is usually sold in a smallish-sized bag for around $4.00 per bag (I bought a bag last year–can’t remember the exact price.)

You should also be able to find it in any gardening store that sells potting soils, etc. And you can also find a number of online sources, just search for “buy perlite online”.

But, for those folks who are looking for vermiculite … well that stuff is getting tougher or almost impossible to find. The reason? The contaminant ASBESTOS is sometimes found in vermiculite and we all know that back in the early 1990′s the health hazards of inhaling asbestos became a hot topic and very much talked about publically.

The vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana supplied about 80% of the world’s supply and in 1990 guess what? You got it … they got shut down because of all the health risks attributed to asbestos. As a matter of fact, sadly many of the Libby town residents suffered “vermiculite-related” illnesses due to living within the vicinity of the mining operations and inhaling the asbestos.

So … stick with perlite in your hypertufa recipes and you’ll be fine!

And yes, my Hypertufa eBook does discuss how to find some of the harder-to-find supplies and it has a lot more information on all aspects of working with ‘tufa.

I hope this helps you and if you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Hi, Thanks for the reply. Do you know where I can find larger bags of the perlite? I live in Wisconsin. Thanks

My reply:
Hi again Gabriella:
I suggest you Google “perlite” and you’ll get lots of search options. Plus, by performing the search yourself, you will get suppliers’ ads that are targeted to your area and/or to Wisconsin. There might be a local supplier where you can get larger quantities.

It looks like there are many online suppliers, of course what they charge is the big question!

Good luck!

Hypertufa Can Be Used To Repair Concrete
But There Are A Few Things To Keep In Mind

I received this email:

My 14-year old pond is showing signs of wear … the initial waterfall & trough were made of dyed concrete supplemented with mountain rocks. The concrete has some cracks and the mortar between the rocks is pulling away.

Can hypertufa be used to make repairs and rework my filter’s waterfall coming out of a larger filter so that it would appear similar to the original rock/mortar work? I’d like to purchase your Hypertufa How-To eBook, but I’d like to know if hypertufa is the correct medium to use or should I return to a portland/sand mix?

Also I’d like to supplement the large rocks with more faux rock. Thanks for your help.

My reply:
Hi:
These are some good questions and I’ll do my best to steer you in the right direction.

About hypertufa, the first thing I want to say is the whole purpose of using a hypertufa recipe is to replicate real Tufa rock. Peat moss is an all important ingredient in hypertufa recipes because over time, the peat moss decomposes and leaves pits and crevices like you find in real Tufa rock.

So … the use of hypertufa to make rocks will end up looking a bit different from the dyed concrete rocks and mountain rocks you currently have. I’m not saying this is a “bad thing” … just depends how similar you wish to match the job.

The other issue that comes to mind is the fact you said dyed concrete – can you replicate the color in whatever recipe you concoct to make new rocks and/or do the patch work?

But all this being said, sure you can certainly use hypertufa to spruce up everything. ‘Tufa can be colored with different colorants, and you can use white Portland cement if need be to better achieve a specific color. (However be aware it might be hard to find in your area.)

Here’s great info on concrete and hypertufa colorants sitting on my website: concrete and hypertufa colorant guides. Scroll down about half-way on the page to find the link to the PDF colorant guides.

I also have a hypertufa mortar recipe that goes beyond a plain portland & sand mix that you might find useful. Here’s the link: hypertufa mortar recipe.

Here’s a faux rock recipe that is great for projects like yours where constant contact with moisture is an issue: faux rock recipe.

And make sure to use a bonding agent on the “old” surfaces before you apply the new mixture, whether it be hypertufa or a concrete mixture.

That’s about it in a nutshell. This project more than likely will be a bit more complicated than just a simple “slap & patch” job.  

Oh … I do have more information in my Hypertufa How-To Manual about making forms for larger rocks and boulders.

Good luck with your project!

Concrete Statue Repair
How To Reattach A Broken Concrete Statue Head

I received an email asking for help:

I accidentely knocked the head off of a statue. Is there anything I can use to reattach it? It was my late Mother’s and I really need to fix it. Thank you for your answer. Irene

My reply:
Hi Irene:
Thank you for contacting me and I hope I can be of help. But first, you didn’t tell me what material the statue is made from. Because you found my web site and I deal with garden art, I will assume you are referring to a concrete statue.

Yes … you can fix it with an epoxy glue that is meant for concrete.  There should be a brand available at (hopefully) Lowe’s or Home Depot, as examples. Go to the paint department area and that’s where all the epoxy glues can be found. (Important for you to know, is that there really is no way to use a concrete mix to stick the head back on. Don’t even try it.)

Epoxy glue comes in 2 tubes that you mix together before you apply it to the concrete. Not a big deal to do, just a bit messy. Just FOLLOW the instructions –read them over first before you even open up one of the tubes.

Make SURE the concrete statue is bone dry!! Even a little bit of dampness in the concrete will very likely cause failure to your repair attempts.

The epoxy might be slightly visible when dry, but how “invisible” the repair will be is of course also dependent upon how neatly and carefully you can apply the glue.

I wish you the best of luck with this concrete statue repair.

When Should I Deflate The Ball When Making
A Hypertufa Or Concrete Hollow Garden Sphere?

I received an email from Charlotte who asked:

Did I miss something in understanding the concrete and hypertufa garden spheres instructions? Doesn’t the ball have to be deflated? If so – at what point? I’m so new at this that I would probably make a really stupid mistake about deflating the balloon too soon. Thanks for your help.

My reply:
Hi Charlotte:
Thanks for writing me. No, you didn’t miss anything … I guess I assumed that folks would know that you would have to deflate the ball after your ‘tufa or concrete garden sphere is cured hard enough – better to err on the side of a few extra days rather than deflating it while you still can detect moisture–meaning the mixture hasn’t cured enough yet.

Use your best judgment to gauge the right time to deflate it. Just make sure your sphere will be able to hold together.

Please read more about concrete garden sphere tips and garden sphere how-tos which will hold true for either hypertufa or concrete.

Sorry if this threw you for a loop. And please … no question is stupid  And I am glad you asked because now you are more knowledgeable about the issue of using the deflatable ball for your hollow garden sphere projects.

Good luck!