Jen
Facing the blocks is easy.
you can make a mold to go around the face or just slap the mud on.
Use plenty of concrete glue ( follow instructions on the bottle) It's cheap.
Make sure to soak you bricks first before applying the tufa and keep them damp for a few days after.
You can start carving you tufa after about 24 hours. If you don't like the look. Scrape the fresh tufa off and start again.
You can add concrete colorant to your tufa to get deep color that will never come off.
There are endless finishes and textures you can use.
By a bag of sunflower seeds for wild birds.
Apply your tufa and cover with seeds. A rolling pin will roll them right into the mud.
Give the birds a month to eat the seeds then wire brush the remaining shell off the brick and you have a beautiful dimpled surface. And watching the birds attack the seeds is great fun.

Good luck.

Hi Jen,

Several members of this forum have faced cinderblocks with hypertufa over the years and posted the results. Marly was the latest and she did just what you're suggesting--carved stone shapes onto the green hypertufa.

The nice thing is that if you don't like the way your carving looks at first, you can grind it off with a cured piece of cement and try again.

This sounds like a very cost effective way to get the look you want. Maybe Marly will check in and offer input.

Deb

Good luck with your project Jen.
I'd love to see pictures.
Debbie

I dry stacked concrete blocks 3 high and on the ends left one half open and also the top was open. I put them in a slight curve,I took portland cement and sand mix and applied it by hand. Then on the outside I used the portland cement,vermiculite, and petmoss mix on it applying about 2"
thick. I left the top 8" open and filled it with potting soil and planted moss roses in them.My sis-in-law drove over the edge of it and the wall didnt move.

Hi Greenlydia-

Though you can find some websites that will offer small batches of dry hypertufa pre-mixes, the fun part of hypertufa is that you can (yes, you can!) make up your own mixture, depending on what you want to do. The basic ingredients are portland cement (comes in 94lb bags, but you'll be amazed at how fast it goes), sand (playsand works), and the aggregate of your choice-be it peatmoss, vermiculite, perlite, or even potting soil.

Check for FAQ for various formulas, one formula is 1part portland, 1.5pt peatmoss, 1pt sand, then mix up your batch and start sculpting, trowelling, etc. the stuff onto your form or into your mold.

Kind of like playdough for adults!

Jo

Hey Greenlydia-

I missed your question about round rock stacking before...

I've never done it, but if you go with a basic mortar mix or recipe (cement and sand) I can't imagine why you wouldn't be able to stack your round rocks, especially if you were able to work some stucco netting or chicken wire around the joints.

You probably wouldn't want to use hypertufa for the mortar because it's inherently weaker than usual mortar and wouldn't hold nearly as long or strong as the mortar will/would.

Jo

Does anyone have pics of raised beds made using this method?

I would like to do the same with my cinderblock garden. Has anyone done this and has pictures to show the rest of us? What sticks this hypertufa to the blocks?

kittyfern