The-Artistic-Garden's Blog

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!

Hypertufa or Concrete?
Will Peat Moss Be A Good Addition For My Recipe?

I received an email from Ya’aneh asking:

Hi, i would like to make a water fountain. Large bowl on the bottom, then smaller bowl in the middle and smaller one on top. Could you tell me the recipe for the right concrete to use? I was wondering if a peat moss one would work? Thank you. Ya’aneh

My reply:

Hello Ya’aneh:
Thank you for contacting me and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.

For a concrete recipe for your project, I would suggest you read over my web page that has a recipe that will certainly work well for you: ‘Thinwall’ Concrete Recipe.

I would NOT suggest you use a hypertufa recipe (hypertufa uses peat moss as one of the ingredients). Because the peat moss will decompose over time, leaving pits and crevices and you might end up with “leaks” in your cured fountains bowls. Use a concrete recipe for your fountain.

To easily view all the “how to” pages to help you be successful with your concrete or hypertufa projects, please refer to my Site Map page. Look at the “Concrete” and “Hypertufa” categories … there are many pages of helpful advice.

If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Good luck with your project! 

I Want To Daub Paint A Concrete Water Fountain …

I received this email from Steve who asked:

Hi you have a great web site. I am planning on daubing/painting a large water fountain. Can you tell me what kind of paint I should use. The fountain is made of concrete. And what method would you use for this project. Thanks Steve

My reply:

Hi Steve:
Thank you for contacting me and for the kind compliment. I do try to “over deliver” information for my visitors.

About painting your water fountain, I can offer some helpful hints, with these two being VERY important:

   -Make sure that the concrete is DRY before you even think of picking up a brush!! One little bit of moisture in the concrete will cause the paint to peel on-up-the-road; and
   -You can use latex paints or oil-based paints and even stains.

**For the best all-inclusive info I can offer you, please go to this page on my website Colorant Guides and look about half-way down for the 3rd content box that says “Read the Colorant Guides”. Click on the PDF icon to open up the guides.

Refer to the 2nd page of the PDF guide and you’ll have every question answered about all the ins and outs of the different way to color concrete. Feel free to print out a copy for yourself.

As far as the method of application … what kind of “look” are you trying to achieve?? (You didn’t say.) A mottled effect? (then sure you could just daub on color with an old sponge or even a wadded up rag); or your could use a brush to daub on layers of color; or do you want it to look like marble? … then refer to this webpage: Faux Verdigris Painted Technique

If you just want a solid color, then I’d probably just brush on the color.

Don’t forget to allow your painted or stained technique to dry well; then apply at least 3 top coats of clear finish to help protect the paint and to help make it last longer and let it dry thoroughly, and then you should be “good to go”!! 

I hope this helps you. If you have more detailed questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me again. I wish you lots of luck with this project!!