Concrete tiki for the yard - Other Crafts

G Gwen Tiki Centralite Northern California Joined: Mar 20, 2013 Posts: 86	G Gwen Posted posted on Sun, May 5, 2013 9:27 PM On 2013-05-05 20:42, Gene S Morgan wrote: Cool thread .... the cardboard is a great idea .... I know the idea of the moss was to make it lighter and I think that is the idea for the vermiculite. Wonder if there are any other fillers that worked as well but are cheaper . You know you can stain cement if you want it darker. I know some folks you some kind of acid etch as well. This is so clever .... Gene Gene, two inexpensive options are sand and plain potting soil with no added fertilizer. I have done two now using three parts potting soil to one part portland cement. The soil makes a very crumble prone mix, but it looks really cool when it dries, and it is inexpensive and light weight. A sand mix carves wonderfully, but it dries quickly, so you have to move fast. And of course it is quite heavy. I hope you do more, Lori!

On 2013-05-05 20:42, Gene S Morgan wrote:
Cool thread .... the cardboard is a great idea .... I know the idea of the moss was to make it lighter and I think that is the idea for the vermiculite. Wonder if there are any other fillers that worked as well but are cheaper . You know you can stain cement if you want it darker. I know some folks you some kind of acid etch as well. This is so clever .... Gene

Gene, two inexpensive options are sand and plain potting soil with no added fertilizer. I have done two now using three parts potting soil to one part portland cement. The soil makes a very crumble prone mix, but it looks really cool when it dries, and it is inexpensive and light weight. A sand mix carves wonderfully, but it dries quickly, so you have to move fast. And of course it is quite heavy.

I hope you do more, Lori!

Post #676781 by Gwen on Sun, May 5, 2013 9:27 PM