How to make garden sculptures of concrete with their own hands?

In recent years, people are increasingly coming to the country house not to dig in the beds. To ennoble their household plots, they often use the services of landscape designers, on the advice of which they spend a lot of money for the acquisition of park sculptures. After reading this article, you will learn how to make sculptures of concrete with your own hands.

A bit of history

Since time immemorial, people have tried to create a special atmosphere on their sites with the help of various figures and sculptures. Our distant ancestors believed that the stone statues not only affect the surrounding vegetation, but also change the fate of the owners. So, the family of small gnomes brings good harvest and good luck. The sculptures of animals give their owners health and longevity, and marble human figures save from loneliness. Characters of various tales promise their owners an interesting life filled with amazing events.

Main features and advantages of the material used

Many owners probably always have a certain amount of concrete, cement or putty, which can be used to create a park decor. The main advantage of the mixture, prepared on the basis of sand, cement and water, is considered to be its plasticity. Therefore, it is very easy and simple to work with such material. In addition, sculptures from concrete are resistant to the effects of atmospheric precipitation, so they can be safely left under the open sky. They also do not require special care. The hosts will need to occasionally restore the cover of the figure.

Another weighty advantage of such products is their weight. Even relatively small sculptures of concrete for the garden have a fairly impressive mass, so they are unlikely to be stolen.

What will it take to create park figures?

Before making such decor it is necessary to decide what functions the future product will perform, since it is this that largely determines the choice of materials. To produce sculptures made of concrete, you will need components such as:

• Aluminum wire for the frame;
• Concrete or a mixture consisting of water, one part sand and three parts cement; To increase the plasticity of the solution, PVA can be added to it, and liquid nails can be used to increase moisture resistance;
• putty knife;
• polyethylene film;
• Spray with water.

In addition, it is necessary in advance to stock up a plastic basin of a suitable size.

Making sculpture from concrete in various ways

To date, there are several methods for creating park figures. The most popular of them are:

• Wireframe technology, which first forms a wire from the wire, subsequently coated with a solution. To make thicker elements on the necessary part of the existing frame, a construction net or the same wire is wound. In addition, any suitable and unnecessary item in the household can become the basis. It can be an old bucket, a baking dish or a box.
• Forming technology, by which the solution is poured into a previously prepared form. It can be bought or made with own hands from improvised materials, like a rubber ball or a glass container. After the concrete has solidified, it must be extracted from the finished figure.
• The technology of the charge, over which the solution is applied to the surface of any suitable frame made of brittle material. After hardening, the substrate inside the product will have to be destroyed. It should be understood that such sculptures of concrete will have a relatively low weight.

All the above methods can be used not only separately, but also to combine with each other.

Sculptures of concrete and general stylistics of the site

In order not to turn your garden into something insipid, you need to take advantage of a few simple tips of specialists. Before finally deciding on the choice of such a decor, you need to draw a detailed plan of your own site and graphically try on various variations of the figures. Each sculpture needs a certain background, emphasizing its style and beauty. Thus, it is desirable to place small items in open areas near artificial water bodies, garden paths, flower beds, front gardens or fences. High large figures are recommended to be installed next to fountains or neatly trimmed shrubs.

Garden sculpture should be in harmony with the general style of the garden and emphasize the direction of its image. For a romantic plot, planted with delicate flowers, one-tone elegant human figures or magically sophisticated plant compositions are optimal. The village garden can be decorated with colorful folkloric elements or figurines of domestic animals.

Useful recommendations

To produce high-quality and durable garden sculptures made of concrete, It is important to choose the right brand of cement. The better the properties of the consumable material, the higher the performance characteristics of the finished product. During the work should not be neglected security measures. It is desirable to work in a special protective mask, which prevents the ingress of cement dust into the respiratory tract. The processing of the finished figure can be done with a special saw with diamond circles.