no reinforcement ,am I in trouble?

21 years ago

Last week I finally did the gravestone marker for my neighbors horse. The piece is 18"x32"x2.5" and the recipe was 1 cement, 1 sand, 1peat, 1/2perlite, & 1/2 vermiculite. This mixture filled the bottom 2/3. For the top 1/3 I used 1 vermiculite and no perlite. I spent so much time figuring out the carving that I didn't give much thought to reinforcement. I've never used any reinforcement except for the nylon fibers a couple times. After reading of Billie's success without any additives using a basic 'tufa recipe with sand I quit adding fibers and haven't had any problems. However , I've never made anything this large before and now I'm having second thoughts. I wish I'd used a bit more sand.

packrat2

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Comments (3)

tufaenough
21 years ago
PR
What's on the back?
You can slap down a thin layer of tufa made with Elmers glue or concrete bonder.
Then lay on some diamond mesh and cover with more tufa.
For a nice flat back. Don't go right to the edge giving the back a nice slightly rounded look.
Press in a few horse shoes for luck.:)

Or lay a 1/4 rebar all around the perimeter on the back and then cover with a nice round mound of tufa. Giving the back a 3D framed effect.
packrat2
Original Author
21 years ago
TE, Thanks for the ideas. The back is flat so it wouldn't be a problem to add another layer. I've never worked with the diamond mesh( I know- wear good gloves ) I'd probably still manage to cut myself. The rounded top came out a bit lopsided so I suppose could fix that at the same time. Actually, I was kind of hoping for some reassurance that it should be fine and I wouldn't have to haul all my stuff back to my neighbor's house. Oh well, live and learn.
packrat2
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tufaenough
21 years ago
PR
IMO the stone should be OK once fully cured, but that is a fairly large flat piece. Once in place it should be fine.
I would have left the peat out of the bottom 2/3 because over time it could weaken the stone.
Sealing it might help protect it from ice getting into the holes left by the rotting peat.