Index:
Page 1 -
History of Hypertufa
Page 2 -
Hypertufa Recipes
Page 3 -
Building a Hypertufa trough and pot
Page 4 -
Variations, Waterproofing & Helpful Tips
Variations, Waterproofing & Helpful Tips
Ways to “age” the
Hypertufa trough prematurely:
v Use
boiled rice water brushed and poured over the trough
v Brush
yogurt or buttermilk on it
v Use
a mixture of manure and water poured over the trough
v Apply
liquid fertilizer with a watering can. Moss and lichen will adhere to the
surface more easily.
v Blend
moss or lichen from the garden with some buttermilk in your blender and brush
over the surface
v Spray
the outside with milk
Variations on a
theme:
v The
formula for making Hypertufa troughs is inexact. If the ingredients are used in a ratio
of 1 part cement to 6 parts non-cement, the troughs will be durable. A small
amount of coarse sand and a handful of Fibermesh are essential ingredients to
bond and reinforce the cement.
v Vermiculite
or Diatomaceous Earth may also be included or substituted.
v Concrete
dye may be added to color the mixture.
v The
exterior of the trough can be covered with Peat moss, Sand or Diatomaceous
Earth before curing to modify the surface texture.
v "Feet"
for the troughs can be made from any left over mix in small 2"-4" flower pots.
v Rocks
can also be used to raise the Hypertufa troughs for display and to ensure good drainage.
Forms/Molds:
v Try
using a Styrofoam cooler as a form
v You
can buy Styrofoam at in 2 inch thick sheets 2 feet by 6 feet. Cement together
to get what ever thickness you need (use liquid nails construction adhesive).
A surform rasp can be used to sculpture the Styrofoam to the shape you want.
v If
you cover the form with plastic wrap it is easy to remove and can be used over
again.
v When
molding cement around the outside or inside of a form, first plaster the form
with a couple of layers of wet newspaper. The concrete mix will come off
cleanly leaving your form ready to use again. Any newspaper sticking to your
new Hypertufa trough can be taken off with a wire brush.
Waterproofing HYPERTUFA:
v An
easy but smelly method to waterproof Hypertufa is to use Fiberglas resin coat,
(that is liquid fiberglass resin), from an auto parts store. It can be
purchased in metal gallon cans. Add the hardener and mix about a quart at a
time. Brush on each inside face of your container and allow to cure for 12
hours. Add second coat and dry for 3 days.
v Another
method to waterproof Hypertufa is by using Quikrete Cure and Seal. You will
find it in the concrete supply section of hardware stores such as Home Despot
and Lowes. 2 or 3 healthy coatings will be needed as Hypertufa absorbs a lot
of it.
If you plan to
make a small pond or basin coat the inside with Thoroseal, or UGLI, to give it
a watertight finish. Thoroseal comes in black, white or gray, but you can get
the white and paint it with latex paint when finished.
v BIRDBATHS:
To
make a birdbath the Hypertufa should be about 3" thick. It is porous, so to
make it hold water have one person pour hot liquid paraffin around the basin.
The 2nd person smears the wax around wearing heavy rubber gloves.
Miscellaneous
information:
v Fiber
mesh can be purchased at a concrete company for about $6 for a small bag. It
doesn’t take too much.
v Concrete
bonding additive, it looks like thin white Elmers glue, (you can use Elmers
glue if you can't find the additive) can be added as part of the water used in
the hypertufa recipe to make stronger mix. If you need to repair or reinforce
use it to bond the repair mixture to the trough.
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