Custom Tiki statue carver needed

Hi, I searched the topic link for this but I don't see anything that relates to what I need. I am planning on installing a pool and I want to have a huge Tiki head at one end, as a fountain, with water pouring out of its mouth into the pool. I would also like to put candles or torches in the eyes at night so they light up. It needs to be big- I'm thinking five feet tall or more. Since it is to be outside and in all weather conditions, it should be carved in stone or some durable material. Can anyone steer me in the right direction for something like this?
Thanks.

Fred, this sounds like a concrete over mesh project. Your pool builder can hook you up with someone who makes faux rock waterfalls using the same technique.

What area of the country are you in, maybe someone here is interested or know a concrete contractor who would be interested.

Here's a link to Choptop's concrete volcano made in a similar manner.

Are you willing to fly the artist to your country? :D Or would you like someone in your area? :wink: Where are you located? Maybe you'll get local artist to contact you.

Hi there!

I’m new to this forum but stumbled across this topic via a Google search and believe it or not we are tackling this exact same project right now.

We moved to a house by the lake that has a unique concrete pool with a fountain on one end that we are in the process of refinishing. We are tackling the fountain first and while it’s functional, it’s sort of cookie-cutter. We wanted a giant stone tiki that has water shooting out of its mouth onto a waterfall and then into the pool – sort of like a grotto.

We did a lot of research and couldn’t really find anyone to do what we wanted without costing us a small fortune, so we are taking the DIY approach and thanks to the internet, we found step-by-step instructions that are pretty easy to follow.

We altered our existing waterfall to make it more of a grotto and added a ledge over the top for a waterfall and got it all covered with the metal lath over the weekend.

I also worked on our tiki head and while he’s still a work in progress (and my first attempt at tiki making) he’s starting to grow on me. A few more features and some stain and I think he’ll be amazing.

I’ll post some additional pictures in the correct forum once we start covering the lath with our faux stone mix, but just wanted to say this is a totally doable DIY project if you’re up for it.

Hi MaddogMike, and everybody, thanks. I'm in southeastern PA. I probably wouldn't be able to afford flying someone from another country here, I was hoping to find someone sort of in the area to build my Tiki. Even if the piece were made in California or the west coast, I bet it could be shipped here for not a ton of money.

Consulting with a pool company is a good idea, they should know about concrete waterfalls built to design. That reminded me too that there is a waterfall/water design company that is near my farm that also might know some leads to how to do this.
Thanks!

BigDTiki, wow, great job on your DIY Tiki. I'm not sure I'm that talented at sculpture though! Good luck and I will look for the pictures when you're done!

Sent you a PM - G

This thread is cool.
Keep us updated on the tiki fountain projects, with pictures please, if that's not much asking... Welcome you new tiki pool people, as the ambassador of tiki in Mexico, I salute you.

Big Tiki, welcome to Tiki Central :) Looks like you have dove in with both feet! Great work, I hope to see a finished project soon.

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.

Looks good so far BigD. I think it could use a place to set a cocktail or two under there. :) Remember, no glass in the pool area. Broken glass is hard to spot at the bottom of a pool.

Looks great, excited to see how this progresses. I think you can use "riprap" or "rubble" instead of "junk" if you want to sound more highfalutin :D

On 2010-09-27 09:06, BigDTiki wrote:

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

Tiki Poetry.

I'll keep lookin' if you keep postin' looking good... that cove/waterfall.

I love it! We called our local pool company that specializes in concrete pools and they are totally into this idea of a Tiki/South Pacific themed pool area. They've already done pools with rocks and waterfalls and statues so this is a natural for them. We're planning installation for next spring so we have lots of time to figure out where the actual Tiki comes from. I don't think they can do that but from the pictures you've posted here, I bet we can figure it out. Keep'em coming!

On 2010-09-28 14:30, tikifred wrote:
I love it! We called our local pool company that specializes in concrete pools and they are totally into this idea of a Tiki/South Pacific themed pool area. They've already done pools with rocks and waterfalls and statues so this is a natural for them. We're planning installation for next spring so we have lots of time to figure out where the actual Tiki comes from. I don't think they can do that but from the pictures you've posted here, I bet we can figure it out. Keep'em coming!

Ok, I have an idea. Perhaps a long shot. Seeing as you are in SE Penn, you are probably no more than 3 hours from the DC area where I reside. I have made a couple of visits to a garden center just over the Potomac in Virginia. It specializes in Bonsai and other Asian plants and things. Much to my delight, they also carry 3 or 4 different size Moai statues. They are made out of concrete and are in 2 or 3 different color shades. The biggest is probably 2 1/2 feet and is heavy as hell.

Perhaps you could bore a hole through one and then you would be good to go. I was just there three hours ago and the biggest would probably fit in well on your rock platform.

If you need more info, let me know. You could always call them and explain what you are trying to do.

You would have a hell of a time boring a hole through 2 1/2 feet of concrete. They are probably molded locally, maybe they could make you one with a PCV pipe embedded inside?

2 1/2 feet tall, but probably not even a foot wide. I think it could be done, although I will not vouch for it not splitting.

Yea maybe a custom job....

I don't know if Seamus is still making hollow concrete tikis but here are some examples of his work:

Looks like he's possibly still in business.

http://www.myspace.com/tikisbyseamus

His "about me" video shows some four foot tall spitting Moai fountains!

On 2010-09-29 13:50, Hakalugi wrote:
Looks like he's possibly still in business.

http://www.myspace.com/tikisbyseamus

His "about me" video shows some four foot tall spitting Moai fountains!

Wow, looks great. Thanks, I will look into this. I was hoping for a Moai up to six feet tall!

Doesn't seem like Seamus' website is working. I emailed an email I found by Googling his website name but I haven't heard back from him.

Here are a few more pictures of our work in progress, we mounted the tiki head yesterday, cemented it on and then I decided that he needed a hawaiian lei, hence the little round circles on his chest. I'll be molding concrete rope in between the circles this week and maybe another level to the waterfall ledge to make it cascade a bit more before hitting the pool.

But we tested it out after connecting the pipes and the water flowing from the mouth is pretty cool and bonus points for no leaks!

I've read some of the previous posts about making the head and I'll share the online instructable that I used to make my tiki head. We wanted a more traditional tiki face, so I found a mask online and then made cutouts from that, traced it onto styrofoam and then wrapped it with mesh joint tape so the concrete would have something to adhere to - unlike wire, the mesh joint tape can be shaped better onto the styrofoam.

As for the spout, we used PVC pipe and traced the basic shape onto the bucket and then drilled it out. When you concrete the head, we packed it around the pipe but twisted it a few times so the PVC pipe would not stick to the concrete.

Here are the directions I used for the head. We modified it for our use and what we wanted to create, but the basic steps and concrete applications are the same: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-a-Yard-Tiki-With-an-Outdoor-Speaker-in/

Mounted Tiki Head:

Close-up of mounted tiki head:

Project Seal of Approval from "The Supervisor":

The "supervisor" is going to get WET!!! Looks great, you going to use some concrete stain on it?

Yes...the "supervisor" hasn't figured out that water will be coming from the spout above his head. We were joking that in theory we could have the only tiki fountain/dogwash in the State of Texas!

I'm torn between using stain and water-based paint. I stumbled across another "how to" that suggested using a fine grit scraping stone to grind to get that smooth rock look and then spraying the water based paint onto the faux rock in layers to get the color and shading right.

http://www.wikihow.com/Image:Painting2_15.jpg

I may have to create a "test rock" and see which way yeilds the best effect, since I've never created or painted a giant rock fountain, I won't feel so bad if I screw up a test rock or two rather than an entire fountain.

Way to go, BigD. I'm impressed how far along your project has come.

The latest from me is, I can't find Seamus, his website is down and his Myspace page is inactive. The email I found on Google for him didn't get a response. So my latest thinking is, instead of having a Moai spewing water, I might just get a large head and have the pool company build a waterfall around it. They have these cool "fire bowls" which are large rock-filled bowls that have gas torches in them. I'll put them in front of the Moai so he's lit up at night.

I'll post pictures when I can- we are going to start the excavation part of the pool project this fall.

I think that sounds like a great idea TikiFred, I like the idea of the firebowls. I thought about those when we started our project, but I think it would be harder for us to tie into the gas lines since our house is electric. I've thought about gel firebowls or pinion wood (love the smell), but I'll have to do a bit more research.

Sounds like you are on your way to planning out an awesome pool fountain, can't wait to see pictures when you break ground!

As for our "Big Guy," I manged to stain him and seal him this weekend and he's starting to grow on me. I think he looks like an old tiki ruin, which I think will transition into the wooded area behind the pool when we remove the fence and incorporate the back of the property into the pool area.

I'm recycling some of the old sandstone left from the old fountain and will be putting it into the flat ledge of the tiki either by istesl or around a firebowl. I'll have to play with it a bit.

We've moved onto refinishing the pool so hopefully the next update with show everything recolored and finished with a water-filled pool and flowing tiki fountain!

This summer I constructed a large, 5'6" moai for Festiki. It's carved out of styrofoam and covered with a special concrete mixture.

It's made for outdoor use. I had it up on e-bay a couple of times with no bites. It would relatively easy to add plumbing as the interior is hollow.

BigD, awesome!! Congrats, it looks great. I like the finish you put on the concrete and the Tiki head.
I'll upload pics when I get any progress to show on the pool project. I found a 6' Tiki head made of polystyrene (or something like that) online.

Spaceboy, your Tiki looks great too. There's still room next to my hot tub for another Tiki head, spewing water! Let me know.

On 2010-09-12 15:30, tikifred wrote:
Hi, I searched the topic link for this but I don't see anything that relates to what I need. I am planning on installing a pool and I want to have a huge Tiki head at one end, as a fountain, with water pouring out of its mouth into the pool. I would also like to put candles or torches in the eyes at night so they light up. It needs to be big- I'm thinking five feet tall or more. Since it is to be outside and in all weather conditions, it should be carved in stone or some durable material. Can anyone steer me in the right direction for something like this?
Thanks.

Hello
what you want to do is actually pretty easy done if you can get near anything cheap flamingo, maybe you can go to a build plase and ask if they have something they do not need
As you can see we have built the waterfall in styrofoam and cement. the foam together. If you have any questions about anything just ask me, finally, maybe I can help you, though I live far away ...
Sincerely, Kim "skipper"

Here's a "before" picture Skipper had posted in his Bilge - Concrete Hause thread

Skipper, you must have wrapped the foam in some sort of mesh before you put the concrete on it?

On 2010-10-29 09:26, MadDogMike wrote:
Here's a "before" picture Skipper had posted in his Bilge - Concrete Hause thread

Skipper, you must have wrapped the foam in some sort of mesh before you put the concrete on it?

I took a styrofoam plate size h 50mm b 600mm L 1200mm so I shared it in half and cut out for the iron bar .. put it around the pole and foamed with special glue. Then I began to shape it as a flat stone, as it is water that runs down over rocks, it will be quite smooth stones that are honed with time, making the background made different whole because there was no water over them. it took me 2 days to cut all the flamingo. and a day to carve cement .. I have some other pictures from the mini golf course where we have made several waterfalls and water fountains if you want to see them ...

Skipper, "flamingo" must mean something different to you? The only meaning of the word I know is the big pink bird and that doesn't fit into those twe sentences above :D

Maybe "Flamingo" is the result of a confused computer translator when it's confronted with "chicken wire"?

On 2010-10-29 19:20, MadDogMike wrote:
Skipper, "flamingo" must mean something different to you? The only meaning of the word I know is the big pink bird and that doesn't fit into those twe sentences above :D

Ha ha I mean foam in denmark we call it flamingo, and the bird we also call a flamingo, the danish language is not easy to understand.. thrust me..

"Ha ha I mean foam in denmark we call it flamingo, and the bird we also call a flamingo, the danish language is not easy to understand.. thrust me.. "

Please nobody Thrust Skipper, you know what he meant! :lol:
Real nice work Skipper, I would like to see the waterfalls, Tak!

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2010-10-30 02:46 ]

On 2010-10-29 19:20, MadDogMike wrote:
Skipper, "flamingo" must mean something different to you? The only meaning of the word I know is the big pink bird and that doesn't fit into those twe sentences above :D

go to Bilge » » waterfall in concrete whit color.. the you can see the finel result, mayby some people can use it in here for ideas to pool`s

Looks great, Skipper- thanks, flamingoes (-gos?) and all!!

I'm so excited, my 6' Moai head arrived. I bought him from the SkyMall catalog. He's currently still in his shipping crate in the barn but someday soon he will be freed and able to take his place by the pool.

Our pool guy has this incredible computer program that can generate 3d-(sort of) pictures of how the pool, hot tub and fountains, etc. will all look when the project is done. I'll post them when he sends me the files online.

Thanks everybody for all your advice!

The pool project has started.....and the Moai is in the barn, waiting to be set in place.

Fred, what part of the country are you in? I see fall colors but still green grass and short-sleeved construction workers :D

Looks like a nice project. Mike - my unheated pool is still 78. Come on by for a dip!

Tom, I'll try be there by Saturday :wink:

Hi Mike, this is in the PA countryside about two hours from Philadelphia. The weather has been pretty mild lately although now they're saying it's going down to the 20's next week. The pool guys are in high gear because they want to get as much done this fall before the real cold weather sets in. My hope is this will be done by my birthday in mid-May (June 1 latest). Anyway, I hope that's how it will go!

[ Edited by: tikifred 2010-11-23 13:47 ]

[ Edited by: tikifred 2010-11-24 13:33 ]

[ Edited by: tikifred 2010-11-24 13:34 ]

Hey Skipper, you out there? Any updates?

I found a place that makes fake palm trees...full sized, with coconuts that light up, if you can believe it.

BigDTiki, if you're still there, let us know how your project is going. I wanted to revive this thread to see how things all turned out.

Fake palm trees are in

and the Moai tiki god