Post #556351 by BigDTiki on Mon, Sep 27, 2010 9:06 AM

Thanks everyone for the encouraging words, even though there are parts that were not so easy, it's proving to be a lot of fun!

We finished "junking" up the existing stone fountain, wrapped and bolted down the metal lath (that part was a bit rough) and applied our first scratch coat of cement/mortar mix over the weekend.

A few more coats of concrete and some texturing over the next few days and we should be ready to stain the faux rock base and affix the tiki to the top.

Here are a few photos showing the transition of the existing fountain from junk to unfinished faux rock.

Front of old fountain with junk added (decreases the amount of concrete needed and helps in shaping the lath) and the water-proofed board added to allow the water to cascade from the tiki before dropping into the pool)

Back of the fountain showing how we attached the lath to the sandstone - washers and anchors were a must in order to keep the lath in place.

The first scratch coat of cement and mortar! (Totally helps to have two people doing this. As one person slaps the mixture on and pushes it into the lath, the other person comes behind with their hand (use gloves), and sponge to contour the cement to ensure smooth, natural lines.