Hypertufa Gardening Projects

Hypertufa Gardening Video - Water Fountain Part 1

2009-03-31T01:14:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Boyle

Here's a short hypertufa video on another water fountain project we've been tinkering on the last little while. Take a look and see.

In the near future I will be posting more videos of us doing hypertufa so you can all see. I'll show people step by step on how to make hypertufa and more. Stay tuned for more updates! Spring is here and that just means more hypertufa ahead!

New Hypertufa Water Fountain Project Coming Soon!

2009-02-18T15:40:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

At the end of last year we were working on a hypertufa water fountain project and was unable to finish it before winter hit. Here is a sneak peak on what will be finished this coming summer. The center hypertufa pilar is done and will be adding the base within the next couple of months.

Take a look at this cool hypertufa project I'm sure you all will enjoy. We are quite anxious for spring tocome to finally finish this one.

This hypertufa project "Hypertufa Water Fountain" is going to be the best work we've done yet. I'll upload the hypertufa photos of this project as soon as we complete it.

Hypertufa - Building a Walkway Using Hypertufa Recipe

2009-02-18T15:04:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

Looking for a cool looking walkway this summer? Try build a walkway using hypertufa. My brother did that this last summer at his home. He made a complete walkway using a simple hypertufa recipe. It was hard work building the forms for the individual blocks and mixing up the hypertufa as well. Overall I personally think it was worth it. It looks great and saved him money in the process.

Check out the results and the look of his new hypertufa project:

So what do you think? How do you think his walkway turned out using a simple hypertufa recipe? Love to hear from you all.

Water Garden Pond Made With Hypertufa Finish

2009-02-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

This past summer we used hypertufa on a small water garden pond we made at my parents about 4 years ago now. We made it using simple 2 x 6's 8 feet in length and the width is about 4 feet about 24" deep. We hooked it all together and placed a pond liner in it and you have a nice above ground pond for little cost. This small above ground pond contains water lilies and yellow flag water iris and my father uses this pond here to breed goldfish and koi. You can see the pond photo below with a hypertufa finish on the outside. We simply made up some hypertufa mix and spread it all over this nice little project. Here you can see what it looks like with hypertufa all over the sides. It will be nice when moss starts groing on the sides, giving some more effects to the feature. Looks pretty good!

I know I can't wait till spring and warmer weather to come. Then we can start all our hypertufa projects finally when spring arrives. Here is what the pond looks like now in the winter.

Can't wait till the snow is gone and we can start breeding our fish, and doing some more hypertufa projects. I will be updating this hypertufa blog shortly with sneak peaks of what we were working on right before winter hit us. It's a cool hypertufa project I'm sure you all will enjoy. I will be uploading some more hypertufa pictures soon.

Hypertufa Fountain - Water Garden Feature

2008-08-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Boyle

As I've mentioned before we were doing up the plans for a hypertufa fountain, and I must say it turned out great. Anyone can have a water garden in their backyard and it doesn't have to be big. This hypertufa fountain was simple and rather inexpensive to do. Take a look at yet another hypertufa project we've done and see for yourself. Anyone can have a water garden in their backyard and this just shows you the potential you have for your landscaping.

How we made this hypertufa fountain was we created a base which then stands the tall hypertufa pilar. For these we made using some wood to create the mold in which we used for our water garden feature. The most time consuming was creating the molds but after that is done all that is left to do is mix up your hypertufa using a standard hypertufa recipe which is one part cement, one part peat moss and one part perlite. For this one we decided to use vermiculite which gives it a more sparkling appearance the the perlite does.

Now after our molds were packed and the hypertufa fountain left sitting for 24 hrs we then carved the pilar to give it a more aged look by roughing up the sides. We probably left the pilar and the base sit for about a week to dry outside in the sun. Then we chose the area in the yard where we wanted it placed. One we did this we then used a round Rubbermaid container in which is buried where this will hold the water that will then be pumped up through the top of the pilar. For this we got a pump that was on special at Princess Auto our local hardware store here in Moncton for about $50 that pumps 400 gallons per hour. After we installed the container and pump and made sure the container was level we then filled it up with water. Then we laid the hypertufa base which has a hole in the bottom allowing it to go into the Rubbermaid container. Then a hose was placed through the bottom base connected to the pump up through the pilar. We made sure that the hose inside the top pilar was perfectly level giving you that bubble effect of water in the centre. That's all there was to it!

With time moss will begin to grow giving you a more natural and aged look. The aged look is what gives hypertufa its popularity and great look in any landscaping job. There are so many things one can do with hypertufa, the possibilities are endless. So if you have been thinking of or wanting a water garden feature or garden pond in your yard now you can. Instead of going with something big you can go smaller and still have the sound of water running. I hope you liked this hypertufa fountain and I will continue to update this hypertufa blog with more projects and ideas we have. We will be designing new looks of different hypertufa fountains that you can create. I hope you enjoyed this project and I welcome and feedback on this hypertufa fountain project.

So what do you think? Would something like this look great in your yard?

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
Hypertufa Gardener

To learn more about water gardening such as water gardens, garden ponds, pond fish such as koi, and goldfish please visit Water Garden Pond Information at http://watergardenpondinfo.blogspot.com

Hypertufa Japanese Lantern - What do you think?

2008-06-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Boyle

Well I told you we were making plans on doing a Japanese Lantern with hypertufa, well we did it. Out of the whole thing the top was the hardest to do as there was a lot of carving needed to be done to get the detail. With a lot of carving came a lot of sweat, that was hard work, took my brother 1 hour to carve it. When you carve things you make out of hypertufa, it needs to be done after 24 hours, wait any longer and it will be near impossible to carve it. After 24 hours it still takes a lot of muscle to carve things down right.

Well take a look! I think it turned out great. There are so many things people can make with hypertufa, the possibilities are endless. And if you think of it, if you have the time, devotion, artistic ability and don't mind getting your hands a little dirty you can make these things relatively cheap. May take you time to do it but you will be saving money down the road, plus it makes your landscaping look amazing.

Hope you like it! So let me know how you think it turned out. Would this be something you would like to do making things out of hypertufa?

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
Hypertufa Gardener

Hypertufa Pilar With Garden Plants

2008-06-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Boyle

Well summer is here and now we have been able to put some garden plants in our hypertufa molds we've been making. Now we have a finished look of how these hypertufa projects we've been making look with some plants in it. We placed some hanging plants like vines that will grow and hang over the edge. It will look great as the summer progresses and the perennial plants begin to grow faster.

This hypertufa pilar with garden plants I think it turned out pretty good and now we are going to look at building some more hypertufa projects and one being a hypertufa japanese lantern that we are making plans for now.

I will try and keep my hypertufa blog updated as much as I can as this is my busy time of the year with my business Country Koi Fish Farm www.WaterPlantsForPonds.com but will try and update more photos of hypertufa projects as we have them. Hope you enjoy these hypertufa gardening photos.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
Hypertufa Gardener

Hypertufa Recipe - Mixing It By Hand

2008-04-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Boyle

For anyone who has ever done hypertufa before, mixing up your hypertufa recipe can be hard work by hand. Most people simply mix up the aggregates in a wheel barrow using a spade or a shovel or even mixing in a large Rubbermaid container works well too. So far we've mix up hundred of pounds of hypertufa so far and it does become some hard work. It's a great work out, but everything in life can be done easier.

My brother and I have been chatting about getting a cement or concrete mixer. That would definitely speed up the process and make things easier. Well he is leaning more on a hand held one, while I am saying we should get the 2.5 cubic foot cement mixer where you can pour your ingredients in it add some water, flick a switch and walk away. Don't get any easier then that eh :) Well we're having a little debate on which one so we'll wait and see. I know we will have one soon but not sure which type yet. When we get one I'll show you a picture of it and tell you how good it works. They'll both work great I'm sure, but the drum one will allow you to do something else why your waiting for your hypertufa mix to be ready. We'll see who wins the debate :)

What do you think would be better a small hand held one or one of those 2.5 cubic foot cement mixers? Would love your feedback and opinions on this, maybe help me win my debate :)

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
Hypertufa Gardener

Hypertufa Well Mold Complete

2008-03-29T01:26:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Boyle

Well we finally finished the hypertufa well mold and finished making the hypertufa top piece for it. This hypertufa project is the biggest one we've made yet. It did take a lot of materials to build this one but the end result was well worth it. It might pull out our back trying to move this thing as this project weighs a tonne.

The top piece my brother made for this hypertufa project was amazing. There was more detail done with it using simple molding that people have around the base of your walls in your house. It gave it a very nice finish to it. Good thing we made this project in three pieces otherwise we would need like a forklift to pick it up :) Ahh it ain't to bad, we figure it's probably around 300 lbs. but will end up losing some weight as it cures and dries anyways. Take a look yourself and see how this hypertufa well mold project turned out!

Don't mind the mess, as I told you all previously, hypertufa can be a messy job. The plastic you see is used to hold in the moisture and prevents the hypertufa from drying to quick. The longer it takes to dry the stronger your end project will be. In the hypertufa photos you can see other projects we've done. There all starting to add up, and will be nice to put these out in the garden on display with some nice annual plants overhanging the planters. Can't wait!

So what do you think of this hypertufa well mold project that was built? Hope you all like it as much as we did.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
Hypertufa Gardener

Hypertufa Project Well Mould

2008-03-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Boyle

This hypertufa project a well mould was an interesting idea that my brother had. Lots of people try and figure out how to cover up their well pipe sticking up in their front yard. Most people use shrubs and bushes to cover up and hide it. Well the other day he created a mould that would make a nice octagon pilar which can be a centre piece for a nice flower bed. In this pilar you can have a beautiful annual plant with brilliant colours over hanging this pilar with a nice perennial display around it. This is something we'll be doing this summer with it.

Here are a few pictures of the hypertufa mold and well that we did this past week. I wasn't there for the whole project so I can't take the credit on this one really. It was my brother who did most of this one. I just helped out with the base for this mold for the well.

As you see in the bottom right photo we still have yet to do the top piece for the well. I know my brother can't wait to finish this one. I think it's gonna look amazing when it's all done and put together. This hypertufa project was done in three pieces and is pretty heavy. Even though it's made with hypertufa which is generally a lightweight mixture, it stills has some weight to it. My brother thought that the pilar piece itself weighed about 100-120 lbs. Now some weight will drop off as it still contains some water but will still be quite heavy. Hopefully in the next month to month and a half I will be able to update this hypertufa blog with pictures of all the finished projects we've made. Then you can see how they really look with some nice garden plants in them.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
Hypertufa Gardening Enthusiast

Hypertufa Planter Bowl For Finished Pilar Project

2008-02-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

We went ahead and made the planter bowl for the top of the hypertufa pilar project we made last week. It turned out great. You can look at the pictures below of the Hypertufa planter bowl along with it attached to the top of the pilar. You'll notice we haven't burned off the fibremesh pieces sticking out yet but you can do that anytime really.

Here are the following pictures we took of the planter bowl for the hypertufa pilar:

Now you probably can tell on a few photos of the hypertufa top planter, you will notice some look right smooth in texture. Well this is before you use your stell brush to scrapes the sides to give it a rougher more aged look. With the pitures that follow you will see it doesn't look as smooth and shiny. I just wish it was summer here so that I can take an actual photo of this hypertufa pilar with some nice annual or perennial plants. We've been thinking of using some creeping jenny that will hang down over the planter which will look really nice. This summer I will go and take a few pictures of this hypertufa planter with plants and update this so you can see.

So how do you think this hypertufa project turned out? What do you think of this overall? Is hypertufa something you could see in your backyard garden this summer? All opinions and comments are always welcome.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
Hypertufa Gardening Enthusiast

Hypertufa Pots - How Much Would You Pay?

2008-02-24T18:08:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

Hypertufa pots are a great way to grow plants as it allows moisture to stay within and helps promote plant growth very well. As many of you know my father, brother and I have been making things with hypertufa for a little while now. What we were really wondering from people is how much would you pay for hypertufa pots? People buy garden pots and planters everyday for gardening. With hypertufa pots it allows more unique and artistic planters in your yard. I know it all depends on the size of the pot itself to reflect the price of the garden pot. Take a look at the bottom hypertufa picture of a garden pot that we did on past hypertufa projects. Let us know what you think and how much you would pay for hypertufa pots for your backyard.

Oh I almost forgot to tell you the size of this garden planter. The overall size of this garden pot is 16" wide, 21" long and 11" high. It's a pretty good size, it roughly the same size as a standard size cooler you would take to the beach. Now that you know how big this pot is, how much would you pay for this hypertufa pot? If you not sure give a ball park figure on what you would be willing to pay. Please comment, I am really looking forward to everyones feedback and opinions. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
Hypertufa Enthusiast

Hypertufa Mold Finished Pilar Photos

2008-02-22T15:50:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

Yesterday we made the hypertufa mold of the pilar and we just removed the mold after we let it sit for 24 hours. The only problem we had taking off the hypertufa mold was the outside forms as it created like a suction that was hard to get out plus it also had those wooden grooves that were pushed inside the hypertufa to give its design. We got the mould off and it looks good. We roughed up the edges and took some photos for you all to see. The only last thing we need to do is since we used fibremesh to create this hypertufa project we will need to burn off those fibres that are sticking out. To burn those off people can use either a match or a cigarette lighter to remove those fibremesh pieces protruding from the hypertufa. We are going to use a blow torch to make it quicker as it is fairly a big project to use a lighter or match.

Check out the below pictures of the hypertufa mold of the pilar we created.

As you can see from the above hypertufa pictures of the pilar you can see all those fibremesh strands sticking out. We'll get that taken care of right away. Next thing we are going to do is make the planter bowl for the top. It will probably be next week before we have a chance to build that but we'll see.

See other related posts:

How To Make Pilar Mold
Building Pilar Mold With Hypertufa

Building Pilar Mold With Hypertufa

2008-02-21T18:49:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

Now in the previous post I showed you how to make your own pilar mold, now were getting to the fun stuff, actually building your pilar mold with Hypertufa. For this hypertufa project we did something different, we used some fibremesh in the hypertufa mix to make it stronger and more durable and also added sand as an aggregate.

For the hypertufa recipe we used for this pilar was:

4 parts Portland Cement
4 parts peat moss
3 part perlite
1 part sharp sand
Handful of Fibremesh

What you will need to do is make a few mixtures of this stuff to do the pilar mold creation. I know for this pilar we used pretty much half a bag of cement to do this. Now I think my brother used pretty much 2 batches of the above hypertufa recipe using a 2L Ice Cream Container for measuring all parts for the ingredients. Just try and judge when your doing it to make sure you don't have too much left over. Now this pilar mold has a thickness of one inch and a half.

After you have your hypertufa mixture all ready for your mold, make sure you have your pilar mold all set up and ready to go. Now begin pouring the hypertufa down on all the sides and use a stick to jam the hypertufa mix in all corners to prevent any air pockets. Slowly keep adding more hypertufa until you get to the top. Now the last thing to do level off the top and try and make it as smooth as possible.

Now that you have done the pilar your self now you need to fill up your mold for the base of the pilar. Start pouring in your hypertufa and make sure the corners are well taken care of and shoved into all corners well. For the base since this is gonna be used as a planter at the top of the pilar you will need to leave a hole in the bottom for drainage for water and rainfall. What my brother used here was a peanut butter container to leave the hole for the drainage. There is so many things you can use around your house for the hole just look around for a good size container.

That's it, now let it dry and cure for 24 hours before you remove the molds. At this stage you can use a wire brush and rough up the sides to make it that aged look. Be careful in this stage as the pilar is not 100% dry yet and strong. It takes close to a month before the hypertufa has cured and dryed and is really strong. Now you have your pilar for the project.

How To Make Pilar Mold

2008-02-21T14:52:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

For all you hypertufa enthusiast out there we started our next hypertufa project which is making a pilar mold. As I told you before we were going to do it this weekend but my brother kind of got a little to anxious and made the mold for the pilar today. It wasn't too hard to do just need to make sure you have a design and idea all planned out before you begin construction on your mold.

Here are a few things you will need in order to learn how to make pilar mold:

1. Plywood
2. Some 2x4's
3. Heavy Plastic
4. Screws or Nails
5. Table Saw
6. Mitre Saw For Cutting Angles
7. Pencil
8. Measuring Tape
9. Staple Gun
10 Staples

Now in order to make the pilar you are going to need make the actual base for the pilar to sit on and attach to. For this the pilar base was built using some spare 2x4's my brother had laying around. He cut 4 pieces of wood in 16 inch lengths to make the square base itself. The actual size of the base is 16 inches by 16 inches. Then he cut some more pieces that were cut at 45 degree angles that were attached to the frame. By doing this it will add some shape and texture to your pilar, more of an artistic look. Now you must not forget you need to cut all the ends to the proper angle so that these 4 pieces slides in perfectly. Take a look at these two pictures of the mold for the base.

Now as you can see in these pictures that it is completely wrapped with heavy plastic so that when you make the pilar with Hypertufa it doesn't stick to your frame. Something you need to remember or it will stick to your mold, the wood if you don't have it attached.

Now the first thing you will need to do is build your base for your pilar. For the base we cut a piece of plywood 3/4" thick to a 16 inch by 16 inch base so basically a square piece of wood for your base. Now for the base was added to make this pilar mold in order to hold the inside forms and outside forms for the mold. As you see in this picture you can see small pieces of plywood was added on the edges of the plywood and small grooves were left to slide in the outside form. The reason why the middle has pieces of wood there is when you slide the inside form for the pilar mold it prevents it from moving when adding your hypertufa mix.

Now that the base is made for the pilar mould to sit on you need to make both the inside and outside forms for the mold. First thing we will do is create the outer form for your pilar. What you will need to do is cut 4 pieces of plywood to a length of 18 inches for the height and 13 inches for the width. Now to get the design in the pilar itself you will need to draw out the shape of look you want and cut out how many shapes or lines you want in your mold. For this one we added 3 lines per piece of plywood sides so you will need 12 pieces in total. After you have all the pieces cut up now assemble all the pieces together using eith screws or nails. We prefer screws as it holds it together better and your mold can easily be taken apart by removing the screws later.

After you have assembled it together for the outside mold, now you need to create the inside form. For the inside form you will need to cut up 4 pieces of plywood with a width of 11 inches and for the length or height you can make this say 22 inches or 24 inches. The reason why we make this higher then the outside form is when you go and try and take the inside form out you will have something to grab on and pull it out more easily.

Now that's pretty much all there is to building your own pilar mold. One thing I forgot to mention is when you have the pieces all cut up individually you should attach your plastic to these pieces before you assemble your mold together. It's a lot easier attaching the plastic to the wood in this phase and it allows your mold to be used over and over again. Remember each piece needs to be wrapped up so it prevents the hypertufa mix from sticking to your forms. Just wrap it up and use a staple gun to make it nice and tight and no air pockets with the plastic. That's all there is too it!

Now you have a mold that you can keep using over and over again and make as many pilars as you want using your mold. Great for garden planters and that's one thing to this form we haven't yet made is the top mold or bowl to sit on top of the pilar. We are going to make that shortly. To see the pilar being built with hypertufa go see my other post Building Pilar Mold With Hypertufa. I will update this when we get the top part for the pilar done for the plants.

Garden Pot Made Using Mold #2

2008-02-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

Since the last post I made on Building A Hypertufa Planter Using A Mold we went ahead and did another garden pot for plants using the same mold. After doing the first one we went ahead and did a few changes. As you remember from the first one we had a hard time getting the inside mold out, so this time we eliminated using the inside mold and just built up the walls by hand with the hypertufa mix. We also used the same mold that my brother created with plastic all over the wooden pieces. This time we also used petroleum jelly or vaseline to coat the plastic just to prevent the mold from sticking. We never had a problem the first time but as the saying goes better be safe then sorry. It worked perfect and we made another great looking gardening pot for this coming summer. This summer when we go ahead and plant some plants in our garden pot I will update this and give you a final picture of our creation.

The good thing with using molds is you can keep on using the same one and make many more pots with it. The next hypertufa project we plan on doing is making some pilars which will be cool to see. I've added some more pictures of this hypertufa pot we just made.

Hypertufa Leaves Video Of Crafts

2008-02-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

There are so many things people can make with hypertufa and here is a short video I found on YouTube of a woman who makes hypertufa leaves then paints them. It just goes to show everybody of the beautiful art crafts you can make. If you have a little imagination and creativity the possibilities are endless with hypertufa.

Check out this excellent video of leaves made with hypertufa using the imprint of the leaf itself.

Pretty amazing! Basically made a fosil using the leaf and will last for many years. Hypertufa is just not for outdoor gardening but for indoors as well as shown in this video. Use it for outdoors in your garden or make crafts for you own home, the choice is yours. Hope you enjoyed this hypertufa video.

Building A Hypertufa Planter Using A Mold

2008-02-12T13:13:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

Here is something people can try, build your own hypertufa planter by building and creating your own forms or molds. This is something my brother did yesterday and I was quite impressed with the results he had. I know I wish I was there helping him build the molds and forms for this hypertufa project.

The first thing my brother did was designed a picture of his creation or idea using a program he has 3D Studio Max. Something he has been using for a while now and a great way to plan your hypertufa project with a visual picture. The best way to get great results is by proper planning.

Here are a couple of pictures of his project idea for his hypertufa planter.

As you can see with the above pictures of the hypertufa pot you can see he showed a side view picture of how he created the shape of the sides of this. He used 2x6's and some plywood and plastic to do this hypertufa mold for the planter. My brother also used chicken wire to give it some extra strength as well, some people can also use fibre mesh wish works great and prevents it from cracking.

The overall size of this planter was 16" wide, 21" long and 11" high. It took about 4 hours to get the mold built and about 1 hour to mix the hypertufa and set it in place. The best part that my brother likes is shaping it and molding it to give it that aged look like ancient times. I know he has some excellent ideas that he plans on building some more. I think his trip to Italy and visiting Rome has given him some great ideas.

Here is the final results of his hypertufa planter that he did. He just took the mold off today, as you need to take the mold off after 24 hours in order to be able to mold it and shape it. Take a look at what he did.

Here is one picture he did as he began taking off the mold. You can see some of the wood still on the planter that he used to create it.

Now this hypertufa planter was relatively inexpensive to create. It is time consuming building your molds but it's a great way to make your own pots and planter for your garden. The only thing that was hard about this that my brother had a hard time doing was taking the form out of the center of the planter as you need a form for the outside and inside. You can see in the picture above the plywood is still in the center but I will update this with post with it when he gets it out. Another thing that I will show you is another picture of the hypertufa planter with all the sides roughed up as these ones were not done yet to give it that aged look. The total cost to build this planter with mold and all the materials was around $16-$20. Not too bad considering you will have an excellent gardening pot for years to come with the nice artistic look.

Well my brother got out the inside form and he took a couple more pictures with of his hypertufa planter. He also roughed up the sides and smoothed out the top and took out any imperfections. The final results look pretty good, I plan on making some planters and pots for myself too this weekend.

Hypertufa is art so enjoy doing it and make it your own. The next project I think we will be doing is making some pilars using a mold and hypertufa. I will show you all when we get this done. If anyone has any comments or things they've done please share.

Hypertufa Video By Backyard Gardener Ron Harvey

2008-02-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

Here is a great Hypertufa video I found on YouTube that will give a quick visual idea on making hypertufa with this short video. In this video, Backyard Gardener by Ron Harvey, you will see some hypertufa pots and planters that he's created. Hope you love this video as much as me. Hope it helps give you some more ideas on molds and plans for creating your own pots made with hypertufa. You can now make your own lightweight containers. Enjoy the video!

As you can see in this video, it's pretty simple on how to make hypertufa. You should give it a try this summer when gardening and try and make your own pots and containers for your plants. You can make your own art with hypertufa and make it how you like. Hope you enjoyed this video by Backyard Gardener Ron Harvey.

Hypertufa Projects Pictures

2008-02-05T06:27:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

Here are some pictures of hypertufa projects that we just did this past weekend. I will keep adding more pictures of hypertufa pictures of projects and things that we can make using this awsome combination of cement mixture called Hypertufa.

Materials Needed For Hypertufa

2008-02-04T20:29:00.001-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

In order to make hypertufa you will need several materials to make it. Most of these materials you will be able to get at any local hardware store. You may need to make an extra stop at a garden nursery to pick up one material in case the other place don't have it to make hypertufa.

The materials you will need are Portland Cement, Peat Moss, and Perlite. Now like I said depending on the time of year your doing these hypertufa projects you may need to stop by your local nursery to pick up the Peat Moss and Perlite. For the cement you need to make sure you get Portland Cement not concrete mix or mortar. It needs to be portland cement so just make sure you get the right one. The Portland cement contains no rocks or sand. If you have any questions about getting the right one just ask a customers sales representative to help you out at the hardware store.

Some other materials that you will need as well are a wheelbarrow that you can use or you can also use a large Rubbermaid container will work fine too. You should have some plastic on hand to lay into your molds and you will need a strong wire brush in order to carve and smooth out rough edges. Also for mixing and making the hypertufa you should have rubber gloves, a shovel or a small gardening tool to mix it and a face mask so you don't breath in any dust or ingredients from mixing them together. It could irritate your eyes, nose, and lungs. Just make sure you protect yourself from using this stuff. A good suggestion as well is wear eye goggles just to make sure none goes into your eyes. You know what happens when cement hits water so you don't want that in your eyes or on your hands as it does burn and irritate the skin.

This is all the materials you should have on hand on how to make hypertufa. You just need a strong sturdy table to work on and make it. I forgot to mention you will also need some water on hand as well to mix the ingredients. Now you have all the materials you will need now you can begin making your hypertufa recipe.

How To Make Hypertufa

2008-02-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

Making hypertufa is actually quite easy to make. All you will need to make it is Portland Cement, Peat Moss, and Perlite. Now there are tons of different ways that you can find online on how to make hypertufa but the recipe that we've found works good is 1 part of each.

Hypertufa Recipe

1 Part Portland Cement
1 Part Peat Moss
1 Part Perlite
Slightly less then one part water

We've used this formula for making hypertufa and it has made some very durable and strong hypertufa creations. This hypertufa recipe will work great. Just make sure you have all the materials needed to make hypertufa on hand and ready to use.

First thing you do is add all the dry ingredients together and make sure you mix them throroughly. Once you've done this slowly add the water but make sure you don't add to much so add bits at a time. The hypertufa mixture at no time should be runny or soupy. It should be clumpy and you should be able to make a mud ball with it in your hands and when you squeeze it you should only have a few drops of water come out. If that's what happens then perfect your hypertufa is good to go. If for some reason you think it appears to dry and no drops at all come from your hypertufa, then add a little more water. Test the hypertufa mixture again and see if you can make a ball with a few drops of water that comes out. The thing with making hypertufa is all about judging. If you add too much water it can actually weaken your hypertufa so it has to be just right. Make the proper mixture of hypertufa and you will have strong durable planters, stepping stones or any other garden art you can think of with hypertufa.

What Is Hypertufa?

2008-02-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Boyle

Hypertufa is actually artificial stone made with several different materials or aggregates mixed with portland cement that form Hypertufa when all bonded together. What makes hypertufa so great is that it's relatively light in weight. It is very porous and is great for growing plants. Hypertufa is used in gardening and is a form of art. You can make plenty of things using hypertufa such as planters, stepping stones and your own rock for landscaping around garden ponds. Hypertufa makes an excellent way to do gardening and it's fun to make as you make your own art and creations with it. If your looking for a project for the summer try making your own hypertufa pots and you will love the look of it. What makes hypertufa so great as well is that it gives you that aged look in the rock that you want.